My first foray into this forum… I usually hang out with the whistles and non-uilleann pipes. However, I dabble with flute and I want to do more with this instrument.
So, I have one of Dominic Allen’s Series 1 smaller-holed flutes, which I’m happy with. I’m just not happy with me. My tone is (I think) getting better but it’s still patchy and I wonder whether, in the short and medium term at least, I’d be better off getting a smaller holed flute than Dom’s.
The ones which I’ve been looking at online are Phil Bleazey and Terry McGee’s Grey Larsen Preferred. There’ something of a difference in price but if it helps me to sound better… Hmm. Walt Sweet seems to make another smaller-holed model. I’ve done a search on this forum but wanted to look for more info, and especially comparisons. I’d be looking for a model with at least four keys, I think. Volume isn’t too much of an issue - tone and accessible playability is more of the aim here.
Has anyone tried these three, or a couple of them, enough to compare? Are there any others I’ve missed? It’d be especially useful if you have and you did so when you were starting out on flute. Most usefully, is there anyone in western or southern Britain who has these and who might be willing for me to have a look at theirs?
None of the flutes you mentioned are much smaller than Dominic’s Series 1. I believe the Bleazy has the smallest holes of those mentioned.
Have you ever considered a Baroque Traverso or Renaissance Flute? I’m playing and enjoying an Aulos Baroque flute and a Sweetheart Renaissance (I like small holes). It takes a while to adjust to their smaller embouchures, but they are very rewarding to play. The Aulos is the loudest traverso I’ve ever tried.
Hi Geraint. I doubt that hole size is of any significance - I seem to recall you have low D whistles? Are you missing holes regularly or having difficulty sealing them? I’d suspect that analysis of hold and posture rather than changing flutes would be more to the point. Even more likely is that embouchure and breath control are the real issues, not leaky fingers. I’d be happy to have a look at you (and let you try other flutes) if we could manage a get-together, though that’s not the easiest thing to sort when we’re about 120 miles apart.
Don’t forget about the headjoint/emboucure hole. I’d be looking there first before questioning the tone holes. If I stick the headjoint from my Forbes on my old Tony Dixon conical which has very small holes:
it’s very out of tune (but that’s not the point)
the tone is greatly improved
playability and responsiveness are greatly improved.
I knew someone from Yankdom would jump in on that. Thing is, on our roads with our traffic etc. it’s about a 3 hour drive from Wrexham to Ystradgynlais. Google-map it and see! And with our fuel prices, even in a pretty economical Diesel car, the 2-way journey would cost about £25.
I’ll say that when I was a beginner, I found the Bleazey MUCH easier to play than the first two or three flutes I tried to learn on. It has a fairly deep chimney, and (or thus) a very forgiving embouchure. I still find the sound very satisfying, although I can’t coax the sound out of it that I can out of an Olwell.
Hi Gerrraint,
your flute (number 0901) is an S2, so it’s my large hole model!
I must admit that my large hole flute has smaller holes tham most flutes described as “large holed”, they are larger than the S1 .
Sorry to add to your confusion!
Dom
Not to muddy the waters or anything, but lately I’ve been really enjoying playing my self-restored antique Hall and Sons 6-key. It has significantly smaller toneholes that any other flute I’ve played for more than a quick trial, and I find it much easier to add ornaments. The old style, oval embochure takes some getting used to, but after a tune or two I can get a nice reedy sound from the flute. It will never be quite as loud as my Hawkes model Paddy Ward, or Pratten Seery, but with enough focus it seems adequate. I’m really liking the smaller toneholes, and can now understand what Terry is getting at with his GLP (which the Hall resembles very closely). Some day I’ll have to try it with a new headjoint and see if that makes a difference.
Caveat: I’ve not yet taken it to a session, and I have rather large hands with long narrow fingers, so YMMV.
To expand a little. I’m fully aware that I need to work on my dodgy embouchure etc, hence wanting a more forgiving flute at the moment. I should maybe have said, too, that I had a brief go on a couple of Bleazeys myself last year and found producing a stronger tone easier than on other flutes I’ve tried. Very occasionally I surprise myself by getting a good sound out of Dom’s flute. Not often enough though, and so I sought ideas!
I read a quote by Terry McGee of this parish -
"The introduction of the GLP (Grey Larsen Preferred) has been one of the best things I did - it’s made the flute accessible to a lot of players who were really struggling to get “over the hump”.
Hence my enquiry.
Jem, it’d be great if you could look at my embouchure and breathing, although the distance, the distance… Risible as that is to people in North America, eh? I remember meeting a woman who’d regularly go from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario, for a meal and back again in one night. I was amazed… That must be about the distance from the Ystrad to Wrexham, come to think of it. Couldn’t face that for a Mixed Grill and pint of shandy myself, not there and back in one night at least… perhaps for a flute lesson something could be arranged.
Radcliffe, is there a nest of flutes in Bristol? Tell me more…
Nothing the matter with getting another flute and, meanwhile,
practicing long tones (search on this if you don’t know) fifteen or more
minutes a day will do more to enable you to get the sound you
want. Looooong notes up and down the scale. Also overtone practice…
There are standard ways of dealing with your problem.
Smaller holed flutes (unless you have something with monster holes
or you have tiny hands) are not among them. Sooner or later it will
come to this. FWIW
Well, I just checked on the online AA routefinder service and it gives my house to Ystradgynlais as 120 miles and journey time as 2hrs 58mins. Good guess or what? Mind, that sticks to A roads and I know a couple of shortcuts on back roads that would take a few miles off that, though probably no time.
All of which is no help at all! Still, if we can engineer a get-together, Geraint, the offer is there. Any chance of you getting to Dolgellau for Ceri’s session at Gwesty Gwernan next Wednesday? Or there’s a (new?) monthly Welsh sesh at Llanidloes that might be a possibility for the future… go early, do flutery, then enjoy the sesh…???
Tidy. It took me about three-and-a-half hours last time I went to Chester, as I recall.
I’d like to get to Dolgellau some time but it’s difficult when I’m working during the week. Ditto Llanidloes - Cornelius did inform me of the Welsh session there, but gave no date.
If I’m able to head north at any time, i’d be glad to take you up on your kind offer.
Ditto if I come south, though if I do it is most likely to be to the Forest of Dean/Hereford area, which isn’t any better for you than Brizzle. I haven’t been in the south-western quarter of Wales since going to Pentre Ifan to record the track I was involved in on the Blodeugerdd CD 18 months or so back, and Cardiff is the nearest I’ve been to your neck of the woods since the Urdd Eisteddfod was at Margam Park!
Remember ‘Sha nôl, Sha Mlân’, our little Welsh session weekend in Ystradgynlais and Ystalyfera will be happening on the last weekend of October this year. It started well last year, should be better this. As soon as Dylan gets round to updating the website I’ll send links out.
I’ll also be co-ordinating a little Session/Workshop tent at Pontardawe festival this August, come to think of it. You (and anyone else) would be more than welcome to come down. We’ll have Welsh, Bluegrass and Irish sessions scheduled, and anything else that happens to come along. I’m looking at a Morris/English session too, perhaps.
