My mom gave me her flute, as she was overjoyed about me playing an instrument again. Tin whistle in this case, and after 15 years of no music-making at all, and only a heavy-weight piano and accordeon before that, it was a nice pockte-size experience.
My neighbours don’t agree…
anyway, she did a little happy-dance, gave me lessons (mom used to be a music-teacher), annoyed me a lot (but she was just too happy to spoil it), and then handed me that wood box with inside that rosewood flute…
it looks lot like this one:
So I can get some sound out of it, not decent yet, but it will get better before my neighbours move
but the thing I can not figure out is: what are the two holes for at the end? My mother did not know it either
they have little influence on the tone, but with the holes open the tone is more round (my native tongue is dutch, I am note sure ‘round’ is the word you would use).
Is that the only purpose? or did I miss the point of the holes?
On eight-key flutes those bottom holes would have keys so that you could go down to a C and C#.
Many people would say that the extra length of the footjoint is either aesthetic or gives balance when you hold it.
Some people think it adds a bit to the sound.
I think it’s more a question of aesthetics than anything else- it just looks better. Some really good flutes don’t have that extra length with those those two holes.
BTW, I’d bet that the flute your mom gave you is from Pakistan. It might be a bit more challenging to play than a more expensive flute. You can read about such flutes at the top of the flute forum page. It starts here: Ebay flutes
back in the day, aristrocrats would hire a servant whose sole job was to stand or sit there and cover the 2 holes at the end of the flute whenever the fluter needed to sound low C#/C. it was a time honored position bestowed upon only a few privileged servants. however, with each mistake, punishment meant a finger would be removed from the servant’s hands. then when no fingers were left, they used their toes. then finally someone invented keys.
They’re residual leftovers from the 19th Century 8 key wooden flutes, which had keys covering C and C# below the bottom D. Modern makers try to copy the bore details and dimensions of such flutes in order to imitate their distinctive sound, but because everything’s interrelated, the bore shape higher up is influenced by the bore shape at the bottom of the flute, which obliges makers to reproduce the holes and bore length even though the instrument they’re making isn’t intended to play down to the bottom C.
Seriously, those holes vent the flute these days. They do serve a purpose. A flute without them is shorter. Yes, they are a vestage of the 8 key flute, but a necessary one if you want the length.
Does your flute have a name on it? Just curious, the pic is of a middle eastern made flute, but you said it was similar…and all keyless Irish flutes tend to look pretty similar.
But with regards to flutes, some folks say, as Jim mentioned, that it improves the lower ocatve…but several flute makes seem to report it’s more of a personal preference kind of thing.
For an acoustical reason, to improve the overall power of the flute.
Categorically uttered. But unproven. Just another myth that some people buy into.
If Martin Doyle, Casey Burns, et. al., thought that two useless holes improved the “overall power of the flute” you can bet they’d add the length and the two holes. Most flute-makers I’ve spoken to think that the vibrating column – the sounding length – stops at the first hole. I agree with them, but aesthetically I prefer to have the extra, unnecessary length, along with the two holes. To my eyes it looks better and in my hands it feels better.
Is this another can of worms? Do some makers really think there is a measurable difference in the sound that is made by the extra length and the two holes?
Is it to do with the strength of the harmonics, like the way the Eb key changes the tone but not the pitch of some notes, particularly cross-fingered ones ?
Here’s where we shine the “Terry Signal” on the clouds and Terry-Man McGee swoops in with some really cool plots of the Fourier Transforms of one of his flutes with and without the extra length with holes. I’m sure you’ve done it Terry, because you say the following on your web site:
The Short D foot is acoustically identical to the Integral Foot; the extra ring to the right of the 6th hole breaks up the bare wood. The Long D Foot looks like the C foot on the original 19th century flutes, but has no keys, just the holes where the keys would have been. I rework the bore of the Long D foot to prevent it weakening the low D as the C foot can do. It offers a slightly better weight balance than the Short or Integral Feet, and perhaps looks a little more elegant.
Prattens models have all six finger holes are on the long central section, and the foot is already separate. So the choice here is between the Long D Foot or Short D foot.
…and…
I recommend a D foot for Irish music (rather than the original C foot), unless you know you are going to need the low C and C# keys. If space is at a premium (eg cramped sessions or stage) the short D is ideal. On flutes with a short D foot, I shorten the head a little to maintain a good weight distribution. Many prefer the Long D, feeling the extra length is more visually satisfying and affords a better balance of weight. I rework the bore of the Long D foot so that it does not weaken the low D.
thanks a lot for all the answers!
I am glad to know I can just ignore te holes for now, I can’t reach them anyway and I don’t have a servent (yet)
the flute in the picture is not mine, it’s just a picture I found on the internet, but mine looks a lot like it. I’ll take a picture from mine soon to show, and look for a name on it.
again, thanks for all the answers, and some grin-moments
As Carey’s later post suggested, we need Terry-Man on the scene, for definitive answers!
However, consider an ordinary tuning fork. Strike it, and it vibrates, from one end to the other, and so perhaps a tuning fork could be seen as a sonic radiator. Similarly, perhaps a flute could be seen as a sonic radiator, too, and although the power input is different, a tone played on the flute, especially at full power, could set the entire flute into vibration, from one end to the other. So, if it’s the body of the tuning fork which distributes its sonic radiation, then it stands to reason that it’s the entire body of the flute which distributes its sonic radiation, too, and so, and within limits, no doubt, the bigger the flute, the more it could radiate, hence, the more power it could develop. Anyway, that’s the theory.
Yet, I prefer the extra length simply because it usually improves the overall balance of a flute.
Maybe. But, some folks with a patent on vibration damping O-rings claim that by stopping things adjacent to or which contain the vibrating air column less energy is absorbed making that thing move and more stays as sound. They specifically mention gun barrels, fiddle and cello bows and flutes and benefiting from the O-rings that dampen the sympathetic vibration. I put some on my Hammy Practice Flute because it’s so light and vibrates easily. I think it got louder but I must say I didn’t measure it. I sounds “better” at least, that’s safely subjective. (I hope)
But that to is just claims as far as I’m concerned. I can mic my nach Meyer flute just about anywhere other than the embouchure, and the sound level is pretty constant. The embouchure is louder of course. And a little hissy.
The presence of the two, seemingly unused holes at the end of a non-keyed Irish flute has been well-explained, but the question as to which is better, the 6-hole or the 8-hole flute, has not. To find a satisfactory answer, I refer to the numerological significance of the numbers six and eight.
Six has primary meanings of determination, completion, and protection. Romance and artistic interests rule the person with this number. Whereas, eight has primary meanings of patience, perserverance, deep seeded goal, and earthly wisdom.
Without having to dig any deeper into esoteric aspects of each number, how can there be any doubt that 6-hole flutes are the flute-of-choice for the serious musician. The 8-hole people many have patience and perserverance, but they just don’t have much natural flair for artistic inclinations in their lives.
thank you for the welcome
I like fast-moving forums. It makes looking at the new posts every day worth the efford
it all makes very interesting reading though, because I am a total newby at the flute, I am not new to music so far I understand everything, except for some jokes which I need to reed twice before I understand it is not serious.
