Well, after a long hiatus I thought I would give the flute another try. Ten years ago I sold all of my flutes and just gave it up…for a lot of reasons really. Life changes. Changes in musical priorities. But mainly my frustration at a glacial-like progress after several years of practice.
But in the intervening years I have just been haunted by the sound of the flute still ringing in my (ringing) ears and the memory of its vibration in my hands. I’d certainly rank my quitting right up there with other of the most wistful regrets in life. And looking back, I really had made progress which was difficult to measure at the time. Heck, I almost sent my very first flute back because I couldn’t even “assume the position”. Eventually I was able to coax some very satisfying tones out of the darn thing. Unfortunately, no speed whatsoever. Or tune retention. It’s like my fingers and brain just wouldn’t get with the program.
I think some of it was my method of learning. I was trying to learn the tunes off of sheet music, which I first had to teach myself how to read. Which was really dumb, considering that I taught myself fiddle tunes by first learning to whistle the tune. Why I thought it should be different for the flute is still a head-scratcher. Watching Shannon Heaton videos on youtube is encouraging.
Anyway, I thought I’d give it another go, and while I highly doubt I’ll ever get close to the session level, I realize now that that is not the important thing. It’s coaxing the inherent romance out of the instrument itself and enjoying it for its own sake.
So, I’m looking for a Garry Somers Delrin Rudall. Delrin because I don’t want to fuss with wood, but I want LIGHT delrin, and Rudall over Pratten. All my parts and pieces are now ten years older, with a litany of corresponding issues in shoulders and hands. And it will be very much like starting over, only handicapped this time, so weight along with ease of play is important. I was considering the M&E by Michael Cronnolly, but read some comments at C&F that lead me to believe that the weight would be a factor.
Cost is certainly a factor as I begin again. I also need to be able to rotate the upper three holes from the bottom three. In fact, even back when, I rotated the uppers away from the center line and the bottom three toward me. A little unconventional I would suspect, but it worked. I also appreciated having the tuning slide as it frequently came in handy just playing along with the radio or other non-Celtic music, which I did frequently.
If anyone has a G.S. that they wouldn’t mind parting with, I would put it to good use. A Copley would be my second choice, but then no tuning slide in that price range.
(p.s. It feels good to be back.)
WTB: Garry Somers Delrin Rudall, as I give it another go...
Re: WTB: Garry Somers Delrin Rudall, as I give it another go
Hi, welcome back. The name of the game, for myself, anyhow, is patience.
If a GSDR isn't forthcoming, you might contact GS and buy one.
He seems to deliver quickly and the price is OK. I've played one
at a session and like it a good deal.
If a GSDR isn't forthcoming, you might contact GS and buy one.
He seems to deliver quickly and the price is OK. I've played one
at a session and like it a good deal.
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Re: WTB: Garry Somers Delrin Rudall, as I give it another go
Hi Jim, thanks for the welcome. I did pm Garry several days ago but have not heard back. The domain for his web site is expired, so I don't know of any other way to make contact. If anyone has an idea how....?
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Re: WTB: Garry Somers Delrin Rudall, as I give it another go
I was just on his site minutes ago.roj wrote:Hi Jim, thanks for the welcome. I did pm Garry several days ago but have not heard back. The domain for his web site is expired, so I don't know of any other way to make contact. If anyone has an idea how....?
http://somers-flutes.com/
International Traditional Music Society, Inc.
A non-profit 501c3 charity/educational public benefit corporation
Wooden Flute Obsession CDs (3 volumes, 6 discs, 7 hours, 120 players/tracks)
https://www.worldtrad.org
A non-profit 501c3 charity/educational public benefit corporation
Wooden Flute Obsession CDs (3 volumes, 6 discs, 7 hours, 120 players/tracks)
https://www.worldtrad.org
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Re: WTB: Garry Somers Delrin Rudall, as I give it another go
K. Thanks for the link! The only one I'd found up to now was defunct. Muchisimas gracias!
Update 3-15: Good news. I did hear back from Garry, and he's possibly a month out from having the R&R available.
Update 3-15: Good news. I did hear back from Garry, and he's possibly a month out from having the R&R available.