New Flute Checkout

You have in your hands the ultimate flute. You picked it up off the rack at the flute gathering and have formed an instant bond. It plays beautifully! Three new songs have sprung up in the half hour you have been playing it!

Mazeltov! That's the way to find the right flute. However ... before you reach for the credit card, here are some things to check out. Each one of these items is a "been there, done that" for me. I have vowed before giving my heart (and cash) to a flute, that I will check these things first ...

Cracks

Examine the flute very carefully for cracks. Use a magnifying glass, if you have to.

If it is a wood flute, scrutinize all seams. There is typically one along the length of the flute on each side where the halves were glued together. There may be other seams were endcaps or side-bars were applied to the flute.

If it is a bamboo or cane flute, check the entire flute for cracks. These will typically form lengthwise along the body of the flute. A crack is not deadly and many good flutes have been wrapped to repair or prevent cracks, but you should know about any defects.

Warping

Incredibly, I have received warped flutes! Sight down the length of the flute to check for this.

Nest

Does the bird sit flat on the nest?

There should be no space between the nest and the bottom of the bird. If possible, hold the flute up to the light and look sideways across the nest. You are looking for any separation betweent he top of the nest and the bottom of the bird. Having a strong light on the other side will help you see any separation.

If there is a separation, then the bird is not sitting flat. This can often be fixed by the flutemaker. Often, both the top of the nest and the bottom of the bird can be re-flattened. Sanding both using fine sandpaper affixed to a very flat surface (a piece of glass) is one method.

Tuning

Several issues here:

1. Is the flute in tune with itself? This you can determined by playing. Careful listening across the full range of notes is important. If you like the sound of the flute, then it is probably in tune with itself for your playing. Sometimes notes are slightly flat or sharp, but in your style of playing you might blow harder or softer on these notes and bring them in pitch.

Remember that an electronic tuner does not tell the whole story here, because some songs actually sound better with some of the notes out of pitch (according to the tuner). Many Middle Eastern and Indian instruments are intentionally tuned with "quarter tones", and these are characteristic sounds in that realm.

2. Is the flute concert-tuned? This is an entirely different issue than the first question. If you intend to play with other pitched instruments (pianos, guitars, etc as opposed to unpitched drums, shakers, etc) then a concert-tuned flute is rather important.

An electronic tuner does help here. Make sure the tuner is set to a reference pitch of A=440 (an international standard pitch) and is set to the key of C (some tuners have this choice). Then play the fundamental (lowest) and octave notes and see if the tuner registers "in-tune" for those notes. If the flute registers within 10 cents sharp or flat of in-tune, you may be able to adjust the tuning by slightly sliding the bird. Typically, moving the bird toward the mouth end will make the flute sharper and moving it down toward the foot will make it flatter.

Also, temperature and other factors affect pitch. Flutes get sharper as the temperature goes up and flatter as the temperature goes down. The very (very) rough rule I use is 1 cent for each degree Farenheit.

Cross Fingerings

If you play the "notes in the cracks" or "blue notes" ... the notes between the standard notes of the pentatonic scale ... then check out how those notes are fingered. You might have to hunt around for the correct cross-fingering for these notes. Ask the maker if they have a finger chart, but realize that there is often variation among cross fingerings, even for the same maker.

On some flutes, especially ones with large finger holes, there may be no cross-fingering for certain blue notes. Best to know that up front.

Upper Register

Does the flute sing notes above the octave note? Some do, some don't.

If they can be played, ask the maker to show you the fingerings or technique to achieve them. Sometimes you have to crack the top hole very slightly to make them sing. Sometimes you have to open the top hole or two holes.

Maintenance

Finally, ask the maker about maintenance. What is the finish, and what is recommended to keep the flute in top condition.

Web site by Clint Goss - Last updated September 19, 2008.