I bought a new flute a couple of weeks ago. My old flute was a closed-hole Blessing with an offset G and a C foot. My new one is an Armstrong 303B: open-hole, silver headjoint, inline G, and B foot. When I bought it, though, I didn`t realize it had an inline G until I got home and tried out some of my music, and I kept missing the key. Is there anything I should do, or do I just have to plug it in and keep trying?

Thanks

try twisting the foot forward or toward you so your hands are in a more curled position, practice about 15 mins a day on easy scales with the hole unplugged until it comes. (practice,practice,practice)good luck you picked a wonderful flute i play with the same flute and love it.

The in-line G flute is not designed to fit the arms and fingers of the majority of people. There is almost no sense that flutes are still made like this, and in many parts of the world they are rare compared with off-set G. The `fashion` inexplicably lingers in USA.

YOu could try turning your head more to the left (moving the flute with your head), while keeping your shoulders still. This means the left arm is stretching less, and the ring finger can reach a little further.

If the problem is really serious - perhaps you have an extra short ring finger - then a repair technician can add an extension to the key.

I made a key extention on mine because I had the same problem. It is detachable and just fits in the open hole of the G key. If you would like to see a picture of it, please email me at zoocrazylilly@yahoo.com.
I would consider making one for you if you would like.

Meme,
It is actually becoming a lot more common here in the US to play on an offset G now. I just read a poll on the Larry Kranz site that was taken at a convention, and more people now play it that the in line. I have longer fingers, so it doesn`t bother me any. I can play either or and be fine. I do still agree though that they should pretty much all be made with an offset G now. It really does make more sense.

Okay, sorry that didn`t make any sense. I know I just wrote that I made a key extension for the G and then I said that I have longer fingers so it doesn`t bother me. I just contradicted myself. I guess it doesn`t really bother me, but what I meant to say is that it is more comfortable so that is why I made the key extension. Geesh... sorry to confuse everyone. lol! I think I just confused myself more!

Would the music store you bought it from let you exchange it for an offset model? If it hasn`t been too long and it`s still in like-new condition, that may be an option to check out. Otherwise, plug it. You can get plugs that have silver tops if the look of cork or neoprene bothers you.

A teacher once told me that people who can`t play an inline G flute have bad posture. He then looked at my posture and found nothing wrong with it. Some people just don`t understand that not everyone has gorilla-sized hands

...and for the record, the original Boehm flutes were all offset g. Inline G flutes became popular because Louis Lot found that he could make them faster. His flutes both were and still are very popular, so other manufacturers started copying him

just practice. i have an offset and not planning on switching anytime soon (though i should seeing i`ve played the life out of my miyazawa) but the easiest way of switching is just practice practice and PLUGS! they`re you`re best friend when you get a new flute and you`re just starting to get used to things.