In our last installment of the headjoint series by Steven Wasser, we take a look at the cork assembly and crown.
The headjoint has a cork assembly and a crown at
the “dead” end of the headjoint tube.
The purpose of the cork assembly and crown is to prevent the waste of
the player’s air stream from going up the headjoint rather than down into the
flute tube.
Some cork assemblies have been developed using
o-rings that allow the upper end of the headjoint to vibrate more. In our experience that vibration actually
diffuses acoustical energy. We draw an
analogy to high-end speakers which are often made very heavy in order to
produce the purest, most accurate sound possible. Based on this analogy we want the upper end
of the headjoint to be as dead as possible so that the blowing energy creates
the strongest possible acoustical wave down the flute tube.
Many headjoint makers have also experimented with
the size, shape and material of the end of the cork assembly. Each shape and material has pros and cons
but, on balance, the flat disc made of plated brass or nickel silver seems to
work best.
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