That’s the question..
I bought a bamboo low D flute a few months ago, but I’m quite frustrated with it. It’s so difficult to play the bottom D and even more difficult to play the notes of the 2nd octave above E.
I don’t know if it’s me or it’s the flute which is specially difficult to play. I have a whistle/flute teacher, and she tells me that my flute is difficult to play.
The fact is that she lent me a low G flute for a week, this is the first day, and I can play very easy the bell note (G). I can play a tune in the 1st octave so easily. With the notes of the 2nd octave it’s still a bit difficult to reach the A and B, though.
So, the question is.. is it possible that I can play the low G flute much easier than my low D due to the former is shorter? What I can see is that my embouchure wouldn’t be the real problem, because, as I’m telling you, I can get a very pure tone out of the low G flute rather easy.
I’m thinking of buying a Tipple low D flute in a near future to try luck.
If by low G you mean the G above low D, yes, it is much easier to play. If you are playing Irish music, you will be frustrated doing it on a G flute, but otherwise (especially in bamboo), G is the way to go.
The frustration will come in playing with others. You will either be too high or too low to get all the notes you need. You’ll have to jump octaves to play an entire tune.
Let me throw in my two cents worth on this question. My opinion is that the smaller flutes, such as the G flute, should be a little more difficult than the low D flute for the beginner to blow successfully throughout the range of the flute. This is because smaller flutes generally take a tighter and more-developed embouchure.
Thanks for your valuable opinion, Doug Tipple.
So, If i’m getting a better tone out of the G flute, it might be that my low D is really hard to play?. I think I really need to buy one of yours to try…
Are you fingering the G as you would the D? If so, you won’t be able to play with others because the note pitches are different. If not, don’t you find that many tunes take you up into the third octave? If your starting note were D, you’d have to start four holes higher than on a D flute.
For a short time when I was starting out, I owned both a bamboo D flute and a Tipple D flute (with offset holes). There was no comparison. I sold the bamboo, and kept the Tipple.
But I also have higher flutes, in F and G, and I find them very easy and fun to play. Of course, they’re useless in a session. I’d recommend an F or G Tipple for fun around the house, and a D Tipple for playing with others. At his prices, you can afford both. Eventually you’ll move up to a wood flute, but you’ll probably want to keep them all.
Interesting!
I’m from Argentina, so, dollars for me are rather expensive. I can’t afford both D and G/F flutes now. I think I’ll go with the low D and let the G/F for later.
Anyways, I’m more a whistle player, I don’t know if I’ll ever move up to a wood flute. I’ve read that the quality of Tipple’s flutes are quite good and comparable to more expensive flutes, so, that’d be enough for me (at least for now).
I’m moving to another country this year, and I really want to carry a nice and portable flute with me. Tipple’s low D flute in 3 pieces has to make it!
Maybe I’ll do the same than you and sell my bamboo flute to keep the Tipple, lol.
Some instruments are just hard to play. I have a recorder. I tried to play it but it seemed really hard. I thought it was me so I gave it to a guy I know who plays the recorder really well. He can play it, but without any prompting from me he told me it’s really hard to play.
If your teacher thinks your flute is hard to play it’s probably hard to play. And it may not have anything to do with it being in the key of D or anything like that. It might just be something about that instrument that makes it difficult.
Thanks, you should be right. My teacher plays boehm’s flute and also has a wooden irish flute in D. She plays both excellent, but with this flute she even had problems when asked her to play it. I’ll buy a Tipple’s one as soon as I can.
Get that Tipple right away. Usual disclaimers–no stock in the business, Doug’s not sending me any freebies, he’s not my brother-in-law, &c. Buying the Tipple was the best move I could have made. By the way, I find it harder to play the flutes withs the ergonomic hole positioning; mine has the holes in a line, to mirror my pennywhistles.
Get that Tipple right away. Usual disclaimers–no stock in the business, Doug’s not sending me any freebies, he’s not my brother-in-law, &c. Buying the Tipple was the best move I could have made. By the way, I find it harder to play the flutes with the ergonomic hole positioning; mine has the holes in a line, to mirror my pennywhistles.
Get that Tipple right away. Usual disclaimers–no stock in the business, Doug’s not sending me any freebies, he’s not my brother-in-law, &c. Buying the Tipple was the best move I could have made. By the way, I find it harder to play the flutes with the ergonomic hole positioning; mine has the holes in a line, to mirror my pennywhistles.
Yes, by all means, check out this auction for my 3-piece low D flute. I sold this flute new for $90 + shipping. The current bid price of $12 is a steal. However, I do take issue with one statement in the item description. The seller writes about the inserted wedge, “Its purpose is to facilitate the creation of a sound”. Actually, the wedge is used to adjust the intonation of flute. Hopefully, you will be able to make a sound whether the wedge is there or not.