Today's visit to Uprite Headjoint maker

[JessieK]

A while back, someone posted this link on the board.

http://www.drelinger.com/whyplay.htm

I was very intrigued and thought about this headjoint for a long time. Well, today, my mom and I went to visit Sandy Drelinger, maker of the Uprite Headjoint for Boehm flutes. It really is an amazing innovation. He spent five years researching and developing not only the headjoint itself, shaped kind of like a seven and also convertible to a straight headjoint, which makes it possible to play a flute in whistle position, but also the accessories that temporarily attach to the flute near both thumbs and a few other places and take the weight aspect completely out of playing the flute. There is a thingie on the bottom that makes it rest comfortably on the right knee if you want it to. I think it's an extremely cool invention.

Sandy, himself, is a really fun Jewish New Yorker. He seemed to enjoy our company and was eager to show us around the studio. Here's a joke he told...

------------------
Jewish middle aged woman: Mom, where do you want to be buried when you die?

Her mom: Under Bloomingdale's.

The first woman: Why there?

Her mom: That way I know you'll visit me everyday.
--------------

Hee hee!

Jessie

[DrGiggles]

Yeah, I've got a platinum Air-Reed headjoint from him. It's really wonderful in orchestral work; however, for soloing, the edgy sound helps it carry.

I dunno, however, playing my Powell vertically like a whistle seems... umm... odd.

[JessieK]

Is odd a problem?

I think the Uprite would be excellent for practicing and getting to know a piece...that way the fingers learn their thing without pain or discomfort of any kind, and then if you need to perform in public, you just switch to the regular configuration.

Jessie

[DrGiggles]

Hey Jess,

Nope, odd isn't a problem... odd is just, well, odd.

Pain? Discomfort?? Haven't felt those playing the flute since Marching Band.

Want to see odd? Apparently the new fad in musical instruments are transparent bodies. I just got a catalog for clarinets and saxophones with Blue, Green, Purple and Red transparent bodies. eek. shoot me now!

-Frank

[rich]

It seems to me that changing the headjoint on a Boehm flute without changing the location of the keys would make it harder, not easier, to play -- after all, the keys are placed so that they fall where your fingers land when holding it transverse.

For a demo, grab a low-D whistle you have to play with piper's grip, hold it transverse, and see if you still need piper's grip. (I don't on my Howard.) There's a lot more physiology involved than just the arms!

<ul>-Rich</ul>

[jim stone]

I checked the website. Gee that looks
interesting. I've heard flutists talk
about the long term physical difficulties of
holding a transverse flute, and
I know a professional who really
struggles with endemic pain.
Apparently there is an attachment
that enables one to stand up and rest
the flute on the floor.

Let me ask people what their experiences
are with the physical effects of the transverse flute? One opinion, expressed above, is that there isn't much trouble.
As said I've heard the opposite, too.
What do you think?

Here's my Jewish mother joke (you've
probably heard it):

How many Jewish mothers does it take
to change a light bulb?

Answer: None. 'It's alright! I just
sit here alone in the dark.'

[JessieK]

Jim, that's so funny! I hadn't heard it. I have back pain that goes back many years. The position of playing flute hurts my upper back.

Rich, I don't understand what you mean...a flute is easier to finger than a low whistle in terms of finger stretch..especially a Boehm flute. If you take an Irish flute and turn it into whistle position, it's plenty easy. I wish low whistles had the same finger spacing as flutes. I never use piper fingering anyway.

Jessie

[rich]

Rich, I don't understand what you mean...a flute is easier to finger than a low whistle in terms of finger stretch..especially a Boehm flute.

When I hold my Howard low D vertically, I have to play piper fingering, otherwise my wrists are at an awful angle, or my elbows are sticking straight out. When I hold it up as if it were a flute, I don't have to use piper fingering.

I don't have a Boehm flute handy, but I can think of a couple of keys on the sides that would be in awkward places if I were holding it out like a clarinet with my palms further away from the flute.

<ul>-Rich</ul>

[JessieK]

If it were just an Uprite headjoint put on a Boehm flute, side keys might seem tog et in the way, because if you had to hold the weight of the flute, your hands might not stay in exactly the right place, but he includes attachments that lean against the hand and thumbs, so your hands are kept in the right place for comfort and playability. It's a weird-looking great thing.

Jessie

[rich]

On 2001-10-26 12:16, JessieK wrote:
It's a weird-looking great thing.

Hey, just like me! Now I can relate.

<ul>-Rich</ul>

[Daniel_Bingamon]

I mentioned in the whistle forum, "I wonder what whistles will be like in a 100 years?". They'll probably all have keys with Boehm fingering system.

BTW-Since I attend a Messianic Jewish Congregation - This joke is for all of you.

Back in the days of King Arthurs Court a group of men where trying out for Knighthood.
All of them doing successful until each had to sing a song in latin before the king.
One of the knights was jewish and he knew no latin.
When it came his turn, quick thinking gave him a great idea.
He began to sing, Mah Nishtana Ha Lilah Hazeh, Mikol Halelot, Mikol Halelot.. etc. (it a passover song in hebrew) that asks questions.
Translated, "Why is this night different than any other night?"

At the end, the King arose bewildered, knighted the men and asked the question, "Why is this Knight different than any other knight?"

If you have ever gone to a passover, then you might get this joke.