What's your preference?

Aodhan · Post by **Aodhan** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 8:41 am

Hey all-

Looking into a keyed flute, and just wondering what everyone's preference would be and why. The choices are a standard D flute, a D flute with a C foot, or a Bb flute. (And I've included a couple of the odd tunings such as Eb and F)

I am leaning towards either a Bb flute and dealing with learning the new fingering, or else an 8 key D flute with the C foot.

Aodhan

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 8:53 am

Keyed D flute with one key.

Loren · Post by **Loren** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:07 am

Alloy and Carbon Fiber Bb Flute with 18 keys, 680 horsepower, 6 speed, paddle shifting.....

Whoops, still daydreaming about that Ferrari Enzo.

Loren

Steampacket · Post by **Steampacket** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:28 am

Keyed D flute with C foot but without any keys does me

jim stone · Post by **jim stone** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 11:11 am

D flute 6 keys.
By the way, just saw an Olwell cocus keyed flute
last night. Vewwy sexy.

Bb flutes are swell. I have one keyless.
Maybe one downside to keyed is weight.

MurphyStout · Post by **MurphyStout** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 11:25 am

Well, my preference isn't on the list. But I prefer learning to actually play the flute before going out and buying another... not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, okay maybe I am.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 11:59 am

MurphyStout wrote:Well, my preference isn't on the list. But I prefer learning to actually play the flute before going out and buying another... not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, okay maybe I am.

I understand you completely. When I started playing whistle I wanted try everything out there. After all, why not? They're cheap!

But after a while I figured out that although there are some nice instruments out there, they won't make ME sound any better - and a good player on a cheap whistle still sounds a lot better than I do, not matter how good a whistle I play. This was a wake-up call for me, telling me I needed to settle down and learn to play better - I was using the search for the "perfect" whistle as an excuse for not enough practice with the ones I had. Though I still admire some of the beautiful instruments people let me try out, my urge to buy more has almost disappeared. (BTW - hearing you and Tony on Generations last weekend underlined this point very well.)

The next frontier for me is flute - I got a plastic fife (surprisingly good for $6) and a Dixon flute/whistle combo just to see if I was really interested. Now that I know I am, the next step is to get ONE decent flute I can expect to play for a while, and learn it. Right now I'm torn between a Seery and a Casey Burns folk flute, leaning towards the latter. But whatever I chose, I expect that it'll be the only "good" flute I own until my skills justify an upgrade.

There's a lot of folks on this board with multiple instruments - but the sense I get is that these are mostly folks with the skills to take advantage of their differences. Without those skills, buying more instruments would just make me a collector, not a musician.

Aodhan · Post by **Aodhan** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:28 pm

MurphyStout wrote:Well, my preference isn't on the list. But I prefer learning to actually play the flute before going out and buying another... not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, okay maybe I am.

Not me!!

Ok, maybe a little bit me.

I have the McGee GLP keyless, and I am taking lessons with it. I would like to get a keyed flute as well so I can get used to the keys and get comfortable with that too.

Aodhan

MurphyStout · Post by **MurphyStout** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:48 pm

DCrom wrote: There's a lot of folks on this board with multiple instruments - but the sense I get is that these are mostly folks with the skills to take advantage of their differences. Without those skills, buying more instruments would just make me a collector, not a musician.

Hmmm, I can't say I agree with you here DCrom. From my experiences I've noticed that there are more collectors on these forums then there are musicians. But don't mind me, I'm just an uptight punk who doesn't want to wait 10 years for my next flute cause there are too many collectors out there. And if it were me I'd get the Seery...

Didn't mean to highjack your thread Aodhan. And I suppose I'd have to buy a new flute I'd shoot for an original R and R or one of the contemporaries like Firth and Pond....

Post by **Nanohedron** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 1:05 pm

D with C foot, 8-keyed (for the low C# and Cnat).

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 1:30 pm

This is just an IMHO, but as one who recently rediscovered the unfettered joys of keylessness -- dare I go so far as to say it's like skinny-dipping?! -- I wouldn't worry too much about racing for keys. They're great and a convenience and all, but they're also another thing to think about, care for, keep from getting bent, keep from getting oily, etc. You can always learn 'em later. Besides, keys can leak and stick and clog and make you terribly depressed about your sudden decline in sound quality until you figure out it's that leaky D# key again, not your lip.

Anyway, if it was me, I'd just play the heck out of that lovely little keyless flute you have and keep the main thing the main thing for a while.

(not that you asked

)

Oops, another hijack! OK, now for what you did ask .... I guess I would also take a D with, why not? A "B" foot & the requisite 9 keys (does anyone make such monsters in wood?). After that, I think, an Eb and then a Bb; keys not required there, thanks.

sturob · Post by **sturob** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 1:39 pm

Aodhan . . . I think your poll's a hard one to answer. I don't mean to sound utterly pedantic, but it kinda depends on what you want.

I get tons of joy out of playing Eb (keyless) and Bb (keyless) flutes. If I had my druthers, I'd probably play Bb exclusively, since I love how they play.

But D flutes are just SO darn useful in the grand scheme of things. Keyed or keyless.

I think there are two things about keyed flutes to remember. One is that the keys add (some) weight and (moderate) complexity. There's more to go wrong with a keyless, though they're generally easy to fix. Two, you don't HAVE to play the keys, even if you have them.

When I play keyless D, I tend not to notice I don't have keys. When I play keyed D, I wonder how I get by without. Eh, it's all in what you're used to.

So, I voted for Bb.

Stuart

Whistlin'Dixie · Post by **Whistlin'Dixie** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:54 am

I'm not voting. I don't miss keys.

I'm somewhat like Jack ~ practice a lot ~ and somewhat not (have several flutes) but I consider myself a serial monogomist, I tend to play one flute for months, then switch over to another. I like it that way!

Mary (flute-o-gamist?)

Ro3b · Post by **Ro3b** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 8:18 am

Get a keyed D flute. That's the complete, concert-pitch, one-stop, do-it-all instrument.

Aodhan · Post by **Aodhan** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:21 am

Ro3b wrote:Get a keyed D flute. That's the complete, concert-pitch, one-stop, do-it-all instrument.

I've read somewhere (I forgot where) that having a keyed C foot on a D flute weakens the bottom D. Is this a noticable problem on most D flutes? Or is it just something you can easily compensate for?

Aodhan

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