Hi All
Having struggled to keep a good tone going , I changed my grip from pipers to classic and I have to say , despite having problems ornamenting the b note ( rolling) , the improvement in tone , and ability to play longer passages while maintaining good tone is marked , in fact brilliant. I will need time to roll the B note , but except for that , I feel I have made a huge jump forward.
Ballygo
I am at an early stage with the flute and grip is something that concerns me (embouchure, and breath control are right up there too of course!). I have played the whistle for a while now and am happy with pipers grip on low D’s. My span is not huge (about 8") and pipers is much easier with the left hand. I am aware from what I read that this may hold me back a bit. Moving those left hand fingers about on a Tipple (which does not have large spacing issues) with classic grip feels arthritic at best. I default to pipers as it is easier but feel I should persevere. Your experience Ballygo suggests again that it may well be worthwhile to keep going classic.
cheers
Stephen
Hi Ballygo,
I have had a similar debate with myself about this. On the one hand, there is no doubt that my tone is much stronger and more consistent with classical grip on the left hand, but I have real problems rolling the B. So I have wondered whether I should go with piper’s (with which I have little problem rolling the B) and hope my tone improves or go with classical and hope I can eventually roll the B consistently. (I have long fingers, which might make rolling the B more difficult.) I have been leaning towards the latter, but I occasionally flirt with the idea of going back. I think in the end the difference for me is that I am able to control the flute better (in the sense that it never feels as if it might fall out of my hands) with classical and that’s why my tone is more consistent with that grip.
In any event, I just thought you might be interested to know that someone has had a similar experience with tonal differences between the two grips. Good luck on whatever you decide.
T
While it is hard to roll the B at first with classical, it will come.
May I ask why in the world one’s grip should affect the tone one produces?
Rob
gotta be one in every crowd 
trouble maker!
Oh, that’s me all right!
Let me put it another way: I don’t believe your grip should have any effect whatsoever on your tone. Get your hands right first, then make the necessary adjustments to your headjoint. Don’t let your hand position dictate what your embouchure is doing, or vv.
Rob
ya know Rob, it isn’t easy to get the flute to stay at yer mouth…
no matter how hard ya suck
the air comes right through that darn hole
Try blocking up all the other holes, Denny. If the flute still keeps falling to the floor, you’ve probably got a leak. And a few cracks, where the flute fell to the floor.
Terry
how do you reach the one in the far end?
wouldn’t it be a lot easier if there wasn’t any holes?
Now I should just add that it would be a mistake to think there are two options, pipers grip and classical. There are at least three, and variants of them:
This last one comes from the period our flutes come from, which should be enough reason to take a good look at it. It’s sometimes called the Rockstro grip, but in fact he was one of the last to use it, not the first. I use a variant of it, and find it very helpful in terms of controlling the flute while keeping the right hand fingers flexible. To find out more, check out:
http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Rocksto_on_holding_the_flute.html
Terry
Place the far end against a wall and lean to the right. Also helps stabilise the flute.
wouldn’t it be a lot easier if there wasn’t any holes?
Much easier, and better for quiet practice.
You really know more about flute than you let on, don’t you!
Terry
Umm… I don’t think that’s normal mate.
I’d see the doctor about that and at the very least try to clinch up a bit or you’ll give the missus a stomach ache.
I did date someone for a while in the late '60s that said that she had played flute for a couple of years!
You mean the smallish hole at the far end of the flute?
You don’t cover that hole with a finger, Denny.
That’s the one you blow in.
Practice, practice, practice.
other end Jim…the other end 
I’m not one of those left handed players 
Eh, you guys… running the thread into the ditch again. I would never do anything like that! 
But looking at the OP’s question, I’ve tried the piper’s grip a few times and I can never get a good seal on the tone holes. That could certainly have an effect on the tone. It did for me anyway.
Regards,
Kirk
Hey, I’m not either! I stand on my head.
Necessary to enlist my toes in ‘fingering.’
What Kirk said. But “ditch” is too kind. The thread had possibilities when it began.
Well, it still has possibilities. And I’m just and guilty as the next guy when it comes to driving threads off-track.
Now, about those tone holes… 