YAMAHA Piccolo Flute Owner’s Manual

Piccolo/Flute
Owner’s Manual

You are now the owner of a high-quality musical instrument. Thank you for choosing Yamaha. For instructions on the proper assembly of the instrument, and how to keep the instrument in optimum condition for as long as possible, we urge you to read this Owner’s Manual thoroughly.

Precautions Please read before using

The precautions are given below concern the proper and safe use of the instrument and are to protect you and others from any damage or injuries. Please follow and obey these precautions.
If children are using the instrument, a guardian should clearly explain these precautions to the child and make sure they are fully understood and obeyed. After reading this manual, please keep it in a safe place for future reference.

About the Icons

: This icon indicates points that should be paid attention to.

: This icon indicates actions that are prohibited.

Caution
Disobeying the points indicated with this mark may lead to damage or injury.
**Do not throw or swing the instrument when others are close by.** The mouthpiece or other parts may fall off hitting other people. Always treat the instrument gently.

Keep the oil, polish, etc., out of children’s mouths. Keep the oil, polish, etc., out of children’s reach and do maintenance when children are not present.

Be careful not to touch the pin springs during maintenance, etc. The end of the pin springs found on high-end models is sharpened to provide greater key action.
Keep small parts out of the reach of infants. Your children may accidentally swallow them.
Be aware of climatic conditions such as temperature, humidity, etc. Keep the instrument away from heat sources such as heaters, etc. Also, do not use or store the instrument in any extreme conditions of temperature or humidity. Doing so may result in damage to key balance, linkage, or pads, resulting in problems during the performance.

Take care not to disfigure the instrument. Placing the instrument where it is unstable may cause the instrument to fall or drop resulting in disfigurement. Take care as to where and how you place the instrument.

In regards to brass instruments with a plated finish, the color of the finish may change over time however, it should be of no concern in regards to the instrument’s performance. Discoloration in its early stage can easily be removed with maintenance. (As discoloration progresses, it may be difficult to remove.)

• Please use the accessories that are specified for use with the particular type of finish found on the instrument. Also, metal polishes remove a thin layer of the finish’s topcoat which will make the finish thinner. Please be aware of this before using polish.

Nomenclature

Before Playing the Instrument

Cautions regarding wooden instruments
Some flute and piccolo bodies are made of natural wood (Grenadilla) so sudden changes in temperature or humidity may result in cracking of the body or difficulty when connecting the body sections together. For this reason, take into careful consideration the place and manner in which the instrument is used.

•  During winter, wait until the entire instrument has adjusted to room temperature before playing.

•  When the instrument is still new, do not play it for long periods of time. Play it for about 20 to 30
  minutes a day for approximately 2 weeks.

•  Both during and after a performance, remove moisture and dirt from the instrument whenever possible.

Before assembling the instrument, please observe the following points.

• When holding or assembling the instrument, do not apply any excessive force to the keys.
• Wipe away any dirt or foreign matter from the joints before assembling.
• If you experience difficulty connecting the joints together, apply a thin coat of cork grease to the cork and try again (this applies to piccolo and bass flutes only).

Cautions regarding the joints
Before assembling the instrument, always wipe off any dust or grime from the joint sections of all parts.

• Headjoint (Wipe to remove dust and grime from the outside of the head joint and inside of the
  body.)

• Footjoint (Wipe to remove dust and grime from the outside of the body and inside of the  footjoint.)

When not holding the flute

Piccolo/Flute/Alto Flute
Place the instrument with the keys facing up on a stable surface.

Bass Flute

1. Turn the thicker end of the hand rest so it is at a 90° angle to the performer.
2.  Rest the instrument with its hand rest and footjoint placed on a stable surface.

* Please realize that the angle at which the headjoint is positioned may make the instrument unstable.

Using the ring keycaps
For instruments with ring keycaps, take care not to loosen the caps. These can be freely removed or replaced to change the instrument’s tonal character as you please. Ointments or creams containing sulfur (for acne, etc.) coming in contact with the metal on the instrument can cause discoloration (the metal turns black or brown) of the silver or silver plate. To prevent this, make sure that both hands and face are clean before playing.

Preparing to Play

Assembling the instrument
Piccolo

Taking care not to press the keys, connect the headjoint to the body.

• Use the markings on the headjoint and body as a guide for aligning the two sections.
• If you experience difficulty attaching the joint sections, apply a thin coat of cork grease to the cork and try again. Flute

Taking care not to press the keys, attach the headjoint to the body.

• Take care not to grasp the lip plate on the headjoint, and do not apply pressure to the keys on the body or footjoint.
• Use a cloth to wipe off any dirt or foreign matter from the joint sections before assembling.

Flute (Curved Headjoint Models)/Alto Flute/Bass Flute

1. Attach the U-joint to the main body. Align the U-joint so that it is positioned slightly to the left of the keys when looking at the keys from directly above. Next, rotate the headjoint and adjust the position (angle) of the embouchure hole so that it aligns with your mouth.
   * If you experience difficulty attaching the joint sections, use a cloth or gauze to wipe off any grime and try again. For the bass flute, the next step is to attach the hand rest to the instrument at a comfortable angle.

• Take care not to tighten the handle too firmly. 2. Taking care not to press to the keys, hold the body at its uppermost point, and the footjoint by its lowest point, and attach the footjoint to the body.
  * Use a cloth to wipe off any dirt or foreign matter from the joints before attaching.*
  If you experience difficulty, hold the body in the middle and try to attach it again.
  Take care not to apply unnecessary force to the keys.**

Tuning

Since changes in temperature and humidity have an effect on the instrument’s pitch, blow some air through the instrument to warm it up before tuning.

1. Check the position of the tone reflector.
As slippage in the tone reflector’s position can affect the instrument’s intonation, its position should be checked periodically.
Checking the position
Using the supplied cleaning rod accessory, insert it into the headjoint and make sure that the line on the cleaning rod is centered in the embouchure hole.
Should it be off-center, either right or left, follow the instructions given on the next page to properly position the tone reflector?

Piccolo

Flute

Alto Flute Bass Flute

If the tone reflector is out of alignment
When the tone reflector is too close to the crown
Turn the crown counter-clockwise to loosen, and then push the crown toward the headjoint moving the tone reflector to the right. Retighten the crown after positioning the tone reflector.
* If the cork has become worn or loose due to tone reflector slippage, replace the cork with a new one (about once a year). When the tone reflector is too far from the crown
Turn the crown clockwise to tighten, moving the tone reflector to the left.

When adjusting the tone reflector’s position
Adjusting the tone reflector’s position requires some skill and should be done by the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument, rather than by yourself.

2. After tone reflector adjustment is complete, tune the instrument.
Piccolo/Flute
Tuning is accomplished by sliding the headjoint slightly toward or away from the body.

• Pull out on the headjoint to lower the pitch and push it in to raise the pitch.
  

Alto Flute/Bass Flute
On the alto and bass flutes, tuning is accomplished by sliding the U-joint slightly toward or away from the body.
* Do not adjust the space between the headjoint and U-joint. Doing so will degrade the pitch balance making it difficult to tune the instrument.

**

**Maintenance

After playing the instrument
● Cleaning the body

1. Insert the corner of gauze through the hole at the end of the cleaning rod.

2. Wrap the gauze around the end of the cleaning rod, making sure no bare metal is exposed.
   * Exposed metal can damage the interior of the body.

3. Rotate the body in the same direction that the gauze is wrapped and wipe away moisture from the instrument’s bore. Wipe away moisture from the joint sections as well.
   * Take extra care removing moisture from wooden instruments. Moisture left in the bore can result in cracking.

Pad maintenance

1.  While the pads are still wet, insert a piece of cleaning paper between the pad and the tone hole and completely remove moisture from them.
2. If the pads are still sticky, use a piece of powder paper to remove the stickiness.

Cleaning the exterior
Taking care not to apply pressure on the keys, use a polishing cloth to wipe away fingerprints or oil from the instrument’s exterior.

* When cleaning the keys, take care not to damage the pads.

Maintenance required every two to three months
Be careful when using the key oil
The end of the oil spout is sharp and therefore can be a danger. Never touch the end of the spout with your hand. Also, do not point the end of the spout toward your face. Oil can spray out of the spout and possibly into your eyes.

1. Apply some key oil to the key mechanisms.
   * Do not apply too much key oil.*
   Completely remove any oil that gets onto the surface of the keys or instrument.**

2. After applying oil, move the key several times to spread the oil evenly.

Putting the instrument in its case
First, wipe off moisture and dirt from the joints, then place the headjoint into the case. Fit it into the case snugly, without forcing.

When closing the case, make sure there are no objects such as a gauze or cloth on top of the instrument.Doing so may put unnecessary pressure on the keys causing damage. Also, never leave a damp cloth or gauze, etc., in  the case.

Troubleshooting

The tone is not clear, or the instrument plays out of tune.
The tone reflector may be out of alignment.
→ If you couldn’t properly adjust the position of the reflector, contact the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.
The pads and tone holes may be out of alignment or the pads may be worn.
There may be a dent or some other deformation in the body of the instrument.
→ Contact the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.

The keys are stiff and function poorly.
The spring may be dislodged.
→ Take care and return the spring to its proper position.
Excessive force applied to the keys may have bent them.
→ Contact the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.
Too much oil may have been applied to the key mechanisms.
→ Wipe away excess oil from the key mechanisms. If that doesn’t improve the key function, contact the
dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.

Attaching or removing the headjoint or footjoint is difficult.
There may be dust or grime on the joint.
The body may have become deformed.
The headjoint may have been left attached to the body for a long period of time.
→ Contact the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.

The keys produce noise when played.
Felts or corks may be deformed.
Excessive force applied to the keys may have bent them.
→ Contact the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.
The key mechanisms may be worn.
→ Apply some key oil to the key mechanisms. If that doesn’t improve key function, contact the dealer from whom you purchased the instrument.
Screws may have come loose.
→ Re-tighten the screws.

Fingering Chart

Close/Open

Fingering Chart
Close/Open

•  Alternate fingerings are given with the shaded examples.
•  For E to C # , starting at the 5th measure, fingerings are the same for an octave higher.
•  The pitch actually produced by the alto flute is a perfect 4th lower than marked.
•  The pitch actually produced by the bass flute is an octave lower than marked.
•  The pitch actually produced by the piccolo is an octave higher than marked.

Manual Development Group
© 2013 Yamaha Corporation
Published 05/2019 发行 POCP-A0
VDE1610

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