piper grip on flute...

[eran]

i know that some players use pipers grip on the flute.
is it possible also when the flute is fully keyed?

i just never held a wooden irish fully keyed flute... ..

[fearfaoin]

i know that some players use pipers grip on the flute.
is it possible also when the flute is fully keyed?

I believe Grey Larsen said in his book "Irish Flute and Tin Whistle"
that he had to change from piper's grip to a fingertip style when he
started using a keyed flute. But, I would need to go home and check
the book to confirm that.

[jim stone]

Yes, you can hold a keyed flute with piper's grip.
The one key you can't reach is the Bb key,
which typically is worked with your left thumb.
However some makers will substitute a
right hand touch for this key, which
solves the problem. Also this note
is easy enough to half hole.

One does want to tell a maker of a keyed flute about
one's grip, so that the blocks (if these are used)
will be placed appropriately.

It is probably worth considering shifting
to non-piper's (classical) grip though,
but it isn't nec for a keyed flute.

[Unseen122]

I use Piper's Grip and have tried Keyed Flutes, it was not that hard I would have to get used to it though. That means yes it is possible.

[psychih]

I used to hold it alá piper's grip because I didn't know any better. But it wasn't difficult re-gripping and it plays much better too. IMHO, there's more flexibility in err...whatever you call it now.

[eskin]

Completely depends on your hands... I have small hands, and if it weren't for holding with a piper's grip on the flute, I'd have to completely give up the instrument. Nearly did too, I was having so much trouble with hand pain and RSI related problems using standard grip.

[Unseen122]

Piper's Grip is just way more comfortable for me also.

[Wormdiet]

I'm a half-breed personally. . .I found I couldn;t articulate easily at all on the top hand using PG. On the bottom, regular grip doesn;t work at all (for me). Weird.

[Denny]

I'm a half-breed personally. . .I found I couldn;t articulate easily at all on the top hand using PG. On the bottom, regular grip doesn;t work at all (for me). Weird.

I think that it's fairly common.

I use an almost piper grip on my right for simple system flutes.

[Unseen122]

I'm a half-breed personally. . .I found I couldn;t articulate easily at all on the top hand using PG. On the bottom, regular grip doesn;t work at all (for me). Weird.

That is probably from GHBs Worm.

[Nanohedron]

Completely depends on your hands... I have small hands, and if it weren't for holding with a piper's grip on the flute, I'd have to completely give up the instrument. Nearly did too, I was having so much trouble with hand pain and RSI related problems using standard grip.

Me, too. Crossfingering the Bb shouldn't be a big deal:

XOX XXX works for the lower register, and:

XOX OXO works for the upper.

There's a key setup for Bb that has an additional touch for the right hand. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe the name "Radcliffe" applies to it.

[Wormdiet]

I'm a half-breed personally. . .I found I couldn;t articulate easily at all on the top hand using PG. On the bottom, regular grip doesn;t work at all (for me). Weird.

That is probably from GHBs Worm.

Absolutely. I still switch over to PG when whistling. For watever reason my top hands feels terribly strained on a flute. I have big hands, too. Wonder why.

I do also play recorder, so it isn;t like standard grip is totally foreign.

[Unseen122]

I was playing a Low Whistle before I got on GHBs and when I first started I would always use the both hand Piper's grip but the instructor in my band told me I was doing it wrong when I joined the band.

[vomitbunny]

I play both ways, depending on if it's a large or small holed flute.

[Cathy Wilde]

I'm a half-breed personally. . .I found I couldn;t articulate easily at all on the top hand using PG. On the bottom, regular grip doesn;t work at all (for me). Weird.

I think that it's fairly common.

I use an almost piper grip on my right for simple system flutes.

I was going to ring in with a "ditto me!", although on examination of the rather impressive callus on the underside of the first joint of my left middle finger, maybe it's more PG than I thought!

So I skew more piper's, esp. with my right hand and esp. on my big keyed Pratten. Oddly, though, I do it because I have very long fingers and curving them is so awkward!

The only right-hand key I've found PG to make a tiny bit of difference with is the short Fnat., but that was no big deal to get used to. On the left, the Bb's a bit of a pain, but I think that's more an issue of how you hold the flute overall than whether you use curved or flat fingers. (and I tend to crossfinger it, anyway)

Interestingly, I've also found that PG actually helps me with the reach to the G# and long F nat. because I have a sticky pinky finger joint and crooking that is kind of awkward.

So I guess I'm a hybrid, though more toward piper's grip, and it's no problem on a keyed flute for me.