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Post by Misty on Mar 2, 2023 15:47:44 GMT
Any flautists around? These days I'm being called upon to play my flute with an instrumental group in Church from time to time to accompany all-age services. This means I need to:
A Get my flute out, and B Practise!!
I am doing both, but since I've been giving more time to other instruments (mostly recorders) my tone has gone to pot. That's okay - I can put that right, I think. But I'm strongly beginning to suspect, with the way it's sounding, and the odd "eek!" note here and there, that it might be due overdue a service. It doesn't seem so clear on the higher notes, but that could well be me. So how do I tell when it needs servicing?
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Post by pavane on Mar 3, 2023 10:16:00 GMT
I don't know specifically for a flute, but I know there are people who say that woodwinds should be serviced annually like a car: the mechanism on a woodwind is much more complex and delicate than on most instruments and they drift out of adjustment, need oiling, and so forth, and the time to do it is before it reaches the point where something doesn't actually work. I know that pretty much every decent clarinet player would tell you that the first thing you should do with any new clarinet before you play it is to take it to a good service technician and have it properly set up.
It sounds like a decent service wouldn't do your flute any harm. I presume you would have to post it to someone, but at least that way you get a good choice.
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Post by Misty on Mar 3, 2023 17:34:52 GMT
Thanks for your reply. I had a feeling it was ideally supposed to be annually. Everything is actually working, and it was starting to sound better today with a little more practice of late - so it could just be me! I think it must be a few years since it was properly serviced, and stripped down at the same time, but I was in the area at the time, and this time as you say it would mean posting it. I bought the flute from a music shop in Edinburgh, but had previously bought one in Canterbury, and that's where I have always had them serviced as there is a good music shop there that I trust. I think I could ask my (ex) flute teacher to have a play and see what he thinks.
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