Flute Fingering

Made Easy!
Emily Massey
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 ~ Table of Contents~
Parts of the flute ………………………………………… 4 - 8
How to Assemble ……………………………………….. 9– 13
Cleaning your flute …...………………………………… 15-24
Fingering “chart” ……………………………………… 25-66
Theory practice …………………………………………. 67– 72
Answers to theory practice ……………………………….. 73-77

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Parts of the Flute

4
Head joint

5
 Body

~ Front ~

6
~ Back~

7
 Foot joint

~ Back ~
~ Front ~

8
How to Assemble a Flute

9
 Foot joint

Take the foot joint and the body….

Body

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…. And push together gently like this.

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 Head joint

Then take the head joint and the foot joint & body you just put together….
Foot joint and body

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… and gently push the head joint into the body like this.

13
 Tuning your flute…

If you are too Sharp pull the head joint out slightly until you get it in tune
If you are too flat push the head joint in slightly until you get it in tune

I can’t really tell you through words how to tell when your flute is in tune. If you
look on the internet there are sites that will help you tune. I found some when we
typed online flute tuner in the search engine.

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Cleaning Your Flute

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 There are many different cleaning supplies out there for you to buy. I will
show you the ones that I use and how to use them and then you can go shopping
and see what you think is best for you. Just make sure you get it really dry when
you are done playing after each session. If you don’t get it dry then the metal will
rust and the pads on the back of the keys will fall apart and it will cost a lot to re-
place them, last I heard it was about $200 for each pad. If you are careful and take
care to get all of the moisture out after each time you play then you shouldn’t have
to replace them. I have been playing flute for 7 years and have never had to re-
place my pads. The cleaning set that I have is from Woodwinds & Brasswinds. It
is the “Conn flute care kit” it costs $16.99 which is a lot cheaper than having to re-
pair your flute.

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 This cloth is made specifically for cleaning flutes. It has a weight at the end
of the string to pull it down to the end of the body after you have taken your flute
apart. Just drop the weighted string down through the body and gently pull through.
I do this several times to make sure that I get all the moisture out.

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 The cleaning rods come with most flutes either in the center of the case or
along the top or bottom. Though you can buy them separately if for some reason
your flute didn’t come with one. They can be plastic or metal, both of which have a
slit in one end. To use it you put a cloth through the slit and carefully slide it
through the body and gently twist on your way through. When you get done clean-
ing the body make sure you do the foot joint, too, as it also has pads. Be sure to
get them both really dry! You can also use this to clean the head.

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 This thing is called a Flute pad saver. You stick it in the body of your flute
while it is in the case not being used. It will help draw more moisture off of the key
pads. They also have one for the foot joint piece and though I do not have one, I
think it is a good idea. I was on a website called Woodwinds & Brasswinds and
they had them both as a set for about $10.

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 It is very simple to use the pad saver. All you do is slide the pad saver down through the
top of the body…

… until it is all the way in with none of it hanging out on either end.

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 Y

This is one type of cleaning tool for the head joint of your flute. To use it
you just put one end up into the head joint and twist all over the inside until it is to-
tally dry inside. This comes in the Conn flute cleaning set I mentioned earlier.

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 Here is another type of a cleaning tool for your flute head joint. To use it
there is Velcro on one side of the cloth and on the top of the little piece. Hook the
two together then there is a little hole in the bottom of the piece that you slide the
bottom of your cleaning rod into. After you do that then just stick it up in the head
joint and twist until it is dry.

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 Polishing cloth: I like to use a polishing cloth when ever I get done
playing as it wipes the finger prints off and it keeps it really shiny and looking new.

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Fingering “Chart”

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 ~ Fingering Chart key ~

= Right hand thumb

= Right hand pointer

= Right hand middle finger

= Right hand ring finger

= Right hand little finger

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= Left hand thumb

= Left hand pointer

= Left hand middle finger

= Left hand ring finger

= Left hand little finger

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 I am going to do this a little different than most fingering charts. When I first
learned how to play flute I had a lot of trouble finding an easy to read fingering
chart. I was always confused as to which key I should press down and which ones I
shouldn’t. The way I did this chart, when you use the key (pages 28-29) the arrows
will show you which key to press with which finger. If there is an arrow pointing at
a key those keys are the one you will PRESS. All of the others you don’t touch. I
hope it helps you understand the fingering easier with this method. It should also
make it easier when you have to read a regular fingering chart as you will already be
familiar with which keys you should press. The top pictures are the back of the
flute the part that will be facing you. The bottom picture is the front the part that
will be pointing away from you. Also, you will notice that some of the notes I put
on the same page with the same fingering. That is because they are the same note.
For example, A# is the same note as Bb. so they both have the same fingering. The
flute only plays in the treble clef, which is the tall almost S looking thing on the left
side of the picture below. When you are reading the key signature on a piece of
music the sharps and flats are always there in the same order. Sharps are always
F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#. The flats are always B b , Eb , A b , Db , Gb , Cb , Fb .
Just backwards of the sharps, just remember that the flats spell Bead and then G, C,
F. The sharps have F,C,G, and then Bead is spelled backwards. Once you memo-
rize this reading music will be a lot easier, because you will be able to just look at it
and tell which notes need to be sharp and which ones need to be flat.

G B D

( Notes on the Line)

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 E

F A C

( Notes on the space)

When I was first learning music theory, I had a way to remember which
notes went on which space or line that I will share with you below:
F. A. C. E. on the space.

Every. Good. Boy. Does. Fine. On the line.

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 C

R. Ring R. middle R. Pointer L. Ring L. Middle L. Pointer

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 C # / Db

R. Ring R. Middle R. Pointer L. Ring L. Middle L. Pointer

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D

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D # / Eb

33
E

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F

35
F # / Gb

36
G

37
G# / Ab

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A

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A# / Bb

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B

41
C

42
C# / Db

43
D

44
D# / Eb

45
E

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F

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F# / Gb

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G

49
G# / A b

50
A

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A # / Bb

52
B

53
C

54
C# / Db

55
D

56
D# / Eb

57
E

58
F

59
F# / Gb

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G

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G# / Ab

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A

63
A# / Bb

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B

65
C

66
Theory Practice

67
 Name the Lines

_____ ______ ______ ______ _______

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 Name the space

___________ ___________ _____________ ____________

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 Match the Sharp to the Flat that is the same note:

C# Bb

D# Gb

F# Db

A# Eb

What is this called?

_____________________________________________

When your Flute is too Sharp you __________________________________________________________

When your Flute is too Flat you ___________________________________________________________

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When you are reading the Key signature what order are the Flats always in?

______ _______ ______ _______ ______ _____ ______

When you are reading the Key signature what order are the Sharps always in?

_____ ______ _____ _____ ______ _____ _____

Name the three main parts of the Flute:

_________________________

_________________________

_________________________

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 I have one book that I would like to recommend to the flutist that is serious about
learning the instrument, as this book can look a little intimidating to one not seri-
ous. The book is :
Foundation to Flute playing - An Elementary Method. By: E. Wagner
It was put out by Carl Fisher. The edition I have was copyrighted in 1918. At the
beginning it starts out pretty easy. If you take your time and read the lessons I think
it is well worth the time. The further you get in the book, you will be able to learn a
lot of new things an example is trills & triplets. The main thing I am not overly
fond of is the fingering chart in the front of the book. It is probably the most con-
fusing chart I have ever used. I got mine used and I haven’t seen it new. If you are
interested in buying it, I would recommend that you look on places like e-bay or a
used book store for it.

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Answers to theory practice

73
 Name the line

E G B D F
____________ ___________ _____________ ______________ ________________

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 Name the space

F A C E

_________ _________ ___________ ___________

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 Match the Sharp to the Flat that is the same note:

C# Bb

D# Gb

F# Db

A# Eb

What is this called?

Treble Clef

___________________________________________

When your Flute is too Sharp you Pull the head joint out

When your Flute is too Flat you Push the head joint in

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When you are reading the Key signature what order are the Flats always in?

Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb

______ _______ ______ _______ ______ _____ ______

When you are reading the Key signature what order are the Sharps always in?

F# C# G# D# A# E# B#

_____ ______ _____ _____ ______ _____ ______

Name the three main parts of the Flute:

Foot joint
_________________________

Body

________________________

Head joint
_________________________

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 “Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him
with stringed instruments and organs.”
Psalms 150:4 (KJV)

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