3.
Search for a multiphonic fingering
Each fingering plays a handful of notes and, if some of the notes are not harmonically related,
the fingering can produce multiphonics. Not all pairs of notes can be played simultaneously.
When The Virtual Flute finds a fingering for your requested multiphonic, it is up to you
to work out how to blow, which notes to get and to check the intonation.
The multiphonics tool allows you to search for two note and three note multiphonics.
You can also perform searches with a single note to find all two note and three note
multiphonics which include that note. This feature is particularly useful for composers.
Simply enter a single note at the three note interface of the multiphonics search.
The likelihood of playing a multiphonic depends on the pitches of the inharmonic notes
in relation to the remaining notes of the fingering. Ideally, the notes of a multiphonic are
adjacent to each other in a fingering's frequency-ordered sequence of playable notes. For example,
consider a fingering which plays the notes C5, D6, G#6 and B6. The notes C5 and D6 are not
harmonically related, and furthermore, no playable note lies between them.
The Virtual Flute denotes these optimal multiphonic fingerings with a
(
) icon.
In the bottom one and a half octaves of the flute, multiphonics are rare, but they become
much more common in the higher range. Multiphonics involve cross fingerings:
a hole open with the next several keys closed. These fingerings work best for low notes
when they use the three small holes on the flute (the two trill keys and the key
operated by LH1). Opening these keys tends to produce notes around C5-D#5, so
there are many multiphonics in the middle range of the flute in which one of the
played notes falls in this range. In the high range, the larger holes work for cross
fingering and so there are many more possible multiphonics.
* Flutists, flutes and flute adjustments vary!
Please note that the pitch results may not be accurate for your particular flute,
its adjustments (slide and cork positions, open key heights) and your embouchure.
(See also A note on flute models.)
Unconventional flute finger positions
In the diagram below, the keys that your fingers normally touch are white with
a bold outline. The shaded keys are not touched in conventional fingerings,
but you may use them for some alternate, microtonic and multiphonic fingerings.
- The A# key lies between the '1' and '2' keys of the left hand.
- The G key and the F# key lie between the LH3 key and the RH1 key.
On the interactive graphic for The Virtual Flute, these keys are normally
grey and inactive. Clicking the box "Allow unconventional finger positions" makes
them coloured and clickable. When you search for alternate, microtonic or
multiphonic fingerings, the search will normally not return fingerings using the
unconventional fingering positions. If you select the checkbox however, fingering
possibilities including unconventional positions will be included.
In addition to fingerings that include keys that are not normally touched,
there are many fingerings that are difficult to finger because they simply include
too many pressed keys. Ensuring that the "Allow unconventional finger
positions" option is not selected will remove these fingerings from the search results.
When this is done, no fingering should contain more pressed keys than fingers on
a hand (except for the foot keys, which can be multiply selected reasonably easily).
A note on flute models
How well will The Virtual Flute work for your particular instrument?
Most modern flutes can be played using the same fingering, because their
key systems and tone hole placings and sizes are fairly similar. For the
same reason, The Virtual Flute will work for most flutes. However, just
as the intonation or ease of playing may vary slightly from one
instrument to another, The Virtual Flute's predictions may have small
errors for your instrument. (The predictions of The Virtual Flute
are based on a Pearl PF-661 flute.)
One variant key system is the Boehm flute with open G# - the system
that Boehm preferred because of its elegance and simplicity. Most of The
Virtual Flute's fingerings can be easily converted for open G#, simply
by reversing the use of the G# key. (This conversion does not apply when
fingerings have both of the G# keys open: when the G# key is pressed, but neither LH3
nor RH2 is pressed.) Much rarer are flutes with separate C# and register keys.
The properties of any fingering which includes one of these keys will
not be predicted accurately by The Virtual Flute.
)
to least playabile (
) 
) , where the notes will
approach 50 cents sharp or 50 cents flat. (There are 100 cents in a semitone.)