OKay, I am having trouble sliding my pinky from the lowest e flat to c. I know oil from the side of your nose is supposed to help, and it does, but I`m having a response issue. Any one know how to help this? Also, is there anyway to make the transition from B6 to C7 easier? I have trouble getting my pinky to my B gizmo key... any suggestions? Thanks so very much

Issue 1. It is very common for pad alignment with tone holes to be not quite right on flutes.

It normally shows as the back of the pad (i.e. the area nearest the key`s `hinge`) closing securely before the opposite side of the pad has completely sealed, or in many cases even begun to seal. (This problem often cannot be detected visually; a technician uses a `feeler`, about .02 mm thick, to detect different `drag` in different locations when this feeler is drawn out from under a pad.)

If this problem exists, unless a technician attends to it, the player subconsciously learns to press the key harder in order to gain a pad seal. Of course the little finger is particularly weak, and cannot easily do this, especially when moving from the Eb key.

Issue 2. Both the low C and C# pads should close exactly together when the low C roller is pressed. If they don`t, then the player usually learns to press both the the roller AND the C# `spatula` when playing low C. This may be more difficult to do when sliding from the Eb key. It is an easy adjustment for a technician to get right.

Issue 3.
Sometimes the geometry of the Eb spatula and low C roller is poorly designed so that the finger does not slide easily from the Eb spatula to the low C roller. A technician may be able to make the transition easier by altering the relative heights of these parts.

So the short answer is that it is probably time for you to get to a good technician.