C sharp too sharp - me of the flute?

joolz · Post by **joolz** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:33 am

Is it likely that it's just me (only been playing for about 4 months after not playing for 17 years) or could it be the actual flute or the model??

I've just tried it (Muramatsu GX) against my piano and found that the C sharp is quite sharp and this is one of my pet peeves. In the flute's defense I'm not sure if my piano is A=440 or A=442 and the flute is definately A=442 which means i have to pull it out a bit to match the piano.

Joolz

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:04 am

C# is one of those notes that tends to be sharp. So, if it is extremely bad, it is probably a combination of the flute, and your own playing tendancies.

MrBaz · Post by **MrBaz** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 7:54 pm

fluteguy18 wrote:C# is one of those notes that tends to be sharp. So, if it is extremely bad, it is probably a combination of the flute, and your own playing tendancies.

Agreed with above. It's most likely you, not the flute.

I know people that have been playing for years and years and still can't get it (they were only leisure players though).

One of my pet-peeves is when instructors try to teach you alternate fingerings for notes like these. If you want to learn to play better, forget the fingerings and learn to use your embouchure.

Practice longtones with a tuner in front of you. Try and make your notes go as sharp as possible and as flat as possible. You do this to also train your ear. I practiced my C# for so long that I can hear it by ear, and a lot of my instructors were impressed by this.

rocky · Post by **rocky** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:26 pm

Hi MrBaz!

I'm one of your fellow PPFC players. Guess which one? Anyway, as a clue, if I am playing C# on my flute (not a particularly nice one, but it would take robbing a bank to afford a new one on my current income) I will have my right hand fingers down. While you have a pet peeve with alternate fingers, I'm all for them. Not as a way to be lazy but as a way to get an in-tune note out of a flute. Sometimes an alternate does the trick, especially with less than perfect flutes.

See ya tonight at practice!