how to do a slide?

Irish Flute
1

ok, i’m a dork.

so i can do a slide on a tin whistle, no problem. but when i try to do the same thing on the flute, it doesn’t work.

does anybody have any tips for me?

thanks…

eric

2

When you do a slide on a whistle you normally move the tip of your finger away from your hand. On the flute, try the opposite.. Sigmund

3

It’s simple. It’s just a sort of dumpty dumpty diddle-dee dumpty rhythm.

No wait …

4

Is it not working so well because the holes are, relatively, smaller on the flute ? I don’t find the D flute ‘invites’ sliding. If a pick up the G Tipple, which has holes in similar proportion to a whistle, I start doing it again automatically and it is as easy as on a whistle.

5

Can’t say I’ve had that issue (lots of others but not that one :slight_smile: ) are you having the same problem with all the notes or just certain ones? Even on my Dixon which has pretty small holes I am able to slide into a note from below without any particular issues… the Burns is easier to do it on though…

6

how to do a slide?

7

hi, yes, i guess it’s because of the smaller holes? also the position of the hands…

ok, thanks, i’ll try this. :slight_smile:

cheers,
eric

8

Here is a video of a slide that I have yet to master.
Keanu seems to be having a bit of trouble too.

9

ok, it’s the A tonehole, and i can’t get it to work because my finger is arched to reach the hole. i can do all the notes with my right hand with a small amount of success, but left hand not so much.

still trying the sliding towards instead of away; that kind of seems to work. i’ll keep trying…

cheers,
eric

10

for L1 & L2 I pull the finger back toward the palm

11

Assuming up-slides, not down … Yes, that’s common, but it’s not the only way. You can pull toward the hand, or lever the finger up with the knuckle as the fulcrum, or slide or rotate along the length of the tube. I imagine any of those are worth trying on flute.

12

thanks! i’ll try that too. :slight_smile:

13

Wow, I have never thought about doing slides downwards :smiley:

14

:slight_smile:

Actually, there was a recent thread in the Whistle Forum about downward slides and fades, particularly in slow airs. I think opinion was divided whether or not they are in bad taste. :astonished:

15

Just as a general rule, I find it easier to do slides on a whistle than the flute. I agree with what Sigmund said about moving the finger in the opposite direction, but I would add that I do a much more deliberate “peel” of the finger over the hole to get a full-bodied slide from one note to the next; otherwise, the effect is not as noticeable as it is on whistle.

16

I agree. And it’s the same thing for half-holes I find.