Holding a flute with offset hole?

Irish Flute
1

Hello everyone, first time posting on the forum
I receive my very first flute, a Doug Tipple pvc low D, two days ago, this is my very first time learning an instrument that require an embouchure, which is a huge challenge for me, that being said, I can already semi-consistently produce clear note in the first octave and a bit of second octave, which I am quite proud of given my background!

Anyway, there are currently few issue I can recognize that hinder my ability from keeping a stable embouchure, one is how I cannot steady the flute . I order the flute with offset on G and D hole, since I have an average(or below) hand size, being an Asian, and even so, I still have to use piper grip on my bottom hand, so I have to use piper grip+rotate my ringer finger a bit inside to match the offset position. (a picture showing how I hold my flute, https://imgur.com/a/tgFwf2Q)
But in “The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle” by Grey which I am learning from now, Grey suggest the player using the bottom hand pinky as one of the three main anchor point when holding the flute, which is physically impossible for my flute no matter how hard I try, without the help of pinky, my flute will lean on the other side quite frequently when I am playing the top notes, messing up my embouchure. One solution I can think of is to cover the bottom D with my ring finger when need, which is what I do when playing whistle, but feel a bit more clumsy on the flute. I will appreciate any suggestion from flutist here of how I can deal with this issue!

2

Hi Alancpl. I had just the same problem so maybe my experience could help you. I’m an intermediate player, with rather small ( and old ! ) hands. I have 4 keyless flutes, three with offset G and D holes, one with holes in line. My boehm silver flute has an offset G key. I find these offset G being very helpful to get a more relaxed left hand position, for both irish and classical flutes. But I find the offset D hole to be troublesome sometimes, especially if you use a piper’s grip for right hand.

The offset D hole is appropriate for a classical ( non-piper) grip, covering the holes with the tip of the finger, because it compensates for the ring finger being shorter. Even so, the fingers length varies so much from player to player, that many don’t benefit of this offset at all.
When using a pipers grip, I find it difficult to cover an offset D hole because your fingers lie almost flat on the tube. In this position a hole being in-line, on the top, is easier to close than a hole being offset, on the side of the tube. I think this is your case, because on the picture your ring finger is bent downward, seemingly to enable your fingertip to close the hole, which isn’t recommended. You could try to turn the right hand part of the flutes away a little bit.
But I would advise you to try another flute with similar hole spacing with online holes for the right hand and see if it solves the problem at least partially. If you can’t, just by a plastic tube the same diameter, drill holes in it with the same spacing, in line, and see how your right hand feels. If this solves the problem, just contact some flutes maker to order a flute with just offset G and in-line D, and sell yours. Don’t go on with a flute that doesn’t suite you.

Another problem is the right pinky finger rest. Many players don’t rest the pinky finger when playing a D because three fingers are enough to hold the flute. Some rest it for E an F#, (like for classical Boehm flute pinky on the D# key ) some play E with pinky up, and F# with pinky resting. Many players don’t recommand to rest the ring finger when playing ( other than recquired for the note ).
Anyway, on the picture it’s clear that your pinky is too far from the tube to rest. I think the reason is that he offset D forces you to bend the ring finger which makes the pinky further from the tube. With an in line D hole you would cover the hole with the first joint of ring finger which brings the pinky closer.

Important factor are your fingers sizes ( don’t seem short to me ) and the holes spacing. A large spacing between D and E holes may be troublesome for players with small hands. This varies a lot according to the model. My largest one is 40 mm ( centre to centre ), my smallest one ( the famous Casey Burns small hand model ) is just 30 mm, both being D flutes. Some models have up to 44 mm, maybe more . This makes a huge difference , as a smaller hole spacing may enable you to cover the holes with your fingertips. I play my Burns like this and my larger one with pipers grip. Hope it helps, keep playing !

3

Different flute players use different “anchor” fingers.

There are players who keep their lower-hand little finger down full-time, even when playing E, which I find awkward.

xxx|xxx D (little finger resting on flute)
xxx|xxo E (little finger resting on flute)
xxx|xoo F# (little finger resting on flute)
xxx|ooo G (little finger resting on flute)
xxo|ooo A (little finger resting on flute)
etc.

There are players who, in effect, are using their lower-hand index finger as the anchor for playing D, E, and F# then switch to the little finger for G and above.

xxx|xxx D (little finger up)
xxx|xxo E (little finger up)
xxx|xoo F# (little finger up)
xxx|ooo G (little finger resting on flute)
xxo|ooo A (little finger resting on flute)
etc.

Then there are players who don’t use the little-finger anchor at all, but instead use the lower-hand ring finger.

xxx|xxx D (little finger up)
xxx|xxo E (little finger up)
xxx|xoo F# (little finger up)
xxx|oox G (little finger up)
xxo|oox A (little finger up)
xoo|oox B (little finger up)
oxx|oox Cnat (little finger up)
ooo|oox C# (little finger up)

That’s how I’ve always played.

It’s more complicated actually, because I switch to other anchor fingers at times according to the sequence of notes involved. This isn’t conscious but ways my fingers have found to make fast complicated note sequences much easier to play cleanly.

4

Hi, sorry for the late reply, as these reply doesn’t actually show up in my notifications!

Yes, that what I am planning to do at the moment, after playing for another month, I am still struggling to hold the flute stably when playing C# and B, I tried to simulate playing the flute as if there isn’t a offset hole there and rest my pinky with piper’s grip, and notice an improvement to my embouchure, so I decided it will be beneficial to start over with a flute with inline holes, just ordered another beginner model flute with inline hole, should be arrive tomorrow!