Flute to be tuned?

inday · Post by **inday** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:57 pm

My husband bought me a flute on my 47th birthday last August. I am now trying to learn the very basic of even making it sound. Does a brand new flute need to be tuned?

Band_Geek · Post by **Band_Geek** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:27 pm

Depends on the brand. If its a commonly used brand such as Armstrong, Yamaha or Gemeinhart, it shouldnt need tuning.

If its you that needs to be tuned, align the embrouchure hole with the first key pressed down. If your sharp, pull out. If your flat, pull in. I think thats how it goes.

FltnPicc_David · Post by **FltnPicc_David** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 11:11 am

Band_Geek is correct. It's better to adjust the instrument, not your embouchure until you're really good, I guess....the shorter the instrument, the sharper/higher it's pitch. Flat means to push in and sharp means to push out. Your pitch can vary from day to day, weather to weather, etc. If you have an open-holed flute you can even take amounts of your finger off the holes to even out the pitch.

MeLizzard · Post by **MeLizzard** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:09 am

Playing in tune is a constant, active pursuit. Each note has slightly different tendencies. Find a teacher, even for a few lessons, to help get started. Buy a cheap chromatic tuner (about $30) to provide a daily, immutable reference--our ears are not always reliable

. As the others have posted, a shorter tube length will produce a higher/sharper pitch. If it's too high, pull out the headjoint. If it's too low, push in the headjoint. If the head is pushed all the way in but the tone is still flat/low, you'll need to blow the air a little faster, or uncover the blow hole a bit--about 1/3 of the hole should be covered. But, no, a flute doesn't need to be tuned the way a guitar or other stringed instrument must be tuned and tweeked each time it's played. This annoys my cellist husband! They have, shall we say, flexible intonation?! He's finally learning to trust that, when we play together, he can play to my pitch standard and he'll be pretty well in tune.

inday · Post by **inday** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 2:38 pm

Thank you all for your kind replies. I know I have so much to learn. I am hoping to accompany my husband who plays the piano, someday. You all will be the first to know.