Now about Humidity

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Ben Shaffer
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Tell us something.: Ive played Irish Flute for a number of Years. Have played Sessions as well but not currently. I have also played Colonial American Flute in reenactment Groups. Started playing Clarinet in 1960 in School and later Community Bands. Also have played Bagpipes Solo as well as in Pipe Bands I played Drums in a Garage band in High School, probably my Instrument I played the best!

Now about Humidity

Post by Ben Shaffer »

So I picked up a Rosewood Flute to play this Morning and I think it sounded rather stuffy. Normally its got for want of a better word a more open. sound
Hmm..... So a light bulb went off in my head and I wondered if humidity could be a factor. I checked Weather Bug and the Humidity level here in the Central Piedmont Area of North Carolina is 100% and we are having a fair amount of rain
Seems to me this Flute sounded more open in July. At that time the Humidity I think was 70% or so with not much rain.
I'm not saying the Humidity effected the sound, but am wondering if it could
Anyone have any thought on ?
And of course if Humidity does effect the sound of the Wood Flute , what is the best level of Humidity to have? Are there in fact better places to live for playing the Flute, or is Humidity really not that big of a factor?
Here is a map of the US with average amounts of Humidity per year.
So do Flutes sound best in a somewhat drier climate?

https://eldoradoweather.com/climate/US% ... idity.html
cac
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Re: Now about Humidity

Post by cac »

Yes, it seems to me that when the humidty is high (>80%?), my wooden flutes sound deader. I am uncomfortable myself when the humidity is high, however, and this may affect my playing.

Note that average humidty may be less than perfect as an indicator for high humidity. For areas where the range is not large, e.g. the US Southwest or Pacific Northwest, it may be fine, but in other areas, e.g. US Midwest, US Northeast, where I live in Ontario, Canada, the range is large: very high in the summer, very low in the winter. Chet
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stiofan
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Re: Now about Humidity

Post by stiofan »

The opposite issue is at play where I live in northern California (about 60 miles north of San Francisco). Due to ongoing drought conditions and summer temperatures in the 90s to even low 100s on occasion, humidity here is typically (even dangerously) low for wooden flutes, perhaps more like the southwestern US than where you are in NC. [note: I'm currently living in a house without AC, so have to rely on humidifiers, fans, and opening windows for cooling/humidifying purposes] I find that my flutes, when not carefully humidified, get dry easily and that for sure affects tone and even responsivity. Not so much stuffy, but what I'd describe as 'stiff' and less warm & round, tonally. As a matter of comparison, when I lived in San Francisco within a few miles of the coast, humidity was pretty much ideal (40-60% RH) most of the year, maybe even a bit higher during the rainy season in the winter, and even in the summer, when the fog would really drift in.
As with most things concerning our wooden flutes, Terry McGee has done an extensive analysis of how humidity fluctuation affects ABW flutes: http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/humidity_change.htm
And as an aside, I've been giving some consideration to migrating to the Raleigh/Durham/Greensboro area in the near future, so might end up getting a taste of what you're experiencing with summer humidity.
Ben Shaffer
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Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2002 6:00 pm
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Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Ive played Irish Flute for a number of Years. Have played Sessions as well but not currently. I have also played Colonial American Flute in reenactment Groups. Started playing Clarinet in 1960 in School and later Community Bands. Also have played Bagpipes Solo as well as in Pipe Bands I played Drums in a Garage band in High School, probably my Instrument I played the best!

Re: Now about Humidity

Post by Ben Shaffer »

stiofan wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:13 pm The opposite issue is at play where I live in northern California (about 60 miles north of San Francisco). Due to ongoing drought conditions and summer temperatures in the 90s to even low 100s on occasion, humidity here is typically (even dangerously) low for wooden flutes, perhaps more like the southwestern US than where you are in NC. [note: I'm currently living in a house without AC, so have to rely on humidifiers, fans, and opening windows for cooling/humidifying purposes] I find that my flutes, when not carefully humidified, get dry easily and that for sure affects tone and even responsivity. Not so much stuffy, but what I'd describe as 'stiff' and less warm & round, tonally. As a matter of comparison, when I lived in San Francisco within a few miles of the coast, humidity was pretty much ideal (40-60% RH) most of the year, maybe even a bit higher during the rainy season in the winter, and even in the summer, when the fog would really drift in.
As with most things concerning our wooden flutes, Terry McGee has done an extensive analysis of how humidity fluctuation affects ABW flutes: http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/humidity_change.htm
And as an aside, I've been giving some consideration to migrating to the Raleigh/Durham/Greensboro area in the near future, so might end up getting a taste of what you're experiencing with summer humidity.
Parts of NC are pretty nice. You've got the Mountains and the Beach. You also have a number of Towns like Raleigh and Asheville which have a nice Cultural Presence.
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