I’m a new convert to celtic music. A lead jazz guitarist for about 8 years (im 20 now) I’ve recently fallen in love with tinwhistle/flute. I’ve been learning pretty quickly on my home-tweaked clarke basic ( I love it, only 8 dollars and it sounds like a god)
My question is, I’ve been having a lot of trouble with the hall crystal flute and its high breath requirements. Its probably a beginning embouchre problem but im not sure. Are there any experienced flute players who think the crystal flutes are viable instruments? or is this going to limit my learning? I love its tone when i can get it but im worried about getting discouraged.
-would love to hear clips from anyone experienced on a crystal flute -
thanks… I kinda figured out now you can get good soft tone out of it but not much else. oddly, instead of being discouraging its fun trying to get good tone out of a challenging flute. Unfortunately, all the rentals at my local music shops are the 21 key or whatever models… guess I’ll learn the basics on this then switch to a wooden 6 hole + chromatic keys flute once i can afford one… a hamilton someday?
hah… i do love how celticy (not a word) the low rolls sound on it. and it makes the zelda theme wonderful…
i like my hall crystal flute in D. i’m an amateur and i’m not playing itm. i’ve played my flute at funerals and in church. folks compliment me. i can’t play fast songs on it. i’ve only played my crystal flute, a pvc that i made myself, and a silver flute so i don’t have a wide range or depth of experience. i’ve dropped it from a height of 6 feet (2 meters) onto a hardwood floor and nothing happened to it.
The glass tubing used for the Crystal flutes is fairly thin, and in order to get a more-or-less adequate thickness for an embouchure hole, the edge of the embouchure hole is rolled upward, if I recall correctly. I haven’t had any trouble playing the Crystal flutes, but I think that the embouchure required is different than that used for the standard flute embouchure, where the blowing edge slopes down into the bore of the flute.
I wouldn’t be caught dead in a pub with one; too “Keltic” for me.
Though as Rhonda Larsen writes in the following link, she went to a session in Doolin with hers, and apparently her sessionmates thought it was pretty cool. And Rhonda Larsen makes a pretty good living doing what she does … a lot better living than I do with my pathetic little wooden flute!
Yah. But can you say “sponsorship” (Rhonda Larsen is on their website)?
Rhonda studied with Sir James for a bit (among others) and can play the cr*p out of a toothpick (translation: she’s bloody good and a toothpick would be simple and silly but maybe difficult to play). So she can show up with a toothpick and no one is going to say a word because she’s got better chops than 99% of anyone there.
But most of us show up to a session with a toothpick and we’ll get snickered at.
