Flute crutch?

[jim stone]

This relates to our discussion about wrist and hand problems playing the flute. Flute crutches seem to have been common at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. They seem still to be sold by outfits like flute world, at least for bass flutes. I see no reason why they couldn't be attached to wooden flutes. The question is what do they do, what are they for exactly. Did they straighten the left wrist? And so on. As a number of us have had problems with a bent wrist and its
aftermath, is this an ergonomic option?

[jim stone]

A picture of the beast. https://www.fluteworld.com/product/pear ... nd-crutch/

https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/ ... tion=click

http://www.oldflutes.com/im/crutch.gif

[GreenWood]

I like the idea Nicholson used (except for the possibility of disrupting the flute's resonance)...




...because I notice the extra effort needed to hold a wider bored flute compared to the renaissance one. Also, and this is counterintuitive, I find the right hand is in a more relaxed position with wider spaced toneholes 4, 5 and 6. As guitarist, learning to originally stretch for a wider spacing on a renaissance flute was almost second nature, but now playing Rudall layout I have to twist the wrist to bring fingertips closer together...the toneholes would extend away onto the opposite side and wider for a now natural reach, that or just more widely spaced with the flute tilted away slightly.

I don't expect many others share the same style of hold though.

[busterbill]

I seem to remember Jem hosting some discussion regarding these. They were used for the simple system flute's orchestra days. But not by many. There is something called a flute cushion that is a silicone pad that sticks on to a modern flute. I am not sure if they would give you any relief. They are flexible and basically stick on the flute. In our case it would add a bit of thickness which could shift your wrist position enough to provide a change which might provide some relief. There is something called a Fingerport that clips on to the flute and looks more like a modern version of a crutch. Unfortunately it appears that would be something that could not clip on to a simple system flute very easily. You can see both of those at the Flute Center of New York site.

[Juan Pablo Plata]

I use 4 modifications right now in my keyed flutes: cheap and easy to install.

Tomorrow I´ll post some images.

[Conical bore]

It's interesting to see all the various aids people have come up with, although it would seem that the vast majority of fluters playing in the Irish tradition use flute holds that don't require external aids. Which makes me somewhat suspicious of the utility of external aids, unless it's addressing one person's specific injury or disability, which is perfectly understandable. All our flute heroes (or at least my flute heroes) in this music do fine without external aids on their simple system flutes.

Which isn't to say that we don't all have pet peeves. Mine is how my RH thumb tip tends to slip when pressing against the lower body of the flute for a stable hold. I've considered attaching some felt or Moleskin to the flute at that point. Or maybe just rubberising my thumb tip somehow.

I'm also not thrilled about the arrangement of the G# and long Fnat key touches on my very close Rudall copy Aebi keyed flute. I've seen arrangements for those keys that look like they might be easier to hit. Although of course that comes with the risk that if you get used to it, you won't find it on another maker's flute. There is something to be said for consistent designs and just getting used to them, in case we want to trade up or sideways some day.

[jim stone]

I use 4 modifications right now in my keyed flutes: cheap and easy to install.

Tomorrow I´ll post some images.

I really would like to know about those installations, if you have a moment. Thanks