An Irish fella came by while
I was playing whistle on the
street last week. Said he played
the flute. We talked about playing
blackwood flute outdoors in
the winter. He said that blackwood
flutes do fine in the cold–
not below freezing, but still
the cold. What hurts
the flute isn’t cold, he
said, but
sudden changes in temperature.
Opinions?
Well, I think that’s probably pretty true as far as it goes. But there are some things to consider here:
First, when the flute is cold there is much more condensation in the bore, and it stays around longer. So the bore is going to get a soaking.
On a flute that’s well played in and kept well oiled, the water shouldn’t be able to penetrate much into the wood at all. But if there is a place for water to seep in you could have a real problem as a crack could form. Also if there is a minute crack you can’t see it would definitely get worse.
I would say to minimize the danger you’d want to have the instrument well played in for at least a year, maybe more, before playing it in near-freezing temperatures.
Also bringing a cold flute into a warm room brings its own problems of expansion and condensation. I would think the flute becoming suddenly warm would produce an even greater danger of a crack than playing in cold air would.
I would say if you must play in near freezing conditions, you should consider using an instrument made of something besides wood. There are polymer flutes by M&E, Seery, and Dixon; also, if you know the fingering, a metal Boehm-system flute might be a good alternative.
Best wishes,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
[ This Message was edited by: peeplj on 2003-01-05 23:13 ]
Terry McGee did some temperature tests here:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/temps.html
Of course extreme temps are what polymer flutes are for, right?
On 2003-01-06 01:56, johner wrote:
Terry McGee did some temperature tests here:http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/temps.html
Of course extreme temps are what polymer flutes are for, right?
Extreme temps are one thing polymer flutes are good at handling, yeah. Also they require no maintenance at all, they are almost indestructable, their playing characteristic don’t change with the weather or with the amount of regular play they get, they are impervious to beer and spirits 
, they don’t have to be wiped out after play–basically there are four things they excel at:
the price is affordable, bringing the flute to people who otherwise couldn’t get one;
they are perfect for people who need to play the flute in harsh conditions that could damage a wooden instrument
they are perfect for people who need a flute they can grab a quick 10 minutes of tunes from without worrying about wiping it out, or oiling it, or even disassembling it between play.
There is no waiting list (unless you need a keyed flute). Order your flute today, have it by the end of the week. This is something not generally available with flutes made of wood unless you buy a used one.
The fact that the ones I’ve tried play pretty durn well is also kinda nice.
Best wishes,
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Low temperatures probably wouldn’t hurt a blackwood flute if it is taken outside in the freezing cold for quite a while, not played, then brought back in to warm up on it’s own.
I learned a good trick from a professional recorder player…even at room temperature, he ALWAYS warmed up the instrument by holding it against his body for 5-10 minutes, and usually under his arm. He’d NEVER pull it out of the case and start blowing in it.
My 1840, Rudall & Rose flute was always warmed up this way, and the wood has never cracked, niether the head, the barrel, or the next section.
Not to be picky, but how do you know the Rudall has been warmed up in this way since 1840?
Wood flutes should be warmed up slowly, and this would include not playing into a cold flute outdoors without warming it first. Once it’s warmed (played), it will sit somewhere between body temp and whatever room it is then brought into, assuming you don’t play, put it aside, play some more, etc. Then you’re expanding and contracting the flute way too much and it’ll surely crack.
Polymer probably won’t, but for all this talk of it being indestructable, I still wouldn’t play one at the freezing mark without warming it, either. Plastics do freeze and they do become brittle. Fast expansion is never a good thing.
That said, wood snob that I am, if I were going to play in near-freezing, I’d go with polymer. Probably will survive, and I’d be far less upset if it didn’t.
[ This Message was edited by: Gordon on 2003-01-06 16:52 ]
I don’t know how you all play in low temperatures - forget about the flute: I can’t make my fingers work in the cold.
Ha ha…good point, Gordon. Well for the last 25 years I’ve warmed it up that way. For the previous 40 years, it sat in a closet in Sacremento, CA., unplayed. And before that? It just looked and felt unplayed. BTW, I just sold it a few months ago because I played a newer flute that sounded better. And it was the larger finger holed flute too.
On 2003-01-06 17:47, gan-ainm wrote:
I don’t know how you all play in low temperatures - forget about the flute: I can’t make my fingers work in the cold.
Yeah, I was thinking much the same thing. Anywhere near the freezing point, the rest of the band’s on it’s own. Most other instruments don’t fare well either – see how many fiddlers or pipers are going to play below 40F…
But I’ve busked in bitter cold (more in the 45F range) in subways and played in unheated pubs (more around 60, but, man, it feels like 40..), and my wood flutes have never cracked. Lips and fingers, now, that’s a different thing…
The real dangers, as stated earlier, are extreme (rapid) changes in temps, not the temps themselves. A very wet (and, as James pointed out, a cold flute gets wet very fast)
flute that gets too cold will split, so drying it out after/during play is a good idea. Once you’ve warmed the flute, the cold on the flute ceases to be a problem for the flute. Swab it out and put it in the case afterwards to offset sudden dry warmth when the flute’s taken back inside.
Again, I’m not a big fan of polymer flutes, but I’d definitely consider one if I was going to play outdoors in very hot or cold climates frequently. Taking my fingers and lips into consideration, though, it ain’t gonna happen much, anyway.
Well, in all fairness, I don’t think many (any?) flutes many today play anywhere close to their best when they are played in near-freezing temperatures.
Water just beads up too fast, the bore turns into a leaky faucet, a steady stream of water comes out of the end, and the tone goes to mush.
Does it sound like I’m speaking from experience? We played a local Fall-fest one year, outside, after dark, on Halloween. It got down to 49 that night, but folks, trust me, it feels much colder than that after you’ve been on stage for about fifteen minutes and you’re trying to keep your teeth from chattering because it sounds like a billy-goat vibrato.
It was horrible. You couldn’t keep anything in tune, the flutes were so cold they would barely play (to its credit, the M&E did the best), the metal flute wouldn’t play at all, even the whistles were way flat and squeaky.
I guess the point of this rambling post is if you’ve got to play outside in the bitter cold, a polymer flute is doubtless best–but in point of fact, I don’t really recommend you play in the cold and damp at all. Not only is it bad for the flute, it’s likely bad for you as well.
Best wishes, and stay warm.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
Thanks to all! I keep my hands warm
by using woolen gloves with the
fingers cut off. We make money,
sometimes a fair amount of it,
in the winter–takes getting used
to, but it’s doable. Long johns,
down coat, coffee. Sometimes it’s
miserable, often it’s OK.
I haven’t tried flutes outside
yet, cause I can’t play them
consistently yet. The Copeland
do well in the cold (30s,
40s). Best