I have been playing one of Terry Mcgee’s flutes - a Rudolph 5088 - since August last year. Slow but steady progress. Early on I started playing C# with the three right hand fingers down in order to ensure I didn’t wobble off my embrochure. According to Terry’s finger charts this is OK as he shows the right hand fingers as optional. I am more confident now so could now try to wean myself off the right hand when playing C#.
I have noticed that when moving from C# to B in the first octave that sometimes I leave my right hand fingers covering the bottom 3 holes and only open up left hand holes 2 and 3. My awful music ear says that is OK and so does the Tuner app on my iPad.Terry’s charts don’t agree but do show the right hand fingers as options for B in the second octave.
Should I break this habit?
Cheers
JT
Break it if you can, as when you develop a stronger and more controlled embouchure you may find that you start to blow the upper b flat with those fingers down. It may be that you are over blowing the b to make it sound, and in doing so are sharpening the note. If that’s not the case then it’s no problem if it works for you, but if it is the case, then as you use less force in that upper octave it’s possible (likely?) that that b will start to fall on the flat side. Many charts show Bb as X0X XXX…
Also don’t feel like you have to wean yourself off 0X0 XXX for Cnat, many people play it that way, and it can help with certain ornamentations and runs. Maybe practice both ways so you’re comfortable with whatever situation makes the most sense in that particular tune?
All three lower-hand fingers down?
For sure various fingerings sort of happen in specific passages, the “economy of motion” thing.
I can imagine a quick passage in a reel going from Middle D to first-octave B and back
xxx|xxx
xoo|xxx
xxx|xxx
or the “rocking” motif B d B e B d B
xoo|xxx
xxx|xxx
xoo|xxx
xxx|xxo
xoo|xxx
xxx|xxx
xoo|xxx
In like manner the “rocking” motif B e B f# B e B with two of the lower-hand fingers down
xoo|xxo
xxx|xxo
xoo|xxo
xxx|xoo
xoo|xxo
xxx|xxo
xoo|xxo
and so forth.
But as fulltime “anchor” fingerings I can’t imagine these things especially not in the 2nd octave.
Leaving just the lower-hand ring finger down as “anchor” for G, B, Cnat, and C# is something I’ve seen many flutists do.
xxx|xxx D
xxx|xxo E
xxx|xoo F#
xxx|oox or xxx|ooo G (depending on context)
xxo|oox A
xoo|oox B
oxx|oox Cnat
ooo|oox C#
I think you could leave your right-hand fingers down for C# all the time. It certainly helps with the stability of the instrument. There may possibly be some passages where it’s awkward, but I can’t think of any offhand. That’s in the first octave. In the second octave (a note that is very rare in Irish music) you would probably use something like
ooo | xxo
on a keyless flute.
In a descending passage from D I like to use this fingering for C natural
oxx | oxx
There is a basic principle that if you put down fingers below the first open hole, it makes the pitch lower. The more fingers down, the lower the pitch. So this fingering
xxo | xxx
should give you somewhere near G#. The effect is more pronounced in the second octave, so you could get close to a G# with
xxo | xoo
It depends on the flute, but Baroque flutes and recorders are fully chromatic using this kind of fingering.
The excellent examples given by Richard show how you can simplify the fingering for tricky passages because your B in the first octave will only be a little bit flat if you keep the RH fingers down. No one will notice if it’s a fast tune. Here’s another example that will probably work, using only one finger down.
xxx | xoo
xxo | xoo
xxx | xoo
xoo | xoo
xxx | xoo
xxo | xoo
xxx | xoo
In this example, the B will probably be fairly in tune, but the A might be a bit dodgy.