Wonky B flat

Basics of Flute Playing, Tone Production and Fingerings

Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas

Post Reply
Tirnel
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:56 am

Wonky B flat

Post by Tirnel »

lately my high b flat has been sounding wonky. I know my flute probably needs an overhaul, but do just need the pads replaced or just the overhaul. I'm a poor flutist and don't want to pay out more than I have to.

wuffeeflaute
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2013 2:17 am

Re: Wonky B flat

Post by wuffeeflaute »

Tirnel wrote:lately my high b flat has been sounding wonky. I know my flute probably needs an overhaul, but do just need the pads replaced or just the overhaul. I'm a poor flutist and don't want to pay out more than I have to.
Could you elaborate on "wonky". Might help with diagnosis.

Tirnel
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:56 am

Re: Wonky B flat

Post by Tirnel »

wonky:off...not right...

someone said it sounded flatter than what it should.

evrmre
Posts: 99
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:22 am

Re: Wonky B flat

Post by evrmre »

Okay, couple of things:

1/ Have you had another flutist play it to check it is in the flute (I'm aware of a few times I started developing bad habits from lazy repetition that caused bad tone. Make sure it is actually your flute before you start spending money)? Also, try playing another flute to see if the issue reappears.

2/ Are you certain it was correct at some point in the past, on that specific flute? Different flutes have slightly different pitching setups, so if you have transitioned from another instrument at some point, you may find some adjustment to your pitching needed.

3/ Are you able to post an audio link of the problem, perhaps within a scale showing the notes around it? That might help ID the problems quicker, since we can't hear the problem from here. If not, then I'd go for a professional opinion locally (A good teacher or flute tech), as they can hear both you and the flute at the same time...

Hope that helps a little.

fluteguy18
Posts: 2311
Joined: Sun Jul 16, 2006 3:11 pm

Re: Wonky B flat

Post by fluteguy18 »

Save yourself a lot of grief. Take it to a qualified repair tech and they can tell you if the problem is your flute or if it's you. Then go from there. Plain and simple! 8)

Tirnel
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:56 am

Re: Wonky B flat

Post by Tirnel »

evrmre wrote:Okay, couple of things:

1/ Have you had another flutist play it to check it is in the flute (I'm aware of a few times I started developing bad habits from lazy repetition that caused bad tone. Make sure it is actually your flute before you start spending money)? Also, try playing another flute to see if the issue reappears.

2/ Are you certain it was correct at some point in the past, on that specific flute? Different flutes have slightly different pitching setups, so if you have transitioned from another instrument at some point, you may find some adjustment to your pitching needed.

3/ Are you able to post an audio link of the problem, perhaps within a scale showing the notes around it? That might help ID the problems quicker, since we can't hear the problem from here. If not, then I'd go for a professional opinion locally (A good teacher or flute tech), as they can hear both you and the flute at the same time...

Hope that helps a little.
1: I live in a very small town, and don't know of another flutist here. I'd have to drive at least an hour to find one.

2: Yes it was correct in the past,on this flute.

3: I might could do that, once I figure out the problem with my recording pogram which started freezing when I try to play it back.

Post Reply