Michael, as you and others have pointed out, there's no need to change the middle D for your entire repertoire. I play it vented in many passages even though I don't vent it in general; it's just more convenient to do one or the other depending on the phrase.
And on sustained D's in airs, the top finger offers a wonderful finger vibrato on many flutes -- the vibrato not being a change in pitch but a change in timbre.
High D fingering
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chas
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Charlie
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
Whorfin Woods
"Our work puts heavy metal where it belongs -- as a music genre and not a pollutant in drinking water." -- Prof Ali Miserez.
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Rob Sharer
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Rob Sharer
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JGrant-Skerries
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Hi,
In Irish music the middle D fingering has a stylistic element. If you play, say,
G2 dG eGdG or G2 BG dGBG
then whether or not the top finger is up controls what is possible. Finger up is a clear, sweet note (maybe loud, that's up to you) while finger down and a bit of extra pressure results in an almighty bang on the D's that can be used to great rhythmic effect. Lot's of great examples around but Conal O'Grada's playing comes immediately to mind as he advocates this possibility.
Not saying which is best as obviously each has its place, just that it's another tool in the Irish flute-playing armoury. The upshot is that it's a useful skill to be able to switch fingering at will
.
Jim
In Irish music the middle D fingering has a stylistic element. If you play, say,
G2 dG eGdG or G2 BG dGBG
then whether or not the top finger is up controls what is possible. Finger up is a clear, sweet note (maybe loud, that's up to you) while finger down and a bit of extra pressure results in an almighty bang on the D's that can be used to great rhythmic effect. Lot's of great examples around but Conal O'Grada's playing comes immediately to mind as he advocates this possibility.
Not saying which is best as obviously each has its place, just that it's another tool in the Irish flute-playing armoury. The upshot is that it's a useful skill to be able to switch fingering at will
.Jim
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daiv
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learn to vent it. you should always do things on purpose, not because you're too lazy. once you can go back and forth between the two at will (like cubitt), then you can choose which one you want to do.
there are four ways to play the 2nd c on a keyed, wooden flute. the only reason i dont use all four is i havent gotten my plug keys to work.
i relearned the concertina 3 times before i found a fingering system i liked, and then a 4th time to learn how to play english music, and within each system there are countless variations. i have to on the fly decide if i want to play they very same note on the push with one hand or on the pull with the other, depending on what chord i want to push or what note is coming after it.
just work at it. it's no big deal to "change your playing style" by venting your d.
there are four ways to play the 2nd c on a keyed, wooden flute. the only reason i dont use all four is i havent gotten my plug keys to work.
i relearned the concertina 3 times before i found a fingering system i liked, and then a 4th time to learn how to play english music, and within each system there are countless variations. i have to on the fly decide if i want to play they very same note on the push with one hand or on the pull with the other, depending on what chord i want to push or what note is coming after it.
just work at it. it's no big deal to "change your playing style" by venting your d.
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upooper
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Ds
i vent both middle d and high d, though i tend to search for alternative figurings all the time as they each have their own qualities, tonally and such but i use all varities of fingerings and tailor them to the tune of interest.
oxxxxx middle d
oxxooo high d
i play a pratten style. to me the vent d is more accurate tonally, and you can push hard on it and make it bark, howl or to an extent overblow and it's still pretty solid.
the best thing about venting the middel d is it sets you up to roll, cran, squiggle the middle d. take a finger off and oxxoxx and you've got a sorta cnat, take another off oxxoox and it's a bit different. on the oxxoxx use the lower x to wave or vibrato the note. if you hold the vented d and move fingers in rapid succession, in a statactoo or closed type piping approach, you'll been to get that middle d roll with cnat which can be quite fun, yet over done, but it sets you up for other stuff too.
the high d
oxxooo is also an alternative fingering and the xxxxxx can be overblown to acheive the same note. however, to me the oxxooo is much more pure and focused tonally. in addition oxxooo leads to oxxxoo C# and another alternative Cnat oxxxxo which is also a wonderful high Cnat in comparison to half holing the high |ooooo which is always the best approach, half holing is where the music lies to my ear, in general.
you can also "squiggle" with oxxxxo and it's alternatives for interesting effects.
have fun
oxxxxx middle d
oxxooo high d
i play a pratten style. to me the vent d is more accurate tonally, and you can push hard on it and make it bark, howl or to an extent overblow and it's still pretty solid.
the best thing about venting the middel d is it sets you up to roll, cran, squiggle the middle d. take a finger off and oxxoxx and you've got a sorta cnat, take another off oxxoox and it's a bit different. on the oxxoxx use the lower x to wave or vibrato the note. if you hold the vented d and move fingers in rapid succession, in a statactoo or closed type piping approach, you'll been to get that middle d roll with cnat which can be quite fun, yet over done, but it sets you up for other stuff too.
the high d
oxxooo is also an alternative fingering and the xxxxxx can be overblown to acheive the same note. however, to me the oxxooo is much more pure and focused tonally. in addition oxxooo leads to oxxxoo C# and another alternative Cnat oxxxxo which is also a wonderful high Cnat in comparison to half holing the high |ooooo which is always the best approach, half holing is where the music lies to my ear, in general.
you can also "squiggle" with oxxxxo and it's alternatives for interesting effects.
have fun
