In the world of whistles everyone’s always talking about the tone properties of the various makes of whistles. I rarely see any such discussion here among the transverse tooters.
Now, having recently become the delighted owner of a really lovely Doyle blackwood flute, I have learned that tone quality has everything to do with embouchre. I can get a quite pure tone or a very rough/reedy tone (someday I hope to do this by intent and not randomly ).
That said, I’m curious if there are makers who’s flutes tend toward a purer sound. I would appreciate any input from those of you who have tried a lot of flutes.
I talked with Brian Byrne yesturday about keyed flutes. His list is currently closed as he wants to catch up on the list he has. He took my information and was going to mail me some info and pictures of his keywork. He will probably reopen his waiting list after the holidays. He was very interested in what kind of flute I liked. I mentioned that I’m not much of a session player and was looking for a flute that had a sweeter, more pure sound like the sound that Cathal McConnell gets out of his Rudall. He said he has been working on a certain design that exactly fits that description.
So I’m not sure if thats what your looking for but I would look at Brian or Peter Noy for a flute that is more pure
Purity of tone is not necessarily timber or color.
A good player with an experienced lip can make any decently-made flute sing purely or growl. It’s all a matter of control and lip placement over the embouchure hole. Angle of blow also has lots to do with it, too.
What you’re likely thinking of is clarity of tone and the color of the sound. That has much more to do with the wood it’s made of than the specific design (although that has lots to do with it, too).
Some say the French flutes of days gone by have the purest, sweetest tone. Now we know that’s much more to do with the size of the fingerholes. Large holes will have stronger volume over a small-holed model, but small holes provide the sweetest and most consistent in-tune scaling than all others. That’s why small-holed Rudall flutes are much more in tune with themselves than the large-holed variety. (Ask Olwell, who loves to talk about this!)
Then there’s the matter of bore size comperable to hole size. Large bore flutes have wonderful tonality, but do indeed require a controllable lip to make it work. Small bore flutes have great tone, but lack the volume many of us seek.
All things equal, you should find a model that suits you, then decide on the wood, which dictate the color of the tone. Boxwood generally is deemed the sweetest (and some say purest) of the tones, but it absorbs way too much moisture, making consistency a problem. (Chris Norman played a small-holed boxwood Rudall before Rod Cameron made a replica for him out of blackwood)
Ebony is too hard, I think, a tone. Cocus I like best, but grenadilla (I believe Jamaican is the latest most-popular variety) is a great substitute.
I personally dislike Rosewood (too unstable) and lean toward padouk if you can get someone to make it (very sweet tone).
Ironwood is a good choice, although it has some aesthetic issues some don’t like much.
Mopane is okay, but I’ve not really played a flute in a design that I like, so jury is still out on that one.
Shape of embouchure also is important, but more a matter of preference than anything else. The Clementi-Nicholson flute I have has a large, round embouchure and is great for inflecting different octaves and enharmonics.
My Pratten is a more eliptical shape, somewhat rounded wide, and it reacts better in the sweet range of upper notes.
Lots to consider, I know. But I hope it all helps in some manner.
Dave and Craig thanks for your help. You’ve confirmed the hunch I was developing that the Rudall-Rose style flutes are indeed a little sweeter-sounding. I had started to feel that way based on what I’ve been able to listen to on recordings but wanted to make sure it wasn’t purely the players’ technique.
Again thanks. It’s wonderful to have a resource like this to be able to tap into such uselful information from such great folks.
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