Anne wrote:I'm not sure that's entirely correct about the little finger, but I seem to recall seeing a video of someone on Utube demonstrating the Rockstro technique and he mentioned he didn't always keep his little finger down. I think you do need it to help stabilize the flute when playing certain notes though, but it seems as if keeping it depressed all the time adds strain to your little finger. Any comments on this would be welcome
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It's not entirely necessary to have the pinky down for most notes, but it should become habit, as there are places where it is necessary, and it's far easier to just get used to it now. So long as you're only applying enough pressure to open the key (and the spring tension, and thus the pressure necessary can be adjusted to some extent), you shouldn't be introducing any additional tension into your hands. I disagree with using the pinky as a balance point....Train yourself to do this, and you'll likely have issues with the flute rolling inward, aside from the possibility of having tension introduced into your hold, which can cause injury. A 3 point balance (chin, base of left index finger, and RH thumb) is more than adequate to keep the flute in a secure position. I often release my right hand to manage quick page turns, meaning that I'm actually playing with 2 points to balance the flute.
Now, Rockstro works for some folks, but it was originally developed for simple system flutes, which had far less in the way of a mechanism. With modern Boehm instruments, the center of gravity is changed by relatively long (and heavy) rods along only one side of the tube that are placed out from the tube by the posts. This can cause the flute to roll back toward the player if the flute is held with keys parallel to the ceiling. One solution is to tilt the flute outward (keys toward the audience), which places the rods on top, but it's often better to roll
back, placing the rods toward the bottom of the tube, and thus defeating any rolling impulse the flute might have. Keep in mind that these are relatively small movements...Actually playing with the keys facing a wall (be it in front or in back of you) is going to cause far more problems than it solves.
