Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi friends,
I live in upstate NY and have been asked to play at an outside function, park-like setting. I have never played outside before. Should I have concerns for my blackwood flute? It's been in the 80's here recently.

Thanks

I had the pleasure of playing at a festival last year when it was 38C/99F and likely 5% humidity max since it was semi-desert. I live where it rarely gets above 25C/80F, and the humidity is usually greater than 50%. No problems, but I did oil and grease the joints of my flute before I went, kept it out of the sun, didn't leave it in the car etc.

I play outside a lot, at temps from 12C/55F upward. I played my expensive grenadilla clarinet in a marching band in all weathers, and as this was when I was a teenager, I paid zero attention to instrument care. I think the instruments are more robust than we give them credit for.

ON the other hand, it's wind that can make it hard to impossible to play outdoors. As there is no reflected sound usually, it also seems that your tone/power has vanished, which can be disconcerting. I had to play outdoors exclusively for a month, and when I can back home, my tone was much improved. Hmmm.

Hugh

I would also think that you will want to try practicing outside.
Get use to the sound and what wind can do.

Good luck.

I recently played my blackwood McGee at an outdoor event where the temperature was hovering around 100, the humidity was less than 20%, and the wind was blowing. I oiled it well the day before and tried to keep it out of direct sun, it was fine but my playing suffered, mostly because of playing against the wind. On the bright side, you don't have to worry about warming up the flute before playing!

yeah good idea, practice playing outside; watch for wind and surrounding acoustics. when i busked i found some nice spots. also i found higher pitched flutes like e,f,g,a,bflat seem to work better ymmv. good luck and have fun.

Thanks to everyone for their insights and tips, very helpful:)

Matt

I've played a few outdoor gigs.

If it's dry, windy, and hot, it's tough.

Can you get away with playing a whistle if necessary?