Disclaimer: I know that these types of measurements have really limited usefulness in the real world, where both of these flutes are easy to play in tune with little effort. When you play in front of a tuner, you are not playing as you normally would, and you are not adjusting as you normally would. In fact, this is by design: if you adjust normally for each note, each will be in tune, and it becomes impossible to compare flute to flute.
However, several folks have asked me for this comparison, and I thought the board might find it interesting. So here ya go. Apologies for the format, and hoping this arrives in readable form:
Rudall & Rose M&E Original M&E
D -5…-17
E +10… 0
F# -13…-20
G 0 … 0
A +16 …+10
B +20 …+15
C (o x o | x x x) -3…+8
C (o x x | x x x) -8…+8
C# -14 …-2
2nd octave:
D -4 …-3
E +12… +1
F# -22…-19
G 0 …0
A +13…+10
B +20… -4
C (o x o | x x x) -23… +4
C# -30 … -23
3rd octave:
D -1 …+10
E -8… +29
F# +33…+21
G +5 …+11
How interesting! Have I understood it correctly: + is the degree the note is sharp, and - the amount the note is flat?
I’m really enjoying my M&E R&R flute - but I did wonder why, when I tune up with the fiddles in a class I attend, I have to pull out the tuning slide about 1/2 inch. I wondered if it was my embouchure, but your post suggests that the flutes are just a little high, generally? I find it plays quite in tune with itself, with the exception of Cnatural, where one of the cross fingerings is a bit sharp and the other a bit flat.
me thinks you should find a better fingering for the 2nd octave c#, maybe oxx xoo? To show how goofy this tuning stuff can be, how about redoing this test by fixing the headjoint to play an “a” at exactly 440. Remembering the woodenflute thread there was some difference of opinion between players and makers regarding the refernce tuning note. I agree wholeheartedly that lab tuning is nothing like playing in the real world.
[ This Message was edited by: shoner on 2002-11-04 07:30 ]
Well, in real-world experience, you want to use G as the tuning note. A is not a great tuning note for any flute, even Boehm-system.
But in the real world, you get to adjust, which you don’t get to do when you make these charts. Both of these flutes play very well in tune, even the high C-sharp is something I adjust for without even thinking about it.
Really, it’s almost questionable as to whether charts like this tell you anything worthwhile about a flute at all, because these charts have little to do with how a flute really plays.
Yes, g does indeed make a better tuning note, notwithstanding that 99.9% of all boehm players tune to an a, as do many conical players. You likely remember that Mr. Mcgee bases all his tuning experiments with a reference note of a. I’m assuming he’s designed internal tuning to an a as well. Just wondering at which reference pitch the M&E was designed around. Running your experiment with an a 440 refernce note might be revealing.