Calling all 8-key players

[Cubitt]

There seems to be a common opinion that one is lucky if you can get the low C# and C. I use these notes for many Irish songs that I play, which is why I prefer using an 8-key flute (besides loving the long F-natural and the high C-natural).

Here's what I'd like to know:

Do you use these keys?

Do they respond well for you?

Do you have a new or vintage flute?

Do you think any problems on these notes are due to player ability (after all, some can't hit a good low C on a Boehm) or the design/condition of the flute?

Mine was made in 1882 and is the best simple-system flute I've ever played. Pure luck on my part.

[Denny]

yes
pretty well...not quite as strong as on a Boehm
newish
nope...

[Wormdiet]

Do you use these keys?
I use the F-keys a fair amount. Still working up the others.

Do they respond well for you?

The G is very stiff and the Cnat is unusably flat (for me).The others are fine.

Do you have a new or vintage flute?
New.

Do you think any problems on these notes are due to player ability (after all, some can't hit a good low C on a Boehm) or the design/condition of the flute?
Well, the G key is an "old skool" design and others have noted how hard to use it can be. The c-key . . . I dunno. I suppose it could be my ambouchure but I can get an in-tune C by crossfingering.

I had a friend cover the bottom two holes to get the low C once as an experiment. I had no problems with it.

[Jon C.]

There seems to be a common opinion that one is lucky if you can get the low C# and C. I use these notes for many Irish songs that I play, which is why I prefer using an 8-key flute (besides loving the long F-natural and the high C-natural).

Here's what I'd like to know:

Do you use these keys?

Do they respond well for you?

Do you have a new or vintage flute?

Do you think any problems on these notes are due to player ability (after all, some can't hit a good low C on a Boehm) or the design/condition of the flute?

Mine was made in 1882 and is the best simple-system flute I've ever played. Pure luck on my part.

the old pewter plugs can be finicky. I just turned a new one on the lathe last night. The keys require adjustment and the touches have to be adjusted, just so, to make both the plugs seat at the right time.

[Cubitt]

the old pewter plugs can be finicky. I just turned a new one on the lathe last night. The keys require adjustment and the touches have to be adjusted, just so, to make both the plugs seat at the right time.

When I first got my flute (mid-80s), I was surprised by the pewter plugs. Seemed like they would be inherently unreliable. Haven't proven to be, but as I said in the original post, many players simply don't go there on their 8-keys.

[Coffee]

The old pewter plugs can be finicky. I just turned a new one on the lathe last night. The keys require adjustment and the touches have to be adjusted, just so, to make both the plugs seat at the right time.

Does this mean you'll be producing keys soon???

[Nanohedron]

My low C#/Cnat keys are padded, so getting them to work is more about embouchure for me. C# is reliable. With the right technique, Cnat can be strong. Using them is a good exercise in blowing right, rather than trying to force it, and that seems to carry over to the rest of the flute's range for better tone and less hiss. Immediate response of the low Cnat seems to be a matter of practice for me. It can be done. I know; it's happened when I wasn't planning on it! YMMV.

[chas]

the old pewter plugs can be finicky. I just turned a new one on the lathe last night. The keys require adjustment and the touches have to be adjusted, just so, to make both the plugs seat at the right time.

My low C#/Cnat keys are padded, so getting them to work is more about embouchure for me. C# is reliable.

Having had both, I would've said just the opposite, although I put the low-note pads on myself. The thing I hate about the pewter plugs is how damn noisy they are. Pads, OTOH, I find I have to keep them sealed with twisties when the flute isn't being played (which is most of the time). As long as the keys have been seated for some time, I don't have any problem with them at all. If they've been allowed to go all spongy, it takes some effort to press them down.

Disclaimer: I'm not the 8-key player, my wife is.

Exclaimer: HEY!

[Matt_Paris]

On my flute (1828 Rudall & Rose), The low C# is great (easier than the low D), the low C is quite tricky. When I showed it to Tom Aebi he told me the C# is very easy to get (you could even use a piece of cheese instead of pewter, he said) but th C is hard to tune. On my flute he said it would be necessary to make a new plug. Actually I can get a decent one if I put some cork grease on the pewter plug.

[Jon C.]

the old pewter plugs can be finicky. I just turned a new one on the lathe last night. The keys require adjustment and the touches have to be adjusted, just so, to make both the plugs seat at the right time.

My low C#/Cnat keys are padded, so getting them to work is more about embouchure for me. C# is reliable.

Having had both, I would've said just the opposite, although I put the low-note pads on myself. The thing I hate about the pewter plugs is how damn noisy they are. Pads, OTOH, I find I have to keep them sealed with twisties when the flute isn't being played (which is most of the time). As long as the keys have been seated for some time, I don't have any problem with them at all. If they've been allowed to go all spongy, it takes some effort to press them down.

Disclaimer: I'm not the 8-key player, my wife is.

Exclaimer: HEY!

I made purse pads for my Firth, Hall and Pond C# C keys, they are easy to sound now, no problem seating. I make the litltle pillows out of kid leather and little tuffs on synthetic wool. they are nice and cushy.
As far as making keys, soon now...

[pandscarr]

Do you use these keys?

Yup. All the time. The low C and C# require more concentration than the others but they're there - if all the holes are well covered and embouchure there as well.

Do they respond well for you?

Long F is fantastic! All other keys are fine. Favourite keys? Bflat and Eflat, rarely used but always waiting. I learned a lovely slow reel last weekend at a fiddle workshop (but playing the flute) - The Old Reel (Niew Gow?) in Gmin. It would have been sooooo tricky without the keys.

Do you have a new or vintage flute?

Both. The low C and C# are easier on the modern 8-key.

cheers,

[pandscarr]

duplicate

[Pekkos]

I play a vintage Clementi (late 1830ies I think), and I use all the keys. I think all keys sounds nice even if the C# i much easier to hit than the low C, but that might be a matter for adjustment. The pewters are not perfectly air-tight if I don't put some grease on them, but if I do that they sometimes stick...

The biggest problem I have is to play the low C# and C in tune, my flute has the classical "flat foot syndrome" wich I understand is quite common on flutes from this period. But since I only have been plying flute for 2 years, started on a tipple and bought this flute from mr Migoya a year ago, I think I still have plenty of room for improvement. What I like after having practiced the low C# and C, the D is really easy to play!

I have been thinking of getting a new keyless delrin flute for session and concert use, but I think I would miss the keys too much.

/Anders

[peeplj]

I have an old anonymous German 8-key.

Those notes do work, although the C-sharp better than the C as you have to have the foot joint turned to just the right angle to hit the low C dependably.

That said, there are really only a couple of trad tunes that I regularly play which uses either of these, the Galway hornpipe and a reel called the Crib of Perches.

If you play "classical" music on the flute, you'll find yourself needing those notes much more often.

--James

[rama]

i had 8key flutes both new and old. i agree that the c# was pretty juicy and easier to nail than the c. one of the newer flutes had a esp. consistent low c, pretty strong sounding. i learned a few tunes just to practice using the keys. but i gave up because the amount of practice i needed just for those notes was not worth it for me . playing those notes up an octave is alot easier in jigs/reels, no one really cares but me (i pretty much just play itm). now i just have 6key 'd' flutes for that.
i currently have an 8key bflat. the low note equivalents are 'a' and 'a-flat'. suprisingly they are easier and more reliable on that flute than the d flutes. most slower tunes sound nicer to me on the b-flat so i play that flute. it also has really sweet second octave and the high notes are easier to maintain and transition to and from - more responsive for me.