Flute Care

The modern flute is an amazing piece of engineering with many moving parts that precisely open and close while being light weight and strong enough to be handled by most people without failing, But flutes need attention now and then like all complicated equipment, to keep them in top playing order.

After Playing

Keeping your flute clean, and drying it after playing will assist in it's long life. Pad life will vary from as little as 12 months to about 5 years, depending on how careful you are with these important parts. The pads are usually made from: 

1/ a layer of card,

2/ a layer of felt 

3/ and wrapped in very thin leather, such as fish leather. 

This leather, although very thin,  is quite tough as a pad opening and closing to close the note hole, but it does not tolerate any aggressive cleaning, and wiping with a cloth or similar should be avoided. Slight scratches can take months to show as leaks, but the pad that is damaged must be replaced to keep the flute playing properly.

The pad can, like most wind instruments, get a build up of protein from the condensation from the breath when playing. The best way to remove any build up is quite simple and uses cigarette paper placed between the pad and the tone hole after each playing session. The key is gently closed onto the cigarette paper, allowing the paper to absorb the moisture for a few seconds, then the key is opened and the paper is removed, carefully.

TIP: When the key is closed onto the paper, do not pull the paper out dragging against the pad. Always open the key first to avoid abrasion by the paper on the pad.

If the pads are extremely dirty, they can be cleaned by a flute service person.

Wipe over the parts of the flute carefully with a soft cloth before the flute is put away each time. In most cases this is enough to keep your flute shining new, but the spaces in between keys can only be reached with a cotton bud. Again you must be gentle and careful cleaning in these hard to reach places. 

If the flute is tarnished or very dirty from playing and wiping does not bring back the shine, then a careful polish can be done with a non abrasive liquid or paste silver polish, but be extremely careful to not get any polish on the pads/ tone holes or even in the pivots of the flute. 

Remember, a tarnished flute sounds the same as a shiny one. 

Your Flute is not performing as it should

Springs:     If a key is slow moving or does not open at all, there is a chance that the small spring that either opens or closes that key has come off it's post.

The needle springs keep the key open or closed position (depending on the key) when not being played or held with the finger. The pictures below show a spring off the little post. This spring would normally keep this key open (on the foot joint C key) so this spring would fit on the other side of the post to make the key spring open. 

To return it to the correct position, push the end of the spring with a thin piece of plastic or wood that is thin enough to fit under the post and key rail. A tooth pick (thick end) or a match stick (not the lighting end)  should just about do the trick. Push down slightly below the post and then up behind and let the spring clip into the little groove or notch. With practice this only takes seconds. Unless you are very careful, avoid using metal devices like knives and screw drivers, as they will scratch your flute if you slip off the spring.

Flute Blocked:  Things placed inside the flute will stop or change the way it sounds. As simple as this sounds, things are left in the flute such as pens, cleaning rods, bits of tissue, sweets and all things like this, can make the flute sound damaged.

 I once found a very stuck lizard in a Bassoon. It had started in the large end of the Bassoon and tried to escape through the narrow end, where it became stuck. The player was most upset that her Bassoon was broken, but I think the lizard was more upset with it's problem. 

If you have a little blossom in your family, chances are that things will end up in the flute, so if it does not sound right, just check inside first, before you rush off for repairs.

Leaking Pads:  Now this is more tricky and in most cases left up to a flute repairer. 

But, in a majority of cases it is just fine adjustment between keys that work off each other to open or close, and if you are about to perform, and the lower half of your flute will not sound or is always in the wrong octave, then you might need to be not only brave, but careful and make an adjustment.

Two types of adjustments are used on most modern flutes. 

The first system used varying thickness of felt or cork between two faces of joining key mechanisms.

If a felt or cork falls out and is lost, you will need to find something of the same thickness to do the job. In an emergency, layers of masking tape or sticky tape, can solve the problem in the short term. You can also use thin clean cardboard (not corrugated) just like in the breakfast cereal box. Remember this is just so you can go on to play, so make it small, and easy to remove later. The best thing is if you can find the old piece of felt or cork, clean it and glue it back into position.

The thickness of these parts is very important and if you cannot find exactly the right thickness material, don't bother as the flute will still have leaks, but it is possible. When these parts are lost it is often easier to take the flute to a repairer as they will have the right thickness material and do the job in quick time. If you really want to have a try at something like this, do so. It is your flute and if you take your time there is no reason why you cannot do a great job and get your flute back to playing nicely.

The next adjustment is by tiny screws. They vary the amount of movement of keys further up the flute and very small turns of these screws can solve the problem, and usually very fast. Do Not use the wrong sized screw driver for the sake of a quick adjustment, your flute is worth too much to damage it with a screw driver that is too small or too big. Small electronic screw drivers are great and not that expensive. Shops such as  Tandy, Dick Smith, Jay Car all have screw drivers that will work well

here are different sizes ranging from as small as 1mm blade up to 2.5mm

      The screw adjustment on a flute, are very small, and so is the amount of screw movement necessary. In most cases, turning the screw just the tiniest amount will  close or open the gap in the pad and seat.

The flute repairer will use a light to see if there is any gap between the pad and the flute tone hole. The light makes it easy to see a leak, and the key can be adjusted to close the gap.