L2 & L3 separation distance on an Olwell bamboo?

Irish Flute
1

Can someone please tell me the distance between L2 & L3 {G & A} on an Olwell bamboo D flute?On Erik the flutemakers model the stretch is nearly 1 3/4 inches and I have trouble stretching more than 1 1/2 inches.Also I vaguely remember someone mentioning that Patrick offsets the embouchure hole, is this true?If the D is gonna be to long a stretch I’ll try an F. The right hand reach is not a problem.
Thanks
Bruce

2

Sorry that I can’t give you any answers. Just wanted to say that I’m with you on that one! I have a Dixon polymer flute which I can barely play. It seems that I can’t hold the flute in a natural way… so after a few minutes playing I really get cramped.

Does anyone have a clue if the Eb is noticably smaller than the D? If that’s the case I’ll probably order a Eb and a G.

3

Hoed - is your Dixon the conical 3 piece model or one of the cylindrical? The conical model’s holes are much closer together. Both bamboo and cylindrical PVC flutes by nature have a harder finger spread to get them in tune.

Eric

4

It’s the conical 3 piece model :frowning:. It’s like this one (although I don’t have the nice golden rings around the edges):

Tony Dixon 3 Piece Tunable Polymer Flute (from Whistle and Drum)

Guess it means the Eb is far out of range for me as well then …
Does anyone know how much length there is between the holes of the bamboo Eb?

5

Hoed-- I had the same problem to start with. My first flute was the Dixon two piece pvc and just holding it up and trying to blow into the embouchure hole caused cramps in my neck, shoulders , arms and hands.It took at least a week of trying before I could hold a playing position for a full minuet.That was over a year and a half ago. I still get cramps in my hands after three or four minuets of playing.The three P’s- patience & perfect practice. Good luck.
Bruce

6

Thanks for the kind words! I’ll promise to be a good boy and practice a lot :smiley:

It still doesn’t seem physical possible to hold my hands in the same way as I see in pictures of the “perfect” postition … fingers too short. Ooh well, I’ll just practice some more then. And I did practice longer than a week :slight_smile:.