I am beginning to seriously contemplate taking the plunge and switching from Boehm system to simple system flute. So the enjoyable (and somewhat daunting) research phase begins…
I play Baroque and Classical chamber music and Irish trad, so I’m thinking a four-key flute should fit the bill, right? Any recommendations for or against this idea? The flute will need to comfortably cover the two-to-three octave range with good response and intonation.
So now to find the right maker…Whose flutes can best meet the above criteria? (And who has a reasonable waiting list? I don’t want to wait years for this instrument.)
Thanks for any advice.
Micah
I’ve mentioned before my happiness with my Ormiston 5-key. The wait was 1 year and the price was better than most. There are also several on-line companies that often have them in stock.
Erik
Last I heard (a couple of months ago) Michael Grinter’s waiting list for a keyed flute was only 6 months or so.
Chris
Skip Healy must top the list for speed of delivery of a keyed flute. He has a model designed for the Boehm flutist.
I’m not a fan of 8-keyed flutes, but I think 6-keyed is the way to go. You can probably get a maker to add keys, assuming you get a 4-keyed flute, but it’s more convenient to it from the start.
Bill
[ This Message was edited by: SuiZen on 2003-01-29 07:38 ]
I was thinking of having a C-nat thumbhole instead of a key, but is a long F pretty necessary?
On 2003-01-29 07:49, Micah wrote:
I was thinking of having a C-nat thumbhole instead of a key, but is a long F pretty necessary?
Without it, moving from F-natural to D or the reverse is extremely difficult, maybe even impossible to do smoothly on some flutes, depending on how the touch for the short F is made and how high it sits.
If you want a chromatic flute, the short F actually to me is more optional than the long F would be, although without it you can’t go smoothly from A-flat to F-natural or the reverse, but this doesn’t happen as often as F-to-D.
The long C doesn’t actually see much use on my flutes, because on almost every flute I’ve tried o x o | x x x gives a nice, open C-natural. I would think you could live without the long C if you had to.
There’s no way to get a D-sharp without the key, so I’d say it’s needed. The low octave G-sharp can’t be cross-fingered on medium or large holed flutes, so I’d say the G-sharp key is needed. The B-flat key you might could live without if you had to, but it makes life easier to have it…most flutes can do a cross-fingered B-flat, but how well it works depends on the flute and the fingers of the player.
For most Irish music and most early music, you can easily live without the low C-sharp and C-natural for the footjoint, although there are a few tunes that I play that need them. (The Galway Hornpipe comes to mind here, as does the Crib of Perches.)
That’s my take on the keys. If you can afford it, just get either a 6 or an 8-key and you’ll have all your options open.
Best,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
chris, have you waiting for a keyed grinter? If so, does he tend to deliver on time?
As has been said elsewhere on the forum, if you’re going to shell out the money and wait the time, you might as well get a fully keyed flute. 6 keys at least. There’s no sense in limiting yourself.
IMHO a C-nat thumbhole is a bad idea. It doesn’t make sense ergonomically to have your left thumb nailed to one spot on the flute; I think that’s asking for trouble in the long run.
Gotta go with Rob on this one, re the thumb hole and 6 over 4. To hold back on the expense of a 6 key for a 4 is probably penny-wise, pound foolish. If you don’t need keys, than stay keyless – most incidental notes can be half-holed, and if you really need to change keys, it’s actually cheaper to buy a D flute and an Eb, say, than (some) keyed flutes.
But to limit to 4 keys, you’re not getting either a fully keyed or a keyless. For eg, the Eb key, which is virtually impossible to half hole successfully, is not usually one of the 4, or the long Fnat, which, as said earlier, is really necessary in many passages.
Going to 8 keys is only a good idea if you must go below the D, playing classical pieces, etc. But I find that, once you’re down that slippery slide, you begin to understand why the Boehm was invented and won out for classical players in the first place.
[ This Message was edited by: Gordon on 2003-01-29 10:12 ]
On 2003-01-29 00:21, ChrisLaughlin wrote:
Last I heard (a couple of months ago) Michael Grinter’s waiting list for a keyed flute was only 6 months or so.
Chris
I find this hard to believe, since I waited 9 months for a KEYLESS flute from Grinter just a couple of years ago. Has his backlog eased so much since then, or have his processes improved so much that he can now deliver a KEYED flute three months faster than I got a keyless from him? For most makers it seems like it takes at least twice as long for them to build and deliver a keyed flute as it does for a keyless…
[ This Message was edited by: johnkerr on 2003-01-29 10:59 ]
Okay, I must be completely confused about the Grinter. I am waiting for a keyed Grinter and when it arrives it will have been about a two year wait.
The information I got about a shorter waiting time was actually from Fionbarra, who posted above. I just looked at the e-mail he sent me several months, and it was actually 9 months that Michael had quoted to him, not 6 months. So, I made a mistake - it’s certainly not a 6 month wait, but it might only be nine months.
Chris
[ This Message was edited by: ChrisLaughlin on 2003-01-29 11:56 ]
Michael quoted me 18 months for a keyed and six for a keyless. This was a month or so ago.
My experience with his delivery estimates for whistles is that they’re pretty good.
Micah - Last year I ordered a D, custom-made, keyless, boxwood, four-piece, flute from Casey Burns. I enjoy the flute very much, and decided that I wanted to go ahead and learn to play a keyed flute. Burns will add keys to his flutes, but I had read so many different things about other makers and instrument characteristics on this site, that I began suffering from information overload. For a short period of time I was considering so many issues and options that I considered doing nothing. I had another flute player say something about boxwood “…being a lady…” and I considered purchasing a different keyed flute altogether. Then I had another lesson with a notable flute player who really liked the instrument. He admired the construction, hole placement, embouchure cut, but mostly he liked the way it played. He was confidently enthusiastic and seemed a bit puzzled by my waffling.
We discussed adding keys and he did not hesitate to recommend I go with six. I’ve enjoyed my keyless flute, and still think there will be times when a keyless instrument might be preferable. Burns is making me a single keyed section that will take up the space of the two key-less, center, ones. I don’t know how often I’ll use the keyless sections once I’m used to playing the keys, but the option was reasonably priced. Casey is doing the work to fit my schedule and that means a lot to me.
Best of luck in making a decision and moving on.
I’m currently on the waiting list for an 8-key. The reason I’m going for an 8-key is just so I can play some tunes along with my family - My Mom and wife play piano and my Son plays classical guitar.
I also like some of the keys Paddy Carty plays in..they add another dimension to some the tunes and I want to be able to play them in the same keys he does. He plays a Radcliff model but I don’t want to go that far. I also like several Cathal McConnel tunes that I know require keys (I can hear them clicking). I would also like to indulge in some of Chris Normans Scottish stuff (It would make my Grandma Campbell happy 
).
I learn my tunes completely by ear. I have no knowledge of music theory. On several occasions I have accidently begun learning tunes that were either in keys I couldn’t figure out or had accidentals that I had to half-hole and I’ve had to put them asside.
You can spend a life-time learning all the tunes you can on a non-keyed flute but after putting everthing I need in perspective I felt I would be better served with a keyed flute.
Cheers
\
[ This Message was edited by: CraigMc on 2003-01-29 12:51 ]