Okay I have had my flute for about 8 years now, and have never needed ANY kind of repair. Never have gotten the pad replaced. But, and this has been going on for quite a while now, when I play my middle Eb, it vibrates. Only on that note. I have never had any sort of problem with it until about December. I asked my band teacher about it and we narrowed it down to the second pinkie keys. We are not sure which key it is, or if something on the joint is loose. Any advise?
[[ And I have tried rotating the head joint around, so I know it is not a problem with the position of my mouth. ]]
There are several possibilities, but it sounds like it might be a screw that is slightly loose. If that's the case, the screw itself can vibrate or a key related to the screw can vibrate. Another possibility is that a pad skin is slightly torn and that could also make a vibrating sound as air passes by the torn area.
Funny thing about sound waves is that they can cause objects to vibrate with certain pitches. That's called sympathetic vibration.
Now you might be tempted to grab a screwdriver and start trying to tighten every screw on your flute - DON'T! Take it to a repair technician. Should be a simple fix and they might be able to find it and fix it on the spot.
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The reason I said don't try to tighten the screws yourself is that some screws are for adjustments and if you don't know which is which, you could make your flute unplayable and make a fairly simple problem a lot worse by causing other keys to not close properly and leak.
It is most likely the low C or low B roller vibrating against its pivot rod. This can happen when there is no oil in that pivot. Spin the rollers. If they make any sound at all, then they need oiling.
8 years and no lubrication? Hmmm. You are lucky if rust is not setting up in some pivots.
i had a problem similar, found out it was the headjoint cork was vibrating, but take it to a tech and get a coa then it will play perfectly, and you wont have to worry about it for a while.
Wow, I'm again with Kara on this one. How is this flute still playing?
As stated before, it may be many things causinge vibration. Loose screw, pad, or even a cork that is missing, after all, 8 years is a long time for the glue to get dry.
Take it to a good technician ASAP. Maybe you can handle other problems that might be just waiting to completely ruin your flute playing.
I know that it not a one of the pads. I did take it in to get the pads replaced, and the tec. said that the pads were fine. And I have never oiled it. And I can give that a try. But I planed on takeing this in on my spring break becuase I need it for school. My teacher may fail me if I don't play. But thanks for tips and help guys!
While you are playing with a buzz, get a second person to touch the places suggested, i.e. the rollers and the middle of the trill key assembly. If the buzz stops, that is where the problem is.
Just because you had a repad does not mean that it its not a pad washer. Some technicians inexplicably, deliberately leave pad screws loose.
Another possibility for a buzz is a loose retainer for an open hole pad. That, too, could happen after a repad, if the press-grip of one of these was not tight enough.
Another possibility is a torn pad membrane, but in your case this is unlikely.
8 years is nothing. I have that beat. My flute turned 28 at Christmastime (a present from my daddy when I was 13). I just took it for the first time to the repair shop. It needed one pad and a spring was shot on the foot joint. It's an Artley...go figure. The repair guy couldn't believe the good shape it is in and how nicely it plays. I played it through 8th grade band and high school band, and for casual playing throughout the years since. I'll probably let my 10 year old daughter start learning on it.
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