Chiff and Fipple Forums

A few years I met Mr Grinter at a festival. He tried out the Glen Watson flute I had at the time. He liked it but commented that it had a "different overtone structure" than his own flutes. The Grinters definitely feel different, but I didnt know how to express that until he made that comm...

Not all flutes have the capacity for a strong D, depite all your best efforts.

I've got one of these LeSouef flutes (with a normal embouchure, no ivory or silver) and it is the first flute I've been totally happy with after trying Reviol (airy sound - awkward stretch in right hand), McGee Pratton, early Hamilton Rudall, Watson (not as good as LeSouef) and Olwell Nicholson (too...

All the native Irish players I've met and played with have been
unconcerned about anybody's nationality. I wouldn't be surprised if
our troller is actually from the USA and has an Irish great-grandmother.

Melodic variation, rhythm, phrasing, playing well with others (adjusting on the fly to intonation, "groove", pulse, style) -- these are the important things. But having a reliable consistent tone makes it possible; it doesn't matter if it's a breathy tone, classically beautiful tone, rauco...

Reviol can pretty much do anything.

I tried an Olwell fully-lined hj on a Watson flute. It gave a
significantly stronger tone than the Watson unlined hj. The Olwell
had a larger embouchure opening - similar to my Reviol. Maybe
that's why.

Professional quality Boehm flutes sell for far more than this, so it's not
as crazy as it looks.

Still, wouldn't pay anything close to that for an instrument that only
goes to pubs and folk festivals.

Love that tune! Is it Quebecois?

Clarinet?Are you kidding? Just practice your flute more.

Wow - I thought it was a clarinet when I heard the first few notes - eerie not hearing the usual heavy vibrato

The flute is more complex for sure. It is not just the embouchure; it's all the angles involved - flute: up/down, in/out, turned in/turned out; head, 2 arms and torso: for each body part - how much to pivot, up/down Somebody could calculate the number of permutations - what would it be, 10! or somet...

Hiya Toots I play with an orthodox hold and position - usually. My low E and D are inconsistent. If I play long tones on E and D I can nail them. But when I'm playing tunes that jump around - it's hit and miss. Maybe that's because my flute joggles a little too much and I go off target? Flutes also ...

Great discussion! I'm not trying it because it's easy or healthy or [xxxx] does it, I'm trying it to
see if I can get better results that way. I'll try standing on my head too if that works

If it is 'bad', why would people like Conal O'Grada do it? I need better arguments!