What I mean is, do you play simple-system and Boehm-system flutes?
I have a Bundy student model metal band flute (my sister’s old school flute). It plays pretty well, I think, but I feel positively useless and clumsy playing it. I know what you might say: Practice, practice, practice! But, anyone who goes both ways have any suggestions? What should I practice? Just scales? I can’t possibly play any Irish tunes yet (the whole F vs. F# thing is killing me, even though I’m originally a sax player). I always feel like I’m going to drop the darn thing when I play B, C and C#. I just can’t get used to planting my right pinky on the E-flat key either, and most times when I do, I forget to lift it again for the D’s (you’ve probably guessed my Irish flute is keyless - when I key that baby, I’ll have the same issue, no?).
Short of picking up a beginner flute book, can anyone offer anything concrete (besides “Practice, practice, practice”)?
Play the Bundy for 100 hours, and it will fee more natural, but never like an old friend. That is about as constructive as I can muster at this moment.
I play both. Simple system for jigs n’reels and Boehm for the airs. But I am considering using a lowD whistle for the jigs n’reels. Wood flutes are cantankerous.
Swapping back and forth is a real pain. I suggest you stay with one or the other. Don’t mix like I do because it screws up my embouchure for both.
You ask what to practice to get up to speed on a boehm system, well… if you intend to play only Irish music then concentrate on the two keys Dmaj and G maj. Use F# fingering (right hand center finger not ring finger)) Yep play the scales a lot. Don’t bother with the top octave as you never find it in Irish music. Just go to the first D in the top octave, practicing basically only two octaves, you rarely if ever need lower than lowD either but you must use your RH pinky on the D# it’s not optional for holding the flute. And you must lift your left index for the second octave D, on simple system this is optional depending on the flute but on boehm it is a must. The octave cross-over is harder on boehm because of the thumb movement. Also bear in mind that the cross-over is as much to do with the mouth and breathing as fingering, get the embouchure tight enough and it gets a lot better sounding (matching tonality in octaves) Always start your daily practice on the G or A in the middle octave, always without fail, and work down from there, James Galway tells us this, and it works. Don’t practice your low octave at all until after you have good sound on the middle octave under no condition start practice in the low octave, never ever. Then work down and you will find the embouchure used in the middle octave gives you a stronger sound lower down. Use the up-side down embouchure top lip curved down at edges over the lower lip which is flat on the lower teeth, not the smiley embouchure of lower lip curving up, again James Galway talking and it works. After a while you will find that playing only two octaves you hardly change the mouth at all from top to bottom notes, its all in the breathing and getting the embouchure right for the middle octave G or A and using it all the way down, I cannot discern any movement in my own embouchure at all across the two octaves you will be using although I suspect there is some but it’s microscopic and I’m simply used to it and can’t see it myself. The top octave higher up definately gets very much tighter, however you won’t be going up there anyway, and below D (the footjoint notes) is harder especially low C but you won’t be going down there in Irish music either.
Hope this helps. Honestly the simple system is a lot easier to get up to speed on if you can handle these pesky little oval embouchures.
I play both, as well. The Eb pinky key is pretty much something that you’ll have to get used to. And as for the F#, I’ve been taught that you’re supposed to use your ring finger (I think that would be considered the D key). I use my middle finger to play F#. It makes life just a little easier.
Most Blues/Jazz players use the middle finger.
Partly because it matches the sax,
whoever the timbre is more suited to those genres.
fyffer, you might want to check the Larry Kranz site.
There is one of those eMail forums there that you can search after you check the FAQ page. (Many of the tips have been collected there.)
…and links to other Boehn sites.
I play both having been a long time boehm player and ocassional whistler I now play the simple system flute nearly everyday. And it has done wonders for the tone in the bottom octave of the boehm. But it has kinda destroyed the thrid octave embouchure. So I’m interested in the advice to start practice in the second octave - I’ll have to try it from now on, sounds like good advice to me! And to cross fertilise this thread with another, I keep the boehm embouchure hole bang in line with the keys/holes, whilst for the simple system (Copley unkeyed blackwood) I turn in the head joint to line the back edge of the emb hole with the centerline of the tone holes.
I occasionally play some swedish tunes having been to a workshop by Emma Johansen, and the boehm makes the microtones possible and repeatable!
