Reedy tone creation on flute

Irish Flute
1

Hi all.
It’s been some time since I posted. I still check in to see what’s happening though.

Just wanted to throw a question out, that was sort of borne out of a flute sale, not mine, but a Pol Jezequel delrin keyless flute.
Only two videos came up on youtube, one with the super talented Kevin Crawford on a six keyed delrin Pol Jez and the equally talented Sylvain Barou on the same delrin model but keyless.
My question is probably less about Pol Jezequel delrin flutes and more about how Sylvain gets that focused reedy tone, I mean it is so consistently reedy and faultless, and sounds amazing.

Now Sylvain and Kevin could probably play a piece of hose at the right length with holes and sound better than me, so on that note ‘PUN INTENDED’ is it just, and I say just with a sweeping
generalization a matter of focusing the embouchure to such a degree that the stream of air literally skims off the blowing edge, more so than the air being equally distributed into the flute.

And does the flute, a Pol Jezequel delrin in this case have something to do with that sound. Both Kevin and Sylvain have the raspy, reedy sound, just different levels.
I know a few Pol Jezequel wooden flutes have sold on chiff recently and for good prices considering there is a wait for a new one.
but as mentioned my question is more related to the reedy sound.

And yes you could say; just mess about on your flute until you get it. Which I would, had I not sold them all quite some years back when concentrating on the whistle.
Now back in the market for something new or old, Flute wise that is.

As always big thank you to anyone’s knowledge shared.

Sponge

2

About getting a reedy tone, that’s the cool thing about flutes: you can get a variety of timbres at will from the same instrument.

Yes focus. Everything good comes from focus. It’s the starting point for any sort of timbre you’re after.

Other flutists might have different experiences and opinions, but it seems to me that the more you direct the airstream downward into the hole the reedier the timbre becomes, the more you direct the airstream across the hole the more hollow the timbre becomes.

You can control that by moving your jaw back (airstream pointing more down) or pushing your jaw forward (airstream pointing more forward).

You can feel this by holding the palm of your hand in front of your mouth, then blowing as you pull your jaw back and push it forward.

If you go too far either way, too far down or too far up, you get to the point where the flute stops sounding. In between those extremes is your playground.

The rotation of the headjoint works in conjunction with this. You can rotate while playing, and also pre-set the headjoint to favour various airstream angles.

You’ll see Boehm flutists etc have the blow-hole straight up, let’s call it 12 O’Clock. If you keep the head rotated inwards, say at 11 O’Clock, you’ll be favouring the reedier downward-blowing approach.

BTW as you blow more downward the flute’s pitch goes flatter, and visa versa.

For sure the instrument plays a part in it! Some flutes are harder to “fill”, you have to put out effort just to force tone through them.

Other flutes are super-efficient and easy to “fill” making it possible to really honk.

3

Thank you pancelticpiper.

That’s a great bit of info and advice. And something to work on when I reconnect with whatever flute I decide to buy. Feeling quite excited at the prospect of a new flute. And unlike before I have a very healthy budget to work with. So new and used Is an option. I quite fancy the Pol Jez on facebook flute forum. Simple no frills delrin flute. I did get a new price from Pol not long ago. Which if memory serves was €1200 for delrin. No keys.

4

I think part of it also comes from how hard you push energy into the tone. As pancelticpiper pointed out, blowing down more into the embouchure flatten the notes, but blowing harder and pushing the tone almost to the point of breaking up an octave also sharpens the notes. So combining these two actions can give a powerful, reedy tone that is in tune. A good place to start a search for learning more about this style of playing would be to look into Charles Nicholson’s flute technique. He was a 19th century flute player famous for his powerful and reedy tone, who influenced the design of the very flutes we typically play in ITM, specifically for making that tone more easily accessible.

Terry has some information about Nicholson’s style of playing here: https://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Nicholson_on_Tone.htm

5

Check out this Barqoue flute video as I think it applies generally to wooden flutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXJzZ-SOErc

I’m relatively new to wooden flute, but after a few month of “getting a feel for embouchure”, I think this video really highlights the idea of a spectrum ranging from airy → pure → reedy. I prefer a reedy sound, but the video makes sense to me on how embouchure focus determines where on the spectrum you fall.

6

Thanks for the Terry McGee link. A very interesting read. I’m glad Terry added his own input as well. So it appears a lot of the tone is primarily the player, of course a decent flute is required. And the one that is reported to be Nicholson’s very own flute with its dot markers for body rotation and embouchure placement makes it clear there is a method for each players who own desired sound. I’m learning more now than ever. And it’s great that Terry’s site, which I’ve used in the past has so much information.

Getting even more excited for my new dlute and the reintegration into the Matrix. Or is it my release from… Red pill, blue pill…

7

Thanks for the Terry McGee link. A very interesting read. I’m glad Terry added his own input as well. So it appears a lot of the tone is primarily the player, of course a decent flute is required. And the one that is reported to be Nicholson’s very own flute with its dot markers for body rotation and embouchure placement makes it clear there is a method for each players who own desired sound. I’m learning more now than ever. And it’s great that Terry’s site, which I’ve used in the past has so much information.

Getting even more excited for my new dlute and the reintegration into the Matrix. Or is it my release from… Red pill, blue pill…

8

Thinking about this thread during my flute practice session yesterday, putting the flute to my lips and playing in a “hollow” or “round” tone (less higher harmonics) then putting it to my lips and playing in a “reedy” or “hard” tone (more higher harmonics) I realised that it’s not just the direction of the airstream, but I was also covering more of the hole with my lower lip when getting the reedy tone.

I didn’t know I was doing that.

So for me it seems to be pushing more air through a smaller hole at a steeper angle.

BTW I was doing all this experimenting in the low octave.

I tried pushing the buzzyness as far as I could, at one point the tone turns into that Kaba thing where you have the 2nd octave present in the low octave, not where an Irish style fluter would want to play I don’t think.

(I was playing the “Selkie” vertical Irish flute, which has a round blow-hole and seems to respond in every way like a transverse “Irish” flute does. I’m not able to play transverse flute any more, though I did do for 35 years.)

9

Good morning, afternoon and evening to all.

Thank you for all the great information. I have managed to snag a used Pol Jezequel Delrin Keyless flute, which is were,
as mentioned the reedy tone enquiry came from, along with Kevin Crawford and Sylvain B’s playing the very same instrument.
One keyed and one keyless. Prior to the purchase I did email Pol regarding a six key Delrin model, build time and price.
But he no longer makes keyed Delrin, only keyless. He said the time spent on Delrin is 2x that of wood, due to finishing and working with
the stuff.

So seemed silly not to purchase a used one at a great price and not have to wait as Pol’s flutes are in high demand. Anyway it arrived this morning.
sleek, smooth, crafted beautifully, with embouchure and tone holes that are so well cut, it’s hard tell its Delrin, and what I really
love is the minimalist approach, not a ring in sight.

Now to the sound. It can, with a focused embouchure create a very strident reedy sound. ( YAY ) change the degree of tension and angle a little and you have sweet,
and mellow. Then further adjustment’s and it can honk with the best Of them.

So sounds, pun intended, I have some catching up to do.

take care all

Mark