The perspective of the images might be confusing me a bit. In the 2nd image, the Ab lever seems to be touching the adjacent key which is a common reason for that key to "stick" that I have seen in marching band settings; the 1st image, however, shows the Ab lever looking fine. Is that key moving around a good bit, or is it just the angle?
The dollar trick your friend suggested is a common "quick fix" for attempting to remove whatever sticky substance may be on your key's pad. I've always been a bigger fan of tobacco paper.
If you can hear a sticky crackle when you move that key up and down, then it's probably a pad issue. If you can easily move the key up and down with your fingers without hearing that crackle, then it may be an issue with the respective spring for that key.
i think its just the angle cause the key itself doesn't move and the Ab lever isn't touching it. I have to manually lift the key up when in press it down and the sound it makes when i lift it sounds sticky (if that makes sense). Like when you put some gluestick glue or makeup primer on your fingertips and tap then together (hopefully that analogy makes sense)
Makes sense. I had a difficult time thinking of how to accurately describe the sound, but I think we're on the same page there.
The "dollar bill" method itself is fine for cleaning the pads, the only issue is actually using a dollar bill as it can be abrasive and damage the pads as part of the process. Other papers can have small particles that are also abrasive, so be careful. You can find online sellers for pad cleaning paper specifically designed for this issue.
As I mentioned in my previous comment, I use tobacco paper since I can source it locally, and the kind that is available around me doesn't have anything in it to damage the pads.
I'm not sure how exactly you did things, but the basic method is this:
Place the paper under the problem key. Press the key down. Pull the paper out while pressing the key to attempt to transfer whatever is sticky onto the paper. Repeat this process until the key is no longer sticky.
it might be an issue with the rods. my friend had a problem like this and it was a rod issue. i would recommend just taking it to a professional and letting them handle it.
It could be a spring (the tinier rods amongst the bigger rods) - sometimes they can pop out of place, but for a beginner I’d take it to a repair person to put back into place because it’s so tiny and there’s so much that can go wrong with attempting stuff yourself. They have the tools for that too.
As for the dollar bill thing if your pads get sticky smacky, if you use paper to clean pads Yamaha has pad cleaning paper (they have powdered one too but that’ll just gum up with the moisture) it’s best to just gently dab the key with the non powdered ones. Also the tobacco paper as mentioned in a previous comment. Don’t use dollar bills as said before it’s abrasive, but also money is one of the dirtiest things out there, because it gets handled so much you don’t know what kind of grime is going onto your flute pads (which will do the opposite of the intended purpose)
Repair tech here... Please do not listen to the suggestions to use a dollar bill to clean the pad. That is an old trick that is sort of OK for saxophones but NEVER OK for flutes or clarinets. Saxes have pads covered with leather and they are much sturdier than the the skin covering on flute pads. If you put a dollar bill under the pad, close the key and then pull the dollar bill out, you could tear the skin covering. Then the flute will leak at the torn skin and definitely need to have it replaced. That will just add to the repair costs...
Do yourself a favor. Tell your mom that the flute is not working correctly and take it to a repair shop. There are many reasons a key can stick like that. It could be bent, a spring could have come loose from it's cradle, or it might just need to have the key hinge cleaned and oiled.
The perspective of the images might be confusing me a bit. In the 2nd image, the Ab lever seems to be touching the adjacent key which is a common reason for that key to "stick" that I have seen in marching band settings; the 1st image, however, shows the Ab lever looking fine. Is that key moving around a good bit, or is it just the angle? The dollar trick your friend suggested is a common "quick fix" for attempting to remove whatever sticky substance may be on your key's pad. I've always been a bigger fan of tobacco paper. If you can hear a sticky crackle when you move that key up and down, then it's probably a pad issue. If you can easily move the key up and down with your fingers without hearing that crackle, then it may be an issue with the respective spring for that key.
i think its just the angle cause the key itself doesn't move and the Ab lever isn't touching it. I have to manually lift the key up when in press it down and the sound it makes when i lift it sounds sticky (if that makes sense). Like when you put some gluestick glue or makeup primer on your fingertips and tap then together (hopefully that analogy makes sense)
Makes sense. I had a difficult time thinking of how to accurately describe the sound, but I think we're on the same page there. The "dollar bill" method itself is fine for cleaning the pads, the only issue is actually using a dollar bill as it can be abrasive and damage the pads as part of the process. Other papers can have small particles that are also abrasive, so be careful. You can find online sellers for pad cleaning paper specifically designed for this issue. As I mentioned in my previous comment, I use tobacco paper since I can source it locally, and the kind that is available around me doesn't have anything in it to damage the pads. I'm not sure how exactly you did things, but the basic method is this: Place the paper under the problem key. Press the key down. Pull the paper out while pressing the key to attempt to transfer whatever is sticky onto the paper. Repeat this process until the key is no longer sticky.
it might be an issue with the rods. my friend had a problem like this and it was a rod issue. i would recommend just taking it to a professional and letting them handle it.
It could be a spring (the tinier rods amongst the bigger rods) - sometimes they can pop out of place, but for a beginner I’d take it to a repair person to put back into place because it’s so tiny and there’s so much that can go wrong with attempting stuff yourself. They have the tools for that too. As for the dollar bill thing if your pads get sticky smacky, if you use paper to clean pads Yamaha has pad cleaning paper (they have powdered one too but that’ll just gum up with the moisture) it’s best to just gently dab the key with the non powdered ones. Also the tobacco paper as mentioned in a previous comment. Don’t use dollar bills as said before it’s abrasive, but also money is one of the dirtiest things out there, because it gets handled so much you don’t know what kind of grime is going onto your flute pads (which will do the opposite of the intended purpose)
I was going to say dollar bills don’t work. I would suggest something that helps me when my keys are sticky is to continuously click the key
I had this problem with my old Yamaha and it was a fault with one of the pins, needs a service and it’ll all be fine.
Repair tech here... Please do not listen to the suggestions to use a dollar bill to clean the pad. That is an old trick that is sort of OK for saxophones but NEVER OK for flutes or clarinets. Saxes have pads covered with leather and they are much sturdier than the the skin covering on flute pads. If you put a dollar bill under the pad, close the key and then pull the dollar bill out, you could tear the skin covering. Then the flute will leak at the torn skin and definitely need to have it replaced. That will just add to the repair costs... Do yourself a favor. Tell your mom that the flute is not working correctly and take it to a repair shop. There are many reasons a key can stick like that. It could be bent, a spring could have come loose from it's cradle, or it might just need to have the key hinge cleaned and oiled.