Why do some fingerings sound cleaner than others?

flautists_r_us · Post by **flautists_r_us** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:43 pm

I don't know what words to use....Anyways, for some notes, there are two fingerings such as Bb. I guess you could call them regular and irregular fingerings. You can use the thumb and right hand 1st finger (regular), or you can use the Bb key, as I call it, on the right hand thumb. The latter fingering always sounds better to me. Can anyone explain this?? There's a few other notes that are like this as well.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 5:40 pm

it mostly has to do with the scale of the flute, and the way air vents through the toneholes. The reason some people to find the fingering using the thumb Bb key [ yes, that was indeed the correct name] to be better is mostly because of two reasons. It is easier to finger, and it allows air to vent through all of the open tone holes throughout the remainder of the flute [ whereas the other fingering you mentioned closes two tone holes on the right hand ***F and F# key***]. So the audible difference is intonation, but usually there isnt much of a difference between the two. So, both are fine.

flautists_r_us · Post by **flautists_r_us** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:24 pm

Alrighty. I have two different flutes, an openhole Gemeinhardt (all holes are plugged), and a Emerson, and the thumb fingering sounds better on both flutes.

concertino · Post by **concertino** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:58 pm

actually, there are three fingerings for two of the Bbs.
There is the side key fingering, which is next to the c sharp trill on an open holed flute

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:40 pm

concertino wrote:actually, there are three fingerings for two of the Bbs.
There is the side key fingering, which is next to the c sharp trill on an open holed flute

There aren't side keys on a flute, but perhaps you mean the Bb shake? There are indeed three possible fingerings (thumb Bb, 1+1, and Bb shake), each with their own uses. The Bb shake is the equivalent of the thumb Bb acoustically, however, as it closes the same keys, but with a different fingering.

flautists_r_us · Post by **flautists_r_us** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 6:43 pm

WHAT exactly is the Bb shake??? The high Bb fingering????

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 8:06 pm

flautists_r_us wrote:WHAT exactly is the Bb shake??? The high Bb fingering????

Take a look here:

http://www.larrykrantz.com/keyname.htm

The Bb shake is that little key protruding over the F# key toward your right hand. It can be used rather than the F key (as would be used with the 1+1 fingering for Bb1 or Bb2), to facilitate the same set of keys closing as the thumb Bb.