A selfish beginner flute. F or G?

[Spiritchaser]

So, I’ve got a D fife and a low D flute to play with my son (and on good days my daughter).

I find that the D fife is wonderfully playful but ear melting and tricky anywhere near the top of the second octave, and really actually dangerous above that... seriously I measured 120 decibels at the bottom of the third octave. Even with earplugs that’s quite a lot... (I’m a beginner so finesse may improve this in time, but not now.)

The D flute sounds better to whatever is left of my ears, but It’s just... less fun to play. It feels slower and while I do have a relatively ergonomic flute, there’s no getting around the fact that my wide, but short fingered mole hands are sub optimal here.

I’m looking for a flute to play just on my own (when no-one is looking), I’ll just transpose everything to the key the flute is in, and if my kids want to play with me I likely won’t use it.

I can find G or F flutes made from Delrin, is there anything in particular to recommend one over the other?

Any suggestions appreciated

Thanks

[chas]

The most important is what sounds better to you? I had F and G whistles, and F just didn't do it for my ear. Eflat vs. D flutes, same thing.

I had a Sweetheart G flute I really liked. Never tried an F flute for the reason cited above.

[fatmac]

Choosing between a keyless 'F' & 'G' is a matter of sharp or flat notes, 'F' has a Bb, 'G' has a F#, so which would you be most comfortable with(?).

Having said that, I just play mine as if in the key of 'C' - but of course it is actually playing in the key of the instrument.

My most played is a Tony Dixon aluminium 'A' whistle with a flute head.

Edit: I also have high 'D' & 'C' Tony Dixon Duo aluminium whistles (comes with flute & whistle heads).

[busterbill]

Yes, those fifes are quite piercing hence their popularity in marching bands and their role back in the marching infantry days.

I think I remember your interest in keeping the budget down when you discussed this a bit ago. If that is true my next suggestion may be worthless. But if you want an nice flute in F try the Carbony. They are pleasant to play and readily available. There is a YouTube video of Sean Gavin giving one a go. They are nice instruments and priced accordingly. You could try a WTB ad in the forum since there is often someone thinking that their collection has gotten a bit bloated.

If you want to consider a low whistle you can play with your kids and off on your own, you could check out the Carbony low D with close finger spacing. It is a much less challenging low D with a very good sound.

There are more whistles available in the lower ranges than there are flutes. Generation' Bb has a good reputation and Killarney has added a C and Bb of late. But flutes in keys beyond D are far rarer.

[Steve Bliven]

Another option for either an F or G is Dave Copley. For under $350 he can get you a delrin version of either (sans rings or tuning slide but who needs rings on a delrin flute and they tune nicely on the tenon).

I have a Copley F that I keep on a table by the door to play while watching the dogs gambol in the yard. Nice sound, good intonation, easy to play, i.e., a Copley.

Best wishes.

Steve

[plunk111]

Another option for either an F or G is Dave Copley. For under $350 he can get you a delrin version of either (sans rings or tuning slide but who needs rings on a delrin flute and they tune nicely on the tenon).

I have a Copley F that I keep on a table by the door to play while watching the dogs gambol in the yard. Nice sound, good intonation, easy to play, i.e., a Copley.

Best wishes.

Steve

I second the Copley recommendation - I have a keyless F in delrin that I love!

Pat

[Squeeky Elf]

I might as well add a 3rd recommendation for a Copley Delrin F. Fantastic value and a lot of fun. Mine stays out on the dresser ready for action. Personally I like the stealthy look without the rings.

[Mr.Gumby]

As always, it depends on what you want to achieve.

A flute is not a whislte so any experience with a whistle or its tone doesn't apply to the flute.

F flutes would be the more more common.

Just before lockdowns set in early in the year I saw some nice duets of F flutes combined with Bflat and C flutes. That worked very nicely.



One of the F flutes used then was an old one played in the old Kilfenora fife and drum band so these go back a bit.

Here it is in action:

[Ronk]

Having had both Sweetheart G & F flutes (which I sadly sold) my opinion is that the F was easier to play, more pleasing to hear and missed the most.

[jim stone]

The G gives one two very useful keys, G, obviously, and C, which is quite helpful
accompanying singers. I like both G and F flutes, and G flutes are more useful
busking with singers and on many tunes. Also there is a D scale on the G flute, too.

[tstermitz]

@Jim I'd rather play the key of G on a D flute, therefore I would much prefer a flute in F over a G. They would have the easy keys of F and Bb, and possibly A. There is a huge repertoire of baroque music written for alto recorder which covers the same two octave range, i.e. F through high G.

Antique keyed F flutes are frequently available, often at reasonable prices.

[david_h]

Having had both Sweetheart G & F flutes (which I sadly sold) my opinion is that the F was easier to play, more pleasing to hear and missed the most.

Interesting to hear a comparison of two from the same maker.

I have an assortment of flutes between high and low D but as they are all from different sources, most fairly low cost, it's hard to be sure how they compare. However, my impression is that the embouchure gets more demanding (but a good 'workout') as the pitch goes up but the scale gets more 'even' as the finger holes get closer to acoustical optimum positions. Among what I have F seems to be the sweet spot. Easy to blow, good scale - and not too piercing for the neighbours.

No sure I would play it with other people much, but it's fun at home. And an easy way to G minor.

[jim stone]

A note in passing. The 'piercing' quality of higher pitched flutes is up to the player, ultimately. That is, we can learn to control the second octave so that the high notes play softly and sweetly. This is one of the advantages of transverse flute over whistle. I bought a G Olwell cane flute a year and a half ago, and the second octave was rough, loud and unpleasant. So I learned to focus my embouchure to play it softly and sweetly. I do think that it's part of the art of playing a standard D six-key to control the second octave this way, so that (for instance) one can play second octave notes more quietly than first octave, and it adds significantly to the beauty of one's tone. FWIW Also it can be tempting to let the flute soar in the second octave. Better not, IMO. Better to craft the tone of those notes.

[Conical bore]

Among what I have F seems to be the sweet spot. Easy to blow, good scale - and not too piercing for the neighbours.

I had a low F whistle for a while, it was fun. One neat thing about that and an F flute is you can easily learn all those Lúnasa tunes by ear that they play on low F whistles.

No sure I would play it with other people much, but it's fun at home. And an easy way to G minor.

I love G minor tunes. Unfortunately, all the ones I'm interested in were written by fiddlers (sigh), so the lower range of a D flute is required for most of them.

[Peter Duggan]

There is a huge repertoire of baroque music written for alto recorder which covers the same two octave range, i.e. F through high G.

I don't think that's necessarily a comfortable fit at all when an F flute has six-finger F and three-finger Bb to the recorder's six-finger G and three-finger C.