rolling low

Irish Flute
1

How do you roll a low D in a D flute? i think it’s usually:
xxx xxx
xxx oxx
xxx xxx
xxx xox
xxx xxx
but what’s your technic in a keyless flute, cilindrical bore like.. for example… a tipple? :slight_smile:
(or a baroue flute)
thanks a lot, compañeros!

2

You don’t roll, you cran.

3

Cranning is just one of several options here. The basic issue is that, strictly speaking, you can’t roll a bottom D because you can’t do a tap (I’m sure someone has tried doing low D rolls by tapping the C key on an 8-key flute, but it’s not generally done in Irish flute playing). So you can crann, as pipers do, or you can replace the roll with something else. Just playing the notes D-E-D is a common workaround for both long and short rolls.

4

One option is cutting on G, then cutting on low D.

5

XXX XXX
XXO XXX
XXX OXX
XXX XOX
XXX XXX

That is what I use. I also use that on Es.

6

you also can…

XXX XXX
XXX XOX
XXX XXX
XXX OXX
XXX XXX
XXO XXX
XXX XXX

which is quite similar to Unseen’s way but the other way round (I jotted down all the steps). I’ll try it anyway.

Cheerio!

7

I use this role only on the high D. but the other way round, i first cut on E, after on Fs.
i can’t get a high D roll with a descent sound if i roll with G/D, that’s why i only use it in the first octave.
but i agree that it’s a cran, i never looked at it that way.

8

So backwards. I might have to take it for a spin.

9

thanks to all!
very usefull information …

… well not to all.

10

xxx xxx
xxx xox
xxx xxx
oox xxx
xxx xxx

is usefull for a high d roll, if you can move two fingers as one, and I’ve never found it to be a problem

11

Here’s another flavor of cran:

xxxxxx
xxOxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxOx
xxxxxx
xxxOxx
xxxxxx

  • Works in both octaves, on E too. It sounds completely different, though, depending on whether one vents high D or not.

I posted this weirdness a while back to little comment. This inspiration was actually some accordeon playing by Karen Tweed. The G cran:

xxxooo
xxOooo
xxxooo
xOxooo
xxxooo
Oxxooo
xxxooo