I recently took up the ukulele (I figure why be mediocre on one instrument when you can be mediocre on two?) and am finding that I am having difficulty obtaining a good seal on the flute holes. It could be that I have neglected the flute while enjoying the novelty of a new romance and need to get back in practice, but I suspect that the calluses that have developed on my fingertips are the true culprit.
Have any fellow string / flute multi-instrumentalists found this, and how did you overcome or avoid it?
I gave up playing guitar and ukulele due to repetitive strain injury problems, but I never had a problem going between those and whistles/quenas. Some guitars and ukuleles have more aggressive strings than others though, and it makes a big difference as to how hard you have to press them down. I can’t advise on that as my ukuleles are both ancient, and one has much gentler strings than the other. So, ask around and try other people’s ukes to see if that might be the issue. If the problem persists even with the gentlest strings, you may have to put it on the shelf or get a keyed flute.
I wonder if it might be one of those early snags that eventually just goes away?
Most people picking up a new instrument use more grip or tension than is really needed, and learning to let that go can be one of the trickiest parts of the basic technique. In the meantime it will tend to make the skin on your fret hand harden, as will putting in more practice time than usual.
See if makes any difference if you pick up your flute just after you’ve had your hands in water for showering, cleaning or whatever. If it improves it a bit, given them a leisurely wash in warm water before you play and don’t towel the skin too much – starting with them slightly damp might help. Once your back brain’s reassured that you’re able to seal the holes okay, you might find you’re good to carry on even when the skin’s fully dried out.
The best way to keep you finger calluses from getting in the way of your flute playing to to keep up with both. Uke strings are pretty mellow but there will be changes. I’ve played fiddle and flute and it works.
I play both bouzouki and flute a lot in sessions/gigs. Never found the calluses to be too much of an issue.
The only real issue is that usually when I’m booked to play bouzouki that’s all I’m playing for the session/gig (and vice versa for flute), so occasionally I’ll be in a situation where I realize I haven’t actually played the flute for a week or so. I’ll struggle a bit more than usual for the first 10-15 minutes if I haven’t played for a bit, before getting back into the right groove. So I would also put my vote in for neglect being the culprit, more so than the calluses.