Today, I’m going to be talking about two different types of flutes. The Kingma System Flute, and the Grenaditte Flute. With advances in flute materials, and advances in the mechanical system, it has opened up a new world in terms of what is available to flute players today. Not only do flute players have the option of having a hand made instrument made for them from companies like Powell, Burkart, Muramatsu, Haynes, and more, but they they have the ability to choose a more modern flute that isn’t considered a ‘standard’ in the flute world.
The first flute that I’ll be talking about is the Kingma System Flute. This flute has additional keys added to it so that it can easily play quarter-tones (aka, microtones) that are very popular in modern music. The addition of these keys not only allows for quarter-tones, but also different overtones that allow new chords to be produced on this flute. Flute players can also use these different fingerings and keys to make sure that they are in tune in ensemble music. Flute players have a wide variety of tone colors available from this flute, and hopefully at some point, I will have the opportunity to play one to test out.
A picture of the Kigma System flute system with added keys
The Keys added to the flute are the following:
C up, G up, F# up, D up, B up, Bb up, C up, and C# up. These keys open up the ‘middle’ of the keys that are normally closed when a note is being played, creating the microtone. Not only are these easier to finger with the extra keys, but they closer to being in tune, and they are not awkward fingerings. You can order them directly from Eva Kingma or you can order them in America from Brannen Flutes. Robert Dick plays exclusively on these instruments, and is well known for creating powerful music that uses the instrument to it’s full potential.
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