Aanvil wrote:Not really the flute.
I can get that hard "honk", bark and chirp on any decent flute regardless of the kind.
While one flute may produce that kind of tone better over an other for the most part it comes from the player.
I play a Wylde/Rudal and it's very honky.
It wasn't always the case.
The flute didn't change you can be sure.
You have a McGee blackwood Rudall D according to your sig.
That will do it. I promise you.
I agree with aanvil on this. For the most part, you are going to sound like you sound regardless of the flute, at least once you get past the beginner goofies. You mentioned the youtube clip of Kevin playing that Forbes, and that's a prime example. Kevin sounds pretty much like Kevin, whether he's playing that Forbes or his Grinter or my Wm. Hall & Son or a garden hose. It's just WAY more about the player than it is about the flute. Now don't get me wrong, there are differences in the way different flutes sound, but that strong, hard reedy tone is achievable on most any flute. If you don't already have them, pick up the wooden flute obsession cd's from Kevin Krell here:
http://www.worldtrad.org/. You'll hear flute players there who run the gamut from dark round tones, to a couple that sound more like oboes than they do flutes, and everything in between.
Get to playing, and keep at it, and one day, it'll click and you'll go "WOW!". For me, it happened about four summers ago. I was at Augusta Irish week, and was sitting in Kevin's flute class, along with about 20 other folks. Anyway, we were learning some tune, and all of a sudden everything fell together for me for a few bars. It was so cool, and the really cool thing was that I was sitting next to Cathy Wilde, and she stopped playing and stared. Of course it went as fast as it came, and it was a good while before it happened again, but it did come back. Some days it's easy, and some days it's not so easy for me to get, but I'm way better than I was then. Regardless, I find that I can do it on pretty much any flute I pick up, after playing for a while to kind of get to know the flute.
That's my opinion, and it's worth exactly what you paid for it.
I hope this rambling helps.