It's summer break now and I have been practicing. I noticed that when I play my b flat, it sounds airy. I have a opened hole gemeinhardt flute with a inline g. I am pretty positive the key my right index finger presses down is the problem. If I press it down harder, my sound becomes less airy. I have no idea how to fix it. Is there any solutions? I use the standard fingering for B flat.

How do you think we are supposed to tell you how to fix it without being able to see it? So many people come on here saying they have a problem with their flute and every time we tell them to take it to a flute tech.

So to clarify: if you have a problem with your car and do not know the first thing on how to fix it yourself, you take it to a professional to have it fixed. Correct? Same thing goes for a flute. You can always learn how to do repairs yourself, but I would start on a flute that is a junker flute that is not your main flute first.

There's probably a leak on the key in between the index and second finger (the one that isn't pressed). My friend had the exact same problem just recently.
It's probably an adjustment issue and a trip to the repair shop could fix it up right quick.

This happened to me and I found out a screw was loose. Ask a professional, someone who repairs flutes. I probably shouldn't have asked my band teacher but her main instrument is the flute and she knew how to fix it. Maybe ask your teacher if they think you should have a professional look at it. Then you don't waste your money on having a screw tightened or something that would take a second to fix!

As others have said it is most likely just the link between the two keys. This will be a quick job for any repairer. However there might be other adjustments that are on the limit so ask the tech to check over the whole mechanism - you might be surprised what a difference a few quick tweaks with a screwdriver by someone who knows what they are doing will make. A few random tweaks if you don't know what's what can make things much worse.

I wasn't really asking anyone to fix it....I was asking for advice. And thanks!

I wasn't really asking anyone to fix it....I was asking for advice. And thanks!

Well, we gave you the advice that you were looking for, it just happens to be that our advise it to go have someone fix it. Isn't that what you were hoping for when asking the question, that you wanted a fix to your flute? That really is the only logical answer here.



"Common sense people, common sense!"

Please, DaveandKateplus1, be nicer than that. I see your point, and agree with that seeing a repair tech is often an excellent idea. However, there is no reason to discourage this kind of questions. For once, we flutists always struggle with deciding if it is us causing a problem or if it is the flute. Additionally it is not all repair technicians that do a good job. Consequently it might be a good idea to learn more about the current problem, if possible, by asking a question.

My own advice in general about flute mechanics is:
1) Get regular check-ups. Yearly is a good idea (but different people will have different opinions on how frequent the check-ups should be). Regular check-ups are usually not expensive, and they can prevent expesive problems from arising.

2) Locate a flute tech that you trust and that you know will do a good job. There is no point in paying someone who does not have the skill to keep (or restore) your flute in good shape. (This also means that if you still notice anything odd at all after a repair, talk to to the technician about it. You are the one knowing your flute and how it behaved before the repair, and good technicians do want to help you as much as they can.)

Please correct me if you more experienced people have opinions.

Get regular check-ups. Yearly is a good idea (but different people will have different opinions on how frequent the check-ups should be). Regular check-ups are usually not expensive, and they can prevent expesive problems from arising.

Yes, a yearly COA (Clean, Oil, and Adjust) is a good idea. It's like going to the dentist (which I hate) ... if you go regularly, problems are found before they become major (i.e. a root canal, which I have not had, but they sound nasty).

Carolyn Nussbaum charges about $350 for a professional flute (i.e. Haynes, Powell, Brannen, etc) but she does a wonderful job with my Haynes and I trust her 100%. It's a pain to ship my flute from CA to TX but it's worth it for me as I would not let my local music shop touch my flute.

FluteWorld seems to charge less
http://www.fluteworld.com/index.php?action=strona&wart=26

Cessimarie, if you were referring to ""Common sense people, common sense!" as me being rude, that is just a goofy quote that I like and put at the end of my posts. You get so many people that lack common sense (including even I at many times) that I just love that saying.
But, everyone just about said the same thing, go take it to a repair tech. Simple.



"Common sense people, common sense!"

Correction: Go take it to a GOOD repair tech.