I have an aebi Bb flute on the way, and wondering if this should be learned any different than a D flute?
should I rewrite/ transpose tunes first, and if so, how?
or do I just “pretend” it is a D flute (sounds too easy to me)
please share your experiences, tips, etc.
thanks
berti
Hi Berti
I’m assuming this is the Aebi Bb that you mentioned on the Chiff‘n’Fipple flute forum? Congratulations on a great new flute! I fancy a Bb myself. I’ve always assumed that I’d use it to play slow airs and tunes that can be played relatively slowly and make good use of that sonorous low end, unaccompanied, in which case playing it as if it were a D seems the way to go. I’m sure the Bb owners on the CnF would give you loads of advice!
Neil
On Grey Larsen’s site, he talks about how he uses a Bb flute in Eb sessions.
http://www.greylarsen.com/store/lowflutes.php
That’s probably the only time you’d need to do any transposing; otherwise, as you said, just finger the tunes as you would on a D flute.
If you want to play in a “D” session with a low flute (a big *if* !!) then you need probably a Boehm alto flute. Or a conical flute in A with ideally Cnatural and low G keys. It is theoretically possible on a Bb conical with lots of keys, but would be pretty tough to do.
If you are playing on your own play what sounds nice!
Pretend it’s a D flute as far as fingering goes. You’ll find it doesn’t want to be blown the same though. And it’ll be heavier than you’re used to.