Recommendations for a first time wooden flute owner?

[est]

Hello there. I am very much looking forward to receiving my very first wooden flute in a few days and I wonder if folks have any suggestions for someone in my shoes. I had really hoped to buy delrin for my first real flute, but I'm not the most patient sort...and this one looked like a good choice and was in my price range.

I have ordered a small air tight box and a humidity monitor as well as cork-grease and material for cleaning it. I saw the discussion of almond oil in another thread, so I'll be looking to grab some of that as well.

the flute I'm getting is this one https://www.irishflutestore.com/collect ... cus-silver, so there are keys. Blaine sent me a link to a video about cleaning/care and the suggestion about removing the keys makes me more than a little nervous, but hopefully I have a few weeks before I have to worry about that.

Is there anything I should be thinking about? Also, not that it matters any time soon, but what do people who get one of these old flutes usually do about cases. It doesn't look like this one will have one and it seems wise to carry such an item in some sort of protective case when carrying it out to play. Most of what I've seen that wasn't for a boehm style flute was for 3 pieces and this one has 4.

[Flutern]

Hi,

It's a gorgeous flute, and it's great if it plays as A=440. (These antique French flutes are usually tuned to A=435.) French flutes tend to have a narrow bore and small holes, which makes them very comfortable to hold and play.

If I were you, I wouldn't remove the keys when I oil the flute: this flute has post-mounted keys, not block-mounted keys, so they are a little bit more difficult to put back properly. What most people do is to wrap the pads with cling film when they oil their flute. Just make sure not to put (too much) oil on the tone holes, or make sure they have properly dried before you remove the cling film.

Taking care of wooden flute is not that difficult: swab it properly after playing, let it dry before closing the box, and oil it once in a while. I live in a climate that's really dry in winter and really damp in summer, and I've never had a problem so far.

Regarding cases, a lot of people seem to use gun cases. (I had one at some point and didn't like it at all, but that's just me.) it's very common to keep the lower section and the foot together, so you might be able to fit your flute in a 3-section case. Northwind makes nice custom cases, but they are pricey. Some makers sometimes make cases for other flutes.

[an seanduine]

Oh my, what a good looking flute. And from the hands of two master craftsmen! I´m sure it will be a lot of fun.

Cocus does not need a great deal of oil.

If on the very slight chance you have a skin reaction where your mouth and chin touch the wood, you can use the ´clear fingernail polish trick´. Works a treat.

Pat Olwell is always looking for these flutes ´of a certain age´. He has said it was a ´golden era´ of French flute making.

I have several flutes (however anonymous) quite similar. I rather like them.

Mine only need a very sparing application of jojoba oil.

Bob

[est]

So glad to hear I shouldn't remove the keys. That was something I wasn't looking forward to at all (I can easily imagine losing a pin or something...or worse, bending something because I was doing it wrong).

I got a message from the USPS this morning telling me it should arrive some time today...can't wait to hear that knock on my door!

[BKWeid]

Very exciting to hear you have a new flute coming today. The Irish Flute Store is a very good source with great customer service. Oil and keys and maintenance... It all seems intimidating, however, in the end, loving and caring for your flute is not too difficult. You'll manage.

I look forward to hearing more about your experience with the new flute.

[jim stone]

Also one of the 'light on the oil' crowd.

[Jeggy]

Oddly enough Est, the flute you bought popped up at the same time as the one I bought.

https://www.irishflutestore.com/collect ... lver-8-key

I already have a 'couple' other flutes but have always wanted an antique, cocus, 8 key and this seemed to tick all the boxes for me.

It arrived thursday after crossing the Atlantic, so from purchase to in my hands took about 4 days. That's pretty good.

I was going to post up something very similar about caring for an antique, and whether there were any different requirements. Like you, the keys excite and scare me in equal measure.

I would say, the flute is beautiful. However, compared to my more beefy flutes by modern makers, it feels incredibly thin and light. When I first opened it I thought, 'oh noes, it's like a flute in F and I didn't read the description carefully enough!' However, it's the same length as my other flutes, just thinner.

I did get a mild reaction from the cocus I think. Lips were a bit tingly after playing it for 10 minutes on Thursday. I played it again today for about 15 minutes and it didn't feel like my reaction was as bad, maybe just a slightly noticeable tingle. Hopefully it continues to diminish, otherwise I'll have to look into that clear nail polish trick.

Biggest downside is my hands feel gargauntuan and the space seems very limited with all the keys. So there's a lot to get used to.

I did give it the merest touch of oil, but mainly, just playing to very sparingly to let it settle into the new environment.

I wish you much joy with your new flute!

[est]

So, for those of you that are familiar with these types of flutes, am I doing anything wrong if D, E and F# are not in tune? The F# is just a bit flatter than the D (which is OK) but the E is crazy sharp. So, walking up the D scale kinda hurts my ears.

I notice that embouchure makes a much bigger difference than on the plastic flute I've been playing for a few months now-so, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just me. But, all along the major scale, the E stands out as being distinctively off from the rest.

[jim stone]

Jeggy, whatever the long-term solution, something you can do right now (in thirty seconds) is put a strip of scotch tape below the embouchure hole, where your lip goes, so that it just creases the bottom
of the hole. Your lip will rest on the tape.
Everything I know about wood allergies suggests you should protect yourself immediately,
and this remedy is easy.

[Flutern]

So, for those of you that are familiar with these types of flutes, am I doing anything wrong if D, E and F# are not in tune? The F# is just a bit flatter than the D (which is OK) but the E is crazy sharp. So, walking up the D scale kinda hurts my ears.

On French flutes, F# is intended to be vented with Fnat (and Eb as well). Also, these flutes were meant to be played across 3 octaves, so there are some tuning compromises.

[Flutern]

I did get a mild reaction from the cocus I think. Lips were a bit tingly after playing it for 10 minutes on Thursday. I played it again today for about 15 minutes and it didn't feel like my reaction was as bad, maybe just a slightly noticeable tingle. Hopefully it continues to diminish, otherwise I'll have to look into that clear nail polish trick.

Cocuswood is a sensitizer, so once you're sensitized, it usually doesn't get better and might in fact get worse. A cleaner (and more expensive) alternative to scotch tape is this lip plate patch. It's originally for Boehm flutes, but it works on wooden flutes. It takes some getting used to, though...

[Nanohedron]

I did get a mild reaction from the cocus I think. Lips were a bit tingly after playing it for 10 minutes on Thursday. I played it again today for about 15 minutes and it didn't feel like my reaction was as bad, maybe just a slightly noticeable tingle.

Normally you'd only get a reaction where you make contact by bracing the flute against your face - the region between the bottom lip and chin. Since the lips themselves don't contact the wood, a reaction there would be highly unusual, so the tingling you describe might be due to something else. Worth keeping in mind, anyway, because if it does get better, my money says the wood had nothing to do with it. Gwuilleann's right: Sensitization never gets better, and usually gets worse. It took me 10 years to become sensitized, and from then on when playing flute, the reactions came every time and started intensifying; first it was just reddish and sort of burning, but in no time it wound up an angry purple with little weeping blisters and a whole lot o' burn. For a while I grew a soul patch to get around that problem. On the extreme end a full beard would also do the trick if looking like a beatnik isn't for you, but women don't have any such options. Since I prefer being cleanshaven, ever since then my blackwood flutes have had inlaid silver lip plates. Although not a necessary step as protections go, for me the expense was aesthetically worth it. YMMV.

After playing for a good several years with protection, one day I tried a bare rosewood flute out of curiosity, and sure enough, the burn started immediately - slight at first, but clearly ramping up. Had a red patch, too. And that, as they say, was that; didn't even get through a whole tune. Which leads me to add that once you're sensitized to one Dalbergia flutewood, you're usually sensitized to them all.

Strange, but fingers never seem to react to the wood. Must be thicker skin.

[an seanduine]

Wood sensitivity is real, and can be a bother. Cocus however, is not a Dalbergia. Technically, it is identified as Brya Ebenus.

Its common names are Jamaican Ebony or sometimes Bermudan Raintree. Like the Dalbergia ssp. or ´Rosewoods´, it can get a skin reaction.

In the late 1800´s well made flutes made in America were crafted from Cocus and sometimes Kingwood. French flutes from this same period were almost exclusively made from Palisander, which was the french name for Cocus.

They quite often were supplied finished with ´French Polish´. This preserved their beauty and also acted as a barrier against skin sensitization. (Not 100 percent effective. . .but still.) For that reason, I prefer the use of clear nail polish around the embouchure as a barrier.

Sensitivity to the true ´Rosewoods´ does not indicate sensitivity to true Cocus. Some people however seem cursed that way. (Loren )

Bob

[est]

On French flutes, F# is intended to be vented with Fnat (and Eb as well). Also, these flutes were meant to be played across 3 octaves, so there are some tuning compromises.

Ah! This could make all the difference! After I posted this, I did spend some more time playing and, while the E really is noticeably sharper, the F# really does seem to be the bigger culprit. I'll give this a try once I can do so without waking people up.

Thanks so much for this information!

[est]

Cocuswood is a sensitizer, so once you're sensitized, it usually doesn't get better and might in fact get worse. A cleaner (and more expensive) alternative to scotch tape is this lip plate patch. It's originally for Boehm flutes, but it works on wooden flutes. It takes some getting used to, though...

So, for someone who didn't experience a noticeable reaction, is it recommended to protect one's self to avoid becoming sensitive? My lips are chapped from the winter storm a few weeks back and aren't in the best shape, but I'm pretty sure I haven't noticed any additional discomfort. I am starting to wonder if this lip balm I've been using isn't prolonging the issue