I bought and started playing a low D sweetheart flute in January. A few months later I bought a Fred Rose with tuning slide from ebay. I have my flutes permanently assembled and at my side when I’m working (or playing computer games) so I can just pick them up and diddle around a bit while I’m thinking. The sweetheart is much easier to play, it has a lovely woody tone and I can get it to honk nicely. The Fred Rose was more difficult but I can now get a nice tone out that too now. It’s much clearer on the second octave. I found that playing a more difficult instrument really helped my embouchure.
So what next? Should I buy a flute or fife in another key? If so which one? I used to always play in the Key of A when I played guitar. G is apparently another popular key for Irish music. Not that I play with other people, although I’d like to. I live in Scotland and have more interest in Scottish folk music than Irish. Am I right in thinking that a smaller fife will be more difficult to play than a larger one? Or should I stick to the key of D?
Over-acquiring is something many of us are guilty of. As cool as it is to try them all out, you really only need one D flute. You might want to focus on one of your two D flutes and let the other go.
As for the smaller ones, Eb and F flutes are a real blast to play, and good for embouchure development. I have a great blackwood Sweetheart F that gets a lot of play at home. A lot of modern makers are producing nice Eb flutes, too. A good Eb, perhaps a Copley, will probably be my next indulgence!
If you search, you’ll find a number of threads about all this. Cheers!
There is nothing stopping you playing STM on your D flute, but if your FlOA is kicking in, instead of a flute in another key, why not get a keyed D flute. (Or a practice chanter ).
I’m in a classical flute ensemble in which we play alto and bass flute. One of my partners has this ridiculous contraption, the contra-bass flute. Tried it, hated it, good only for low percussive sounds, worthless in my opinion (man, I’m harsh this morning). But quite a novelty, an expensive one at that. Hey, it’s made of PVC.
Aside from the musical possibilities, each has a specific potential benefit to your D flute playing. A lower flute will make you work harder; D will seem positively easy afterward. A higher flute will show you and your embouchure the thrilling feeling of getting the air column completely excited and the flute body humming, much easier than on the D flute.
So, try a C first, then maybe an F. If you like the key of A, substitute an E flute for the F. A will come out when you play using G fingerings.
If I had ten months into playing and two very decent D flutes on-hand already, I’d spend my money on as many Irish flute CDs as I could find. And then I’d listen to them non-stop. I wouldn’t worry about different-pitched flutes at this point, if it were me. I still say the best way to work toward “mastering” this at first is to play as much ITM as possible on a regular D-pitched flute. You’ll have lots of time to expand into other pitches later, unless you play with others in alternate keys at the moment (in which case such a flute would serve a practical purpose).
I guess what I’m saying is that it sounds like you’re pursuing alternate-pitched flutes as a matter of curiosity. At this point in your playing you “curiosity” should be focused on what you can do with your existing D flutes. Then again, I’m certainly no expert.
If I were concentrating on Scottish tunes I would want an Eb that would be able to tune to higland pipes for playing in Bb mix (my Eb antique is plenty sharp and works for this) and an E for playing in A major. Most Scottish bands playing with a piper generally have an Eb flute. Only really for playing with others a D will do the same just at a different pitch. For playing with most small pipers your d will do. I have a keyed E piccolo or fife stamped b and s dulcet that is great but the fingering is awkward due to its tiny size. If you want affordable Doug Tipple probably makes an Eb and E or maybe Billy Miller or another bamboo maker. Hammy Hamilton and Jil Lehart come to mind for a conical keyed or keyless E.There are probably others.
That’s interesting to know. I always wondered who used an Eb. I wouldn’t dare take up the bagpipes because there are just too many decent players around. But playing a flute or fife in that setting could be quite good.
There’s also something to be said for sticking to one key and just listening to what can be done on a single instrument. But then there’s the question of how to find out about the flute players out there and getting their recordings. I’d love to get some music to jam to rather than just play by myself. So getting flutes in different keys could help me find music for this purpose.
I don’t know anyone to play with at the moment. I just really enjoyed the challenge of learning to get a nice sound out of the flute. I pretty much did the same with the guitar many years ago, just sat in a bedroom as a teenager learning to jam on it and keep time etc. So maybe I should sell my flute with the tuning slide. I thought that perhaps getting a flute in a different key would give me another challenge and make me work at my embouchure more.
If I had the space I’d take up home recording again but that’s not an option at the moment.
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