I’m considering buying a flute without a tuning slide, and was wondering what your opinions are about the virtues and vices of a flute with and without a tuning slide. I’ve perused some of the threads on this topic, so have heard some of the various views, but would be interested to hear from some of you folks, particularly those with flutes without a slide. I wouldn’t expect to be playing with other instruments that aren’t tuned to or near 440, so being able to tune outside of standard tuning probably isn’t too much of an issue.
fyi - I’ve been playing a Casey Burns folk flute for about 3 years (without a tuning slide, as that’s how they’re made).
Hi,
One good thing about having a slide is the flute will play flat when it is cold, so it is good to have the adjustment to pull out the head a little when it warms up. Also people play different, some have a tendency to play flat, some sharp, so usually the maker will have to tune the slideless flute a little sharp as to give you some adjustment. But with the slidelss flute it is all wood, so there might be some tonal difference in the flute, a warmer tone. It all depends what you are looking for.
Yes, the chief problem I’ve run into with slideless flutes
is the flute’s playing flat, relative to other instruments,
and I’m unable to correct for it. I roll out the head
and ‘lip up,’ as best I can.
Maybe an experienced player (ie: someone with more experience than moi) can play slideless without difficulty, and I agree, one can still pull the headjoint from the body slightly, even with “slideless”
Still, I sadly fall into the camp of finding the ( two) slideless flutes I have owned/played to play slightly flat, with no way to tune sharp. One, I sold. I still own the other, (I like it) which some people have actually played “sharp”.
I have been wondering about this statement. While it may be nice to be able to tune to other instruments rather than having to change your embouchure, I wonder if it could become a crutch that in the long term could hurt learning proper technique.
At the moment, I have 3 flutes with no tuning slide (all by the same maker), and I can play them in tune as well as any I’ve had. In the past, I have played flat, so maybe my embouchure is improving, and I’m coming out of my flat stage.
I have only one flute with a tuning slide from a different maker, and it is just a little harder for me to play it in tune (not flat) than my other all wood flutes. No doubt a little more time with it will improve that, since it’s new to me. I do find it to have more of an edge in tone, than the all wood flutes (in the same wood).
If you normally play sharp, then you might be better off with a tuning slide-it has a little more secure attachment, and maybe a slightly longer range in tuning (to make it flatter).
But, the only way to know if one or the other will work for you is to try it. Flutes vary, and so do people.
I can play quite a bit flat or sharp just by adjusting the embouchure, but there are two disadvantages to this approach: it’s going to be very hard for someone who hasn’t played for years to do this, and it is impossible to do this without to some degree changing the tone and response of the flute.
A tuning slide is a wonderful thing! Not only for the ability to just get it tune–although that’s nothing to sneeze at, as you’ll well know if you’ve ever tried to play music with someone who just couldn’t quite get in tune–but also because you may not always want to play the same way.
In a smaller session, for instance, you may want to go for a less penetrating tone with a bit less volume, and in a very large session, you might want to cut loose a bit more and use a tone that projects and cuts through. These changes are much easier with a tuning slide; without it, such changes are limited by the flute itself, as it will dictate the blowing approach necessary to keep it in tune.
Interesting, but wouldn’t the change in length change the two octaves differently and cause as many intonation problems as it solves? (I am a hack) I have tried to play with a tuning slide and play softly and find that it messes with pitch differently up and down the scale.
I am neither a maker, nor even a real player, but my observations are that the tuning slide is more stable and has less give (side to side) than the tuning slide when using it to adjust length. The tuning slide seems like a pain to add and I do not understand why it is used in addition to another joint instead of being used as a joint (eliminating the barrel), nor do I understand why real players would pay extra for it.
From my POV, the main advantage of a slide is the tunability. The main advantage of no slide is the flute will weigh less. After a long, tiring day of work sometimes I just want a flute that doesn’t weigh as much as others.
You already have a slideless flute. If you can afford the slide I’d say go for it for a change of pace.
If you use a tenon to tune (instead of a true slide), when you pull out, a space opens that’s the thickness of the inner tenon wall. The width of the tuning slide wall doesn’t matter acoustically, but I gather that the greater width of the inner tenon will throw off the bore profile.
You can get “tuning rings” for high-end recorders (which also don’t have tuning slides), to alleviate this problem–the rings go into the tenon socket to fill this additional space and keep the bore profile correct.
That is why the antique and some of the new flutes come with a adjustable cork. As you pull out the slide you should re-adjust the cork setting in the head. This is not as important these days as of old, as we are not tuning between A=430 and A= 460 as they used to have to do. Now you can pretty much keep the cork in the same spot, as warming up a flute will only sharpen the flute a few cents. Some of the old flutes had to be pulled out an inch to play 440, that reeks havoc on the second octave tuning!
As far as a slide being a “crutch”, that would be like calling a Cnat key being a crutch as you can always cross finger the note. These are the little bits that make up the flute … When you get good you can adjust your playing for different flutes, but it is better to have a flute that plays in tune.
When you get good you can adjust your playing for different flutes, but it is better to have a flute that plays in tune.