New, just starting

[Marvout]

Just picked up a used flute for cheap. Seems to be working pretty good. Gemeinhardt.

I'm wondering about fingering. Is the rule that you need to keep your right pinky down for anything except playing a D? I used to play a little bit of Saxophone back in high school and I'm not quite used to holding a key down at the far end of the instrument, for what seems like just support. I am tending to find that I will lift to play a D and then not put back down until I need to at some later time when all the other fingers lift. Just wondering how disciplined I need to be about fingering.

Marvin

[pied_piper]

Yes, you need to keep that pinky down. It was so written in the Gospel according Boehm.

I started on sax too, so I can relate to your difficulty. Even though you might not yet discern any sound/tone difference, it does exist. As you become a better player, you will begin to hear the difference.

[Marvout]

Shucks. That means I have to slow down and concentrate a bit more.

Thanks

Marvin

[Marvout]

I'm working on a piece that I need to almost trill between C# and D. How in the world do you jump back and forth between notes that require you to hold almost everything down and then nothing? Are there tricks to dealing with those kinds of note shifts where you hold many keys and then almost none?

I have picked up both bo-pep pads and they seem to help placement. My thumb is relatively short for my fingers (Something I've never considered before writing this sentence) and the right one helps a lot to hanging on to the instrument.

Just playing around now - Is using my right pinky wrong to turn the D into a C# (above middle C) wrong?

Marvin

[pied_piper]

Use the D trill key. It's there to facilitate C-D or C#-D trills (or notes almost as fast as a trill as you described).

See the trill fingering here:
http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/flute/fl_tr2_1.html

[Marvout]

Wow, Thanks. That makes tons of sense.

Now, why do those not show up on fingering charts as alternate fingerings? That's essentially what they are. Is there a good printable version of that kind of page?

I really appreciate you hanging around in this beginner forum and answering my questions. Thanks again.

Marvin