A recurring problem in playing the flute is the awkward positioning required of the hands and fingers for the proper control and operation of the musical instrument, which has an innate tendency to roll because of imbalance from the weight of the keys and other parts of the flute's operating system. Because the player must rapidly shift fingerings between all keys of the flute being depressed to some or all keys being open, producing radically changing support of the flute from the player's fingers, the stability of the flute is imperiled. This instability is reflected both in the difficulty of maintaining the ideal relation between the lips and the flute so as to produce the most perfectly formed notes and in the difficulty of changing fingerings quickly andreliably while also preventing the flute's rolling away from its ideal position.
Per the current state of the art, to stabilize the flute force is applied by the side of the left index finger that in turn transfers appropriate pressure of the flute mouthpiece against the flute player's lower lip. To create this pressure, the digits of the right hand press the flute outward, which, via the base of the left hand index finger acting as a fulcrum, transfers pressure to the player's lower lip. To hold the flute so as to avoid untoward movement of the instrument considerable pressure must be exerted. Maintaining such substantial, constant, balanced, stabilizing pressure, given the rapid and extreme variations in support provided by the player's fingers as different notes are played, is