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| 03/03/2008: "C Major flute on hand"
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We have a rare C major flute on hand at the moment. As you may know, I make very few major scale flutes in general, and when I do D is usually the largest major size/key produced. The holes on a major-scale flute are considerably farther apart than those on a minor flute -- especially for the left hand -- and even a D can be quite challenging or indeed impossible for some people to play.
There are ways around this to some extent, and many bamboo flutemakers make radical acoustical compromises in order to bring the holes within reach. A huge bore combined with big differences in hole size (that is, making some holes much larger than others in order to shuffle their relative positions and bring them closer together) is a commonly seen tactic.
I refuse to stoop to that, preferring to stick with a smaller bore and moderate differences in hole size. This results in a brighter, more penetrating tone, better range and response throughout two octaves and beyond, and more balanced timbre and volume from note to note. Don't coddle the player-- make the flute play better, and if you can't reach the holes, tough luck! Get a smaller flute in that case.
Anyway, I made the currently available C major on special order-- and sure enough it came back as being too difficult to play. I'm 5'-10", and although my hands and fingers are about average in span, long experience at covering the holes in all sorts of flute configurations is a big help: that is, a person with hands of the same size but no bamboo-flute experience would likely find it extremely "difficult" to cover holes that are no problem at all for me. You have to get those ligaments loosened up and the fingers trained, folks. Having said that, C major is my personal comfort limit: it wouldn't be practical to play anything bigger.
In fact, I've probably made only three or four C major flutes in the past twenty years! So, if you're an NBA center or an experienced bamboo flute player who's at least five-ten or so, we have a C major for you. It'll probably go on eBay later this week if nobody speaks up to claim it sooner. Nice flute, too. [SOLD as of 3/7 or thereabouts.]
--r.
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[Next entry: "Bamboo gate"]
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