New Flute and a Couple of Questions

[Konstantin]

You may remember me asking about some Yamaha flutes several months ago. I finally bought one. I bought a Yamaha 684HA and am very happy with it.

I am a relative beginner, and probably never will be at a professional level. I have two qestions, and they probably are rather "stupid" questions, but, as I say, I am a relative beginner.

1. My flute supposedly has a "split E mechanism." What does that mean?

2. On the foot joint, there is a fifth key, that when pressed, closes only the last opening near the end of the flute. Why does this key exist and when would I use it? I have been searching books, and some websites, and cannot find it in any fingering chart.

Thank you for your help. I always appreciate the polite, well-written posts on this forum.

[fluttiegurl]

Congrats on your new flute!

1. The split E separates the G key (the one next to the pinkly on the left hand) from the one beside it allowing the G key to be open when playing the high E. This allows easier production of E3.

2. I think you are talking about the gizmo key. This allows easy access to the low B key (at the end of the flute) used most often when playing C4, though not everyone uses this.

[Konstantin]

Thank you Fluttiegurl. After reading what you called it, I looked up the Gizmo key, and that is exactly what it is.