It's a small point, but. . .

[jemtheflute]

"You say tomayto, I say tomato......."!

[Cubitt]

"You say potato, I say potahto.
You say tomato, I say tomahto.
Potato, tomahto,
Tomato, Potahto,
Let's call the whole thing off!
.........."



Casey

I say Casey, you say McGee,
I like Pratten, you prefer GLP,
Eight-key or keyless?
It's all just such a mess,
Let's call the whole thing,
(Let's call the whole thing),
Let's call the bloody thing awwwwwf!

Not a rebuttal to Casey - I just can't resist doing song parodies, one of my specialties.

[Denny]

[Steve Bliven]

".....Let's call the whole thing off!.........."

Casey

Amen!
(Unless this is the thread selected for the "2011 Last Word Contest", in which case please continue)

Best wishes.

Steve

[jemtheflute]

....unless this is the thread selected for the "2011 Last Word Contest", in which case please continue)

The year is yet young........

[Denny]

[Cubitt]

I'm from LA, you're from New York,
You like thread-lapped, I go with cork,
Corked tenon or threaded,
A topic we've dreaded,
Let's call the whole thing off.

I got a million of 'em and I'll be here all week.

[jemtheflute]

You say strangled, I say constricted,
I stay put, you get evicted.
Moderator or censor,
Thread's getting tenser,
Let's call the whole thing......

[Steve Bliven]

Oh oh, I can hear the Moderator coming.....

[talasiga]

.......Talasiga -You and a few others have defended the use of Eb in terms of key signature - i.e., which key signatures most commonly use Eb or D# - which I believe misses the point. I think the key on the instrument appears as an accidental, not a fundamental note in the scale. Some flutes have ONLY the D# key.
......

@ you and jemtheflute:
I believe my comments are absolutely relevant in a CONTEXT where you, Cubitt, are adamant to a T in insisting that the "accidental" should only be correctly called D#. My posts have a been a corrective to that adamancy, thats all because first, and I said this when I said I agreed with MT Guru's thorough post, I totally know and agree thhat it doesn't matter whether you call that note a Eb or D#. Its an "accidental" for crying out loud - how can you have a diatonic rule about what an accidental should be called when its not, by definition part of the key signature scale/s that the flute in?

However, you continued in you adamancy and so, having supported the the most substantial point already, I then ventured to other examinations of frequency and commonness of preferring Eb or D#. If these points that I raised, correct as they are are not relevant then it is only because the devious path set by your continued adamancy is really non sequitur to the valid points and clarifications already made by many others.

[talasiga]

"You say tomayto, I say tomato......."!

I have never heard any say 2may2 or tom at2. I say "tom art oh" and I accept people saying "tom may toh" 2.
But what is the authoritative pronunciation? We need to find out how the first English speaking flute makers - er I mean - tomato growers said it like when they first got it from the Americas.

The discussion as to whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable is not relevant here and I will bite both the botanical and the culinary sides of my tongue .......

[mutepointe]

We need to find out how the first English speaking flute makers - er I mean - tomato growers said it like when they first got it from the Americas.

Is there any reason that we're going back to find out about the first English speakers? Why not use the best consensus of what the native Americans, the original inventers, may have called the tomato. All kinds of things happen before, after, and during the time of white people and often with no involvement from white peole until profits could be extracted.

(Thanks for the lob tallyman.)

(Also, I am getting a bit confused over this thread what with the sinus medications and all. My MSN Gaming Zone nic is mr_tom_ato.)

[Cubitt]

However, you continued in you adamancy and so, having supported the the most substantial point already, I then ventured to other examinations of frequency and commonness of preferring Eb or D#. If these points that I raised, correct as they are are not relevant then it is only because the devious path set by your continued adamancy is really non sequitur to the valid points and clarifications already made by many others.

Not at all sure what you're on about here, but please. . ."devious"? Rather extreme for having a bit of fun. Anyway, just to be clear, when I started this thread, I asked a simple question. So many took it so to heart that I did a bit of research that I hadn't done before I began the thread. As it turns out, every text (four, now) that I have consulted calls the key in question D#. I have no investment in what folks call it and have said so more than once. But now that the experts have been consulted and unanimously agree, it seems strange that I am the one you find adamant. It seems you are far more attached to Eb than I am to D#. I am at least willing to bow to Boehm on this one, agreeable chap that I am.

Cheers.

[jemtheflute]

OK, I didn't try to follow my own suggestion of a forum poll, but I've set up something along those lines using my Facebook status. There are thus far 25+ responses, chiefly from traddie types (though quite a few of them are also involved in other kinds of fluting) plus from several Classical players (I'm hoping for more) and including several specialists, not least a world-standard Bohm flute maker. Those of you who can, have a look. Any who want to and can't, just FB "friend request" me......

[Cubitt]

Hey, Jem, perhaps you'll be kind enough to PM me the results. In the meantime, the only constuctive thing left I could think of to do on this topic was to follow up on your point that in trad circles, Eb is the norm. I checked my Grey Larsen book and lo and behold he uses Eb! But then I checked Timber - The Flute Tutor and on page 14, the key is identified as D#.

So the concensus still seems to be favoring D#, fwiw.

Thanks.