Method for the One-Keyed Flute. Janice Dockendorff Boland
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Three important decisions you will need to make are (1) the pitch of the flute, (2) the style of the flute, and (3) the type of wood used in its construction.
Pitch
Determine what pitch you would like the flute to be. The common standard today for most baroque music is A-415. Choose a pitch that allows you to play with colleagues and friends. Does your harpsichordist normally tune the instrument to A-415? Is there another flutist with whom you wish to perform? What pitch is his or her flute? The tone of the flute is markedly different at different pitches. A higher-pitched flute is more brilliant and penetrating; a lower-pitched flute is softer and more mellow.
Style
You may wish to match the instrument to the music you will play or to the circumstances in which you will play. Will you do orchestral playing? Or will you find yourself more often in intimate chamber music settings? While some replicas can be used for a variety of music, others are more specialized or suited to a smaller range of styles. A flute designed for the music of Hotteterre won't be suitable for late eighteenth-century Mozart. Ask your flute maker for advice. Some popular reproductions today are modeled after instruments by Hotteterre (French maker, after Graz original c.1700), Denner (Nuremberg maker, after original played by Hünteler, early eighteenth century), Bressan (London maker, pre-1730), Rottenburgh (Brussels maker, after original in the Kuijken collection, c. 1770), and August Grenser (Dresden maker, second half of the eighteenth century).
Woods
You may be asked what type of wood you prefer. Today's replicas are commonly made of boxwood, ebony, cocus wood, rosewood, or grenadilla. Grenadilla is the most dense and rosewood the least dense. The type of wood used in flute construction affects its tone quality, although modern makers tell me that the shape of the bore and cut of the tone and embouchure holes have a much more profound effect on the tone than the choice of wood. Try several and see which you prefer. A popular “beginning model” by Aulos of Japan is made of plastic. Because of international laws governing the sale of ivory, few replicas are made of ivory or have ivory trim.
Used Flutes
Don't shy away from purchasing a used instrument. According to Quantz (1752, p. 51), “Generally a good and accurately tuned flute that has been frequently played is always preferable to a new one.”
ON CARE
Now if you have such a flute…spare no effort to maintain it so that it cannot be spoiled.
Tromlitz (1791, p. 40)
The one-keyed flute has its own unique set of requirements for proper care. Many fine flutes from the eighteenth century have survived, evidence that with proper care, a flute can last for centuries. I am indebted to flute-makers Roderick Cameron and Ardal Powell for much of the following information on flute care.
Checklist
Oiling the Flute
What type of oil should be used? The answer to this question depends in part on the flute you own. If you are playing an antique flute, it will be helpful to know that Quantz (1752) recommended almond oil. Tromlitz (1791) preferred rapeseed oil (also known today as canola oil), saying almond oil was too light and disappeared too quickly.