‘Maybe you need to clean the flute out after it gets all warm and juicy. That might help the problem. Condensation can make it hard to hit the bottom notes cleanly. I shake the head joint – and body – out several times during a session and I clean the flute once or twice during the session if I have to.
You probably have your own method, but I prefer my own flute cleaning protocol. For the HJ I use a stick about 16mm wide and about 5mm (.10 inch) thick, with some paper towel wrapped around the end about 3 or 4" down the length of the stick. Since the stick is flat it gets into the corner where the stopper meets the bore, so I can get the moisture out. It’s easy enough to change the paper towel when you have to.
For the body I use a bit of silk cloth (never cotton) lightly moistened with oil, either on a stick or at the end of a string with a weight on the end of it, which I pull through the flute once or twice to break up the big droplets that interfere with the sound.
When the flute gets wet you’ve probably been playing a while. Your embouchure muscles might be tired. Is it any easier to hit the low D if you set the flute down for a minute after you’ve been playing, so your lips can recover?
Might be worth a separate thread?’
Julia was kind enough to send along these helpful suggestions. The context is my struggle with my Bryan
Byrne flute. I think it is the most beautiful flute I have, FWIW, but I have considerable trouble getting
a consistent bottom D, especially when the flute gets even slightly wet. Byran’s flutes are
said to be faithful to the 19th century Rudall. This one has medium holes and is very comfortable.
I lift my chin and blow down into the hole, as instructed by Brad Hurley who has one of these, keyed.
Sometimes I don’t lift my chin and just blow and get a hard D, which sounds pretty good, but
it also is sometime there, sometimes not. Julia’s suggestions are certainly in order and I will try them,
and the problem develops very fast. I also use the Byrne headjoint with a 1840 Rudall body
and there is no problem. In fact this is the only flute on which I have this problem.
The other day I mistakenly put the bottom two sections of a Copley on the Byrne (the Byrne HJ, barrel and top finger section
remained) and voila, a powerful D. The flute on balance sounds less good because the
extraordinary second octave is diminished, slightly, but it still sounds like a rudall
and very good.
Anyone else have experiences to share with the Byrne? Suggestions. I think I’ve
played it for 7 years, probably more than any other flute. An infinity of long tones.
Thanks. I’m persuaded there is no leak. It’s keyless, the corks are very good,
I’ve tested for leaks.
Bryan is an extraordinary craftsman. The problem was there from the first.
It took me a year and a half to blow the bottom D in tune.
Some people have written me that they have trouble with the bottom notes
of the Byrne. They can’t bring them up to strength. Peter Laban once wrote describing alterations someone had
made to the Byrne to strengthen the D.
The whole thing is a puzzle. Bryan is a superb flutesmith. This is, in all other respects,
maybe one of the best flutes in the world. IMO. One of the most beautiful sounding
flutes. The bottom D is intentionally slightly flat. Don’t mind. But I want it
to a)be there consistently and b) Do something interesting.
Chris’s flutes are incomparable - you can do anything with them. Even I can do anything with them. Great bottom notes, down to the C, fantastic middle register and easy blowing third octave. Anything else you want in a flute?
Peter Laban once wrote describing alterations someone had
made to the Byrne to strengthen the D.
He most certainly didn’t.
He did write against people who are at best beginners having alterations done on flutes by other people than the original maker especially when done to rectify perceived problems that are more likely related to the skill of the player than they are to the flute.
Like you having a quarter of an inch chopped off a Murray because you couldn’t play bottom D in tune. This thread, with you describing how you can 't handle a bottom D on some flutes, only once again makes his case. I hope you see that.
He certainly dissaproved if that’s what you mean. But you are in other respects factually mistaken.
I had no problem playing the low D on the Murray in tune. Nor was I a beginner. Nor were the two flutemyths
who certified that the Murray was seriously internally out of tune. Nor have I any problem handling low Ds on
other flutes than the Byrne.
Also you’ve missed the logical point. Peter in fact DID describe alterations made to a Byrne
to strengthen the low D. He dissaproved, (as I expect he should have) but it happened.
This goes to the perception, I’ve reported others, that there are problems with the bottom of that flute.
And that’s the mystery. Because this is not the result of erratic flute making.
If other flutes work well for you, and the Byrne still isn’t clicking after some years, might it not be productive to switch to a flute you don’t have to fight? The flute is just a tool, after all. It should be an aid to creating satisfying music, not a hindrance.
