Most flute students learn their fingerings from a band or flute method book. These are standard fingerings that are universally used. Eventually, as they progress, flutists learn sensitive fingerings that improve clarity of the tone and provide better intonation. Sensitive fingerings are generally used in lyrical or slower passages, not in technical ones.
Challenging Fingerings
The most common fingering mistake is leaving the left index finger down for the D and Eb in the first and second octaves. This makes the tone airy and unfocused. Renaming the left index finger as an octave key helps flutists remember to lift the finger when ascending to the second octave.
D and Eb in the 1st and 2nd octaves
Students often omit placing the right-hand pinkie on for the E in octaves one and two. Adding the pinkie, focuses the sound and makes it clearer.
E in 1st and 2nd octaves with RH pinkie on
Fingering charts list three fingerings for Bb in the first two octaves. Which one a student learns first varies from one book to the next. I prefer teaching the long Bb fingering first, mostly for stability of the instrument, but there are various opinions about this. The question students ask is usually “Which fingering do I use where?” Basically, use the thumb Bb for the flat keys unless there is a Gb. Use the long fingering for sharp keys and the lever for chromatic passages. I encourage flutists to practice passages with each of the three fingerings to see which works best for them.
Three Bb fingerings
When playing the flute, the tone is airy and unfocused with fewer fingers depressed. For example, C# in the staff is quite sharp and somewhat uncontrollable. Notes with more fingers depressed such as E and D are stuffy and darker in timbre. This is an important concept to consider when selecting a sensitive fingering. Remember that sensitive fingerings are not used in technical passages but in lyrical and slower passages.
Adding any or all of the right-hand fingers lowers the pitch and brings the tone into focus. When students ask which fingers they should depress, the answer is found in looking at what note follows the C#. If it is an E, they should add either the F and E fingers or just the E finger. If it is a D, then they can add the E and D fingers. Any right-hand combination will work, but one will feel best to the player.
Regular fingering of C#. Adding any combination for right-hand fingers lowers the pitch.
Top octave E is quite sharp. Removing the right-hand pinkie brings the pitch down nicely.
Top octave E
Top octave F# is problematic in that it is out of tune and cracks easily. Flutes with the new scale (made after the mid-1980s) play better with the right-hand second finger down rather than the third finger. However, in the first two octaves use the right-hand third finger.
Top octave F#
Top octave G# is also an unstable, sharp note especially when playing softly or making a taper. Adding the right-hand second and third fingers brings the pitch down and increases the stability of the note to prevent cracking. This fingering should not be used in fast scale passages.
Top octave G#
Sensitive fingerings should be introduced in the high school years. With a bit of practice, they can be incorporated quickly in students’ playing. The goal is always to have a beautiful tone with excellent intonation.
Examples from The Flute Scale Book by Patricia George and Phyllis Avidan Louke, published by Theodore Presser Co.
