Please comment on my intonation on this flute, bought two years ago for my daughter.
http://www.box.net/shared/6om36iv400
http://www.box.net/shared/5ly9sf808w
Michael
Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not being sarcastic:
Without actually playing the flute, we will only be able to judge the player’s intonation, not the flute’s. All flutes have a scale that is made up of compromises, so it falls to the player to adjust, and so, only by playing a flute, not listening, can one tell how much adjustment it takes from note to note, which would allow a judgment of a flute’s “intonation”, if you see what I mean.
Loren
Okay, then how about some comments on my intonation on this particular flute?
I’m editing the first post to reflect this change.
Michael
Hey Michael,
I agree with Loren that it is hard to judge the intonation of the flute based on sound clips. My suggestion if you are worried about it is to take a tuner and play this flute against the tuner as well as your Olwell. You can be pretty sure that any intonation problems with your Olwell will be problems with the player and not the flute. Obviously, this is still leaves a lot of room for variance, but it’s probably the best you can do.
Hope that helps,
Brendan
Mpts,
I believe you mentioned on another thread that the flutes you bought for your kids were Casey Burns flutes, one with regular sized tone holes, one for small hands. And that the small hands flute seemed a bit funky in terms of intonation. When trying Burns flutes, I had a similar experience and found the intonation all over the place. Could be the flutes I tried (and perhaps yours) were dried out and that may have effected the cork placement, cork seal, the bore may have shrunk a little, all of which can affect intonation. Of course, Mr. Burns knows exactly what he’s doing and would not sell a flute that is flawed; we all know that the flute player has to bring the flute into tune on ALL FLUTES (at least that’s been my experience). I’m sure you could get the flute you’re concerned about in tune, or as close to in tune as possible, if you played it daily, double checked the cork, obsessed about it all the time (wait a minute, that’s me and maybe not you). I’ve noticed even from top-notch simple system fluters that not all notes are absolutely “in tune”. The characteristics of simple system flutes are, it seems to me (and I realize this may be a gross generalization), flatter low end, middle D tends to be sharp, middle C# definitely flat without a Cnat hole to vent it–this is true of my Cochran. I’ve worked hard and continue to work hard at getting it in tune realizing that each note has its own characteristics and tendencies.
I also thought of the recording of Gray Larson playing a folk flute on Burn’s site (http://www.caseyburnsflutes.com/ff.php). Larson plays the same tune, Torn Jacket, on Terry McGee’s site (http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/models.html) on a McGee GLP. I think you’ll find the comparison interesting. It might be a better way to judge, hearing a top-notch player, a third party if you will, on the flute–more objective perhaps. I have both clips on my mp3 player and I know I prefer one over the other.
I wonder also if a player who focuses and plays using a lot of air is more likely to play better in tune on a larger holed flute than a smaller holed flute. I small holed flute may be better suited for a player who uses relatively less/moderate air flow (though the best wood flute I have ever played was a Cameron traverso pitched at 415–that flute was quite surprisingly loud and of course the tone holes and embouchure were quite small). Just a thought.
Jason
It’s partly you and partly the flute:
D flat/sharp
E sharp
F# flat/sharp
G sharp/very sharp
A very sharp
B sharp
c# flat/in tune
d in tune
e very sharp
f# in tune
g sharp
a very sharp
b sharp/very sharp
c’# in tune
d’ in tune
You were getting sharp going down the scale.
Hi, Guinness,
How did you determine that? Using a tuner or your ear or ??
He is just playing in A=450 htz… 
For What Its Worth. I find it a distinct effort to play G and a more than a few cents sharp and neither E or e have ever been a problem either way. Initially my A was extremely sharp but I think that was because I found it weak and was going for volume without paying enough attention to pitch - the tone is better when played at pitch. So if the flutes are the same and Guinness’s assessment is right then much of it is probably us rather than the flute.
As I said on the other thread I am a newbie (you don’t want to hear my efforts on The Buttlerfly) but I did not start with an embouchure that was ‘used to’ another flute and I am a small-handed beginner which is a category the flute is designed for. If I play listening to some sort of reference (a recording, drones, synthesized scales) I can reach all the notes without rolling the flute although the second octave is still a bit erratic and I have not quite got my head around C#.
I find it hard to track down my intonation problems on a note by note basis because the note that sounds wrong is often fine but out of tune with a previous mistake. For example at the moment I tend to blow short unstressed bottom Ds flat which drags down the following notes but I don’t notice until I get to an A that is hard to blow so flat, so I think my As have gone sharp again. That’s when it is handy being able to turn round and repeat the phrase for the tuner.
A bit of both. I used a program called “Transribe!” which is an excellent alternative to “Amazing Slow Downer”. Transcribe! has a “reference” note and a tuning function.
The problem with the tuner approach to determining a flute or whistle’s intonation is the player’s tendency to bring each note into tune as he watches the needle or LEDs. This is why I tend to take comments like, “this flute’s intonation is spot on” with a grain of salt.
Thanks.
Some great answers to my question. Sorry I didn’t explain myself fully, but I was trying to avoid swaying listeners’ views of the music, so I didn’t want to put my opinion into the equation.
This recording is indeed the small-handed version of the Folkflute I bought two years ago. I think it’s a nice sounding flute for its price, and a little difficult for me to play in tune. Perhaps my daughter will have a go at it some time soon, and have an easier time of it than me. She finishes college next year.
What prompted my question was the “Casey Burns or Terry McGee?” posted by someone with small hands.
When I first received the two flutes and played them, I thought they sounded great. The small-handed flute was a bit quieter in my experience. I played with a guitarist, and what he said about the small-handed flute led me to believe it might not be in tune with itself. (I think he said something like, “That things way off. I’d send it back.”
That’s what I get for listening to a guitarist, but I usually defer to his judgement when it comes to tuning. Maybe I don’t trust myself enough, but I do believe he’s got a better ear than I when it comes to pitch.
I know that when I used to play an old German-made flute, other musicians would tell me to get another flute. And when my got my Olwell, those comments changed to “That’s a great-sounding flute.”
Through sharing tunes here, I’ve learned once again that even my Olwell has its quirks. It’s F# is a bit flat and it’s easy to blow a sharp A and B. Normally, I don’t concern myself with it on the faster tunes. But I’ve always been uncomfortable playing slower tunes, feeling like I’m a bit off. I’ve been refocusing on the quirky notes mentioned above since sharing tunes here, and learning more about the intonation of me and my flute, and for that I thank Chiff and Fipple.
Thanks again,
Michael
On the first clip you appear to have trouble playing the flute. I can hear you having difficulty reaching the higher notes and blowing harder just to get them. Perhaps just more time is needed getting used to it.
It doesn’t sound out of tune to my ear. I don’t believe in playing into a machine. If it sounds good that’s good enough to me.
Something about that Butterfly tune always sounds out of tune to me no matter what flute anybody ever uses. But you weren’t any more out of tune than anybody else who’s played it.