Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hello folks, I'm 'fatmac', I'm retired & took up the pursuit of learning to play a musical instrument in my retirement.

First I learned to play ukulele to a reasonable level, & then harmonica, which I'm still coming to terms with, but getting better.

I have a pre used Gemeinhardt flute, bought about 2002, that I rediscovered & thought I'd give it another go, (first time around I couldn't get a consistent embouchure), but I always wanted to try a piccolo, & managed to get hold of a student model Yamaha the other week. So now I'm going to have to do a lot of practicing.

I'm also interested in fife & celtic flute.

Anyway, that's just a bit about me, thanks for reading.

hi, welcome aboard. We are mostly interested in irish flute, but some of us do play silver flute. Chime in if we can answer questions.

Thanks, Jim.

I've been taking a look around, & had come to the conclusion that it is mainly Irish music on here, but music is music, so it's all good.

Hello and welcome. I was thinking about your comments in your introduction, and I think it is wonderful that you are taking up an instrument in your retirement years. I to am a "senior," currently 74 years old; however, I'm not retired, and I took up the simple system flute a number of years ago (sometimes referred to as the Irish Flute) . For me it was a life changing event in a very positive way. I was looking for a task which would keep my mind active and supple. I also began to take music theory as a part of the lessons that I was engaged in, couldn't read music at the time. Since then, I have "branched out" and I'm in the process of learning the silver flute (Boehm Flute) as well as continuing my ongoing affair with the simple system flute. Frankly, I'm having a blast!!! For me, I found that taking lessons was a must. Found a couple of excellent teachers and take weekly lessons, have for quite sometime.

At any rate, I just wanted to commend you for taking up an instrument(s). I personally feel that it is never too late to learn. While this forum is mainly for Irish Music, I'm somewhat aware that there are those members of the forum, who also play the silver flute. I think it might be nice if Chiff and Fipple had a Boehm Flute Forum. I hope that you continue your pursuit and interest, and I hope that you find it as rewarding as I have. I might mention that the members of this forum are very helpful, patient and understanding particularly toward persons who are just beginning the journey.
Sincerely, Don

psychodonald wrote:I think it might be nice if Chiff and Fipple had a Boehm Flute Forum.

<<Digression alert>>

That reminds me of a time when I was searching everywhere to find a Paeonia Tenuiifolia, a wonderful plant that I had seen thriving in the wilds of Latvia, where it gets down to -35 deg C in winter. This was quite a while ago, and before you could find stuff just by Googling, so I was driving to nursery after nursery. Finally, I knew that I had found someone who knew what they were talking about, when the first thing the chap said to me on being asked the question, "Do you have a Paeonia Tenuiifolia?" was, "Are you a lumper or a splitter?"

Hereabouts, as far as flute goes, I'd be a lumper. A flute's a flute and yes, we're mainly into playing Irish music on it, but you can play Irish music on a Boehm flute, and you can play all sorts of other music on a wooden, simple system flute.

benhall.1 wrote:Hereabouts, as far as flute goes, I'd be a lumper. A flute's a flute and yes, we're mainly into playing Irish music on it, but you can play Irish music on a Boehm flute, and you can play all sorts of other music on a wooden, simple system flute.

Yes, absolutely! And, if you can find me a Starry Saxifrage (Saxifraga Stellaris) for my rockery when I've even tried seeds purchased over the Internet that failed to germinate, please do!

Peter Duggan wrote:

benhall.1 wrote:Hereabouts, as far as flute goes, I'd be a lumper. A flute's a flute and yes, we're mainly into playing Irish music on it, but you can play Irish music on a Boehm flute, and you can play all sorts of other music on a wooden, simple system flute.

Yes, absolutely! And, if you can find me a Starry Saxifrage (Saxifraga Stellaris) for my rockery when I've even tried seeds purchased over the Internet that failed to germinate, please do!

I will keep that in mind, Peter.

Cheers, Don (psychodonald), having something to keep the brain active was one of my reasons too.

So anyway, I acquired a fife to practice my embouchure, & am just about managing to get the notes of two octaves from it, occasionally, seems it will take a little while for my muscles to develop - just like they did on harmonica.

I don't mind being 'lumped in' with all the other blowers, it's pretty much the same instrument after all - it's just that some of us could afford the extra keys.

Benhall.1, certainly agree with your comments. I've been attempting to play ITM on the Boehm System Flute, working hard at it; will never sound like Joanie Madden, if I lived several lifetimes. I have had questions or thoughts concerning the playing of the Boehm Flute in relation to ITM, however, have been somewhat reticent to post my questions on the forum due to the preference for playing simple system flutes by the majority of forum members. I think that most forum members are basically interested in simple system flutes and may not necessarily appreciate Boehm Flute related questions/posts; just my impression, I could be wrong. That was the reasoning behind the thought of having a Boehm Flute Forum, it was just an idea perhaps it was a bad idea. BTW, enjoyed your story of lumping and splitting, I think I'm a lumper down deep. In fact, there have been times when I've been playing that some have referred to my playing as a "lump."
Cheers, Don.