Jump to content

Flute/Assembly of the instrument

From Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Basic Flute Method
Method book for those beginning to learn flute.

Introduction
IntroductionMaintenance

Getting started
Lesson 2Lesson 3Lesson 4Lesson 5Lesson 6

Playing the flute
Lesson 7Lesson 8Lesson 9Lesson 10Lesson 11Lesson 12Lesson 13Lesson 14

Building on skills
Lesson 15Lesson 16Lesson 17Lesson 18Lesson 19Lesson 20Lesson 21Lesson 22Culmination

Appendicies
LinksLearning a piece of music

Related books
SaxophoneMusic TheoryBaroque Flute HandbookWestern Music History

Most flutes are stored as three separate pieces in a case. These pieces are named (from left to right as shown in fig. 1) the headjoint, body and footjoint.

Fig. 1.

When assembling a flute, it is important that it is not grasped by any part of the mechanism, as this additional force may bend keys and rods. This will prevent the flute from working properly.

Disassembled flute

Assembly

[edit | edit source]
Headjoint of flute
Bodyjoint of flute
Endjoint of flute

Take the headjoint and body from the case. Without grasping the keys, insert the open end of the headjoint into the wider end of the body (usually closest to the printed brandname of the instrument). The headjoint should be aligned correctly in order to obtain ideal playing posture. In order to do this, the embouchure hole must be aligned with the first key on the body. This refers to the key on which your left index finger belongs. Some flutes has small arrows to indicate correct alignment, in which case, align the arrows.

Next, take the footjoint from the case and connect it to the other end of the body, again, without grasping the mechanism. There is one main rod which is connected parallel to the footjoint. This should be aligned with the last key on the body, approximately in line with the middle of the key. The alignment of the footjoint can be adjusted for greater comfort, depending on the length of your right hand little finger.