Assemble your flute
Assemble your flute
Now that you are down to it, you can begin assembling your flute carefully. Read the following guide before beginning to assemble it right away. It will make you cautious at places you should actually be so.
- Open your flute case, taking care that the flute does not fall out. Preferably, keep it on a flat surface and then open it by unlocking the latches, and opening the box.
- Take out the headjoint first, carefully. You do not want to drop it, nor want to damage or even bruise any part of it. Take care not to rub it against the flute’s box.
- Now take out the body of your flute. Take special care not to hold the body by the rods, keys and posts. Just hold it by its barrel, to ensure it comes out safely without any damage.
- Connect the headjoint to the barrel of your flute’s body. Twist it gently to secure its position on your flute. Make sure again, that you are connecting two pieces of solid metal, so do not bruise any of the parts. Slide the headjoint as deep as it goes, then pull it back a bit (by about a quarter of an inch), since flutes produce the best notes in tune, with the headjoint pulled out slightly. The best place to position the headjoint can usually vary, and you have to check for the mark made on the headjoint to keep it in the proper position. If there is no mark, you have to go the trial and error method. Once you connect it to the body, do not hold the heavy flute by the headjoint, or you will find a bend and that will be the end (didn’t intend to make it poetic).
- Now take out the footjoint. Once more, care should be taken not to hold it by the bells and whistles on it. The keys and knobs should not be touched. Hold the footjoint by the body. Again, connect the footjoint to the body securely, by twisting it onto the barrel of the flute’s body.
Now that you have connected your flute’s parts, it is time to make them aligned. Line the tip of your footjoint (the bottom edge of the “embouchure hole”), with the end of the flute’s last keys, tenderly, so as not to make it slide inside much. Now twist the footjoint rod in line with the keys on the body. Do not sync the footjoint keys with the body keys. That would make it difficult for you to reach the keys on your footjoint. Instead, make them as I have described. That is the most efficient way to connect your footjoint (the image is not a very sharp one, but I have placed it to give you a good idea of the angle of the footjoint. See the image closely).
Again, a final note: do not touch the keys while assembling your flute. Hold all the parts by the barrel.
