Hi!
I’m an italian flute teacher and some years ago, due to my love for Ireland, I’ve started to play irish music. I play tin whistle and I’ve started to play irish flute, too but I have some problems because of the holes, that are too big and far (I have quite small hands). I bought a Tony Dixon flute in ABS, because I needed something cheap and easy, but now I’d like to buy a regular irish flute in wood.
What can I buy to avoid the problem of the holes, and to have a cheap but good flute?
How many keys?
Thank you!
Valeriapiper:
Do a search on this site for the words “piper’s grip”. I use it for my right hand and I think a lot of others do, too. You would probably have the same problem on a low-D whistle, BTW…
Pat
plunk111’s well meant suggestion on exploring/altering the way you hold and apply your fingers to the flute doesn’t answer the question. Aside from that, you have several options. There are various modern makers of flutes for ITM who specifically cater to your problem - Casey Burns is probably the most mentioned/best known, but others make a point of it, and probably yet more would happily discuss it with you in terms of bespoke details of an order for a flute. Go through the many makers in the Makers List thread…
Another alternative is to check out the range of what is available in antique flutes - although for a D “concert” flute most will have fairly similar spans for each hand between 1st and 3rd fingers, there are some variations and there are certainly wide differences in hole size. For example, French made 5-8 key C10th flutes mostly tend to have quite small tone-holes, yet make a good strong sound. You may well find that you can span wider than you think without discomfort if you are not straining to ensure a seal of finger-tip to large tone-hole. Mid-Late C19th English tend to have the biggest holes; German and Austrian styles tend to have middle sized, as do earlier English ones; French tend to small.
Bottom line: if you can, try out a variety of period instruments and also modern maker ones to see if you can find something that will fit your hands or at least give you a clearer idea of what you need. If you can’t (and it maybe useful anyway) do some thorough on-line research about historic and national styles on e.g. Terry McGee’s website and Rick Wilson’s http://www.oldflutes.com to get an overview of the possibilities. Then talk to a maker (or five) and discuss what you need.
As for cost and how many keys, in terms of new-made flutes those two issues are linked - more keys = more cost. You should be able to get an ergonomically designed-for-small-hands style keyless flute for under c700 Euros. You have to decide how much you think you’ll want the keys. (Another reason for trying out some flutes if you can!) One advantage of a new flute is you have come-back with the maker if there are any problems with it. With antique flutes, the number of keys makes little difference to the market value as the vast majority have at least 5 keys. Origin/style, quality, maker’s name, playing pitch and intonation are the governors of value. If you are patient and lucky you may be able to acquire a very good flute for not much outlay, but there are no guarantees, nor come-back if what you buy proves a bad choice. It should be possible to get a small-holed French 5-6 key C19th flute that plays at A=440 in decent, overhauled, playing condition for under c400 Euros. In either case, though, if you buy something that doesn’t work out for you, you should be able to resell without significant financial loss.
Casey Burns makes a small-handed option for some of his flutes. I have a small-handed folk flute. The hole size and reach is easier than a Bb whistle.
go with a Terry McGee GLP flute. They’re made for small hands and they work lile a charm.
I have both a Tony Dixon and a Casey Burns. At first, I found the Dixon hard to reach and the Burns easy. (The Dixon is also not as sweet-sounding and not nearly as easy to blow, but that’s probably my problem!)
Over time, the Dixon is getting easier to finger. I think one solution is to do yoga or other exercises to loosen up your hands and wrists. I’ve found that some of the yoga I do have stretched my hands so I can reach the Dixon better with little pain. Of course, there are limits to how far your hands will stretch. This is probably an instance in which size matters.
I have a Phil Bleazey flute and am very staisfied with it, both in terms of hole size, ease of reach… and sound.
I guess Casey Burns Folk flutes are nices ones too.
Pascal.
Your may find some useful information in this discussion http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=52634