Hi, I`ve been playing flute for 5 years now and I never noticed this before, but my Artley 18-0, seems to be out of tune. The reason I think I never noticed before is because up until today, I`ve only played solos with it.

Anyway, it seems to be a semi-tone flat. When I played a Bb it came out as an A on a piano, the piano was electric so there`s no way that it is out.

I`m self-taught and I`m wondering if maybe my embrouchure is right, could that cause the flute to play out of tune?

When I bought it a few years ago, it was missing the crown and when I took it to the repair guy,he didn`t have a crown that fit it exactly as it should, but I needed for school the next day. So he had to pull the cork out a bit. I was told that it wouldn`t effect the tuning of the flute, but could this also be another reason why it`s out of tune?

My final question is, if you have experience with an Artley 18-0, did you have the same problem?

It is not suprising at all that an Artley flute would be out of tune. The scale is very poor on them and they are generally not a very well built flute.

if the repair technician changed the position of the headjoint cork, then the head will have to be positioned into the body differently. if you have never played with an ensemble on the flute before, you should really check the pitch of each note

with a tuner, play your chromatic scale (Slowly) and record whether each note is sharp, flat, or in tune. this will help you get to know your flute better, and is much needed in order to play in tune.

your embochure, could also affect the pitch. if your mouth is closed tightly with your teeth clenched together, it will tend to go sharp. you should really play with your mouth open, and jaw lowered. once you get that position comfortable, tune from there.

hope this helped.

Before you investigate the tuning of yourself or your flute, make sure that the face of the metal end of the crown cork is 17 mm from the centre of the embouchure hole, and that there is no air gap between this metal end and the cork itself, and that the cork does not leak - block the embouchure hole with your thumb and see if you can suck (from the mouth not the lungs) air at the lower end.

Next, be aware that an electric piano most definitely can be out of tune. Somewhere inside, there will be an adjustment that tunes all notes - quite a lot!

Now, check your pitch, preferably with a electronic tuner (or two). If your pitch is still very flat generally, then there is a slight possibility that the head of your flute has been made too long, and can easily be shortened.

It is far more likely that the way you are playing it is faulty. May I suggest that the following may be helpful:

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Resources/FluteLessons2.html

hey i have almost the same problem...i have an armstrong flute and it seems really flat all the time...but my band conductor said my middle joint is bent into an arch and my keys are severely out of alignment!