introduction/a daunting task

[Loren]

Hi Loren! I'm glad you commented. I attempted to contact you through the "for sale" forums but I'm unfortunately too new here and do not have that privilege.

I'm not opposed to spending money on high-quality instruments, so I think I'll go the wood route as I'd just want to upgrade quickly anyways. Will the Byrne frustrate me to death (coming from Boehm) or do you think it's a fine landing place?

Rick, while I’d be happy to sell my Byrne, I’d recommend buying Kevin’s wood Copley (go for the lined headjoint with tuning slide) as I think that would be a better fit for you. I’ve owned several Copley flutes (both wood and Delrin) and played a few more, all were easy players and each sounded great. I still have a Delrin keyless Copley that I have owned for many years with no plans of selling, they are excellent flutes. My Byrne is a fantastic flute, but it requires a more focused embouchure tuned specifically to this style of flute and as such could give you problems.

Kevin is standup guy, he’s been around the forum forever and you won’t have any problems buying a flute from him. Plus, at $800., you just aren’t going to find a better flute for the money - the Copley is as good as flutes twice the price.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your project!

Loren

[oleorezinator]

Aine Heslin
https://youtu.be/P4Lb9q9e4iA
Aine Heslin Music on Facebook has 37 videos from
home that were recorded during the recent plague.

[pancelticpiper]

As someone who played Irish flute (actually a mid-19th century orchestral flute, six open holes and 8 keys made in London) and dabbled in Boehm C-flute and Boehm Alto flute, I would recommend sticking with your Boehm flute.

A number of great Irish and Irish-American fluteplayers, steeped in the tradition and well respected, played or play Boehm flutes or fully-keyed flutes in other historical systems such as the Radcliff.

This being the case there is no reason whatever to re-invent the wheel, unless you want to do it for the experience.

The only issue performance-wise is the visual of being on stage with a shiny silver Boehm flute, and the perceptions that ill-informed people might have when they see it.

For that reason you might want to explore getting a wood headjoint for your current Boehm flute, or for even better visuals an entire wood Boehm flute.

There's the matter of tone as well, especially if you get a wood headjoint with a traditional oval blowhole as opposed to the Boehm square blowhole.

[Steve Bliven]

Dave Copley has an immediately available new Delrin D flute advertised on his site. Those are good instruments — not the one that you'd use life-long as a professional — but that would get you through one gig and let you see if your flute career is a one-off or you want to dig deeper. And, if you decided that it was a one off, you could sell it for what you paid.

All of that assumes you don't want to use the silver flute as others have suggested. Frankly, I doubt the typical St. Patrick's Day crowd would notice what kind of flute you were playing.

Best wishes.

Steve

[Conical bore]

The Winward & Noy both look like fine instruments, but I don't know if 2k is how high I will go for my first flute. Who knows, though. If nothing a little cheaper pops up on the radar I just spring on it. It's hard for me to say if those particular flutes are over-priced at the shop, a bargain or a fair value because I haven't followed the flute market and there are not that many out there to use as comparables. It makes me a little nervous. Saxes I can tell ya.

I can give you some feedback on those flutes. Not those exact ones, but my first "Irish" flute was a Windward in blackwood, bought new from the Irish Flute Store. The craftsmanship was excellent, and while the initial learning phase for a beginner was steep, after a couple of years I was getting a powerful sound on it. I eventually decided I wanted a keyed flute, and had to sell the Windward to help pay for it. There are times when I wish I'd kept it.

My current main flute is a Peter Noy 8-key medium-large hole Nicholson in blackwood, again bought at the Irish Flute Store. Mine doesn't have the mother of pearl embouchure edge and it has a metal lined headjoint, but otherwise it should be similar to the one on offer at that store. My Noy is a terrific flute with a strong low D and a great "edge" on the tone that really helps in a session full of fiddle players.

I don't feel that either the Windward or Noy are overpriced, as these are both top-end makers in the current market, and you have to expect some profit for the owner of a retail store. I've bought three flutes and a whistle from the Irish Flute Store over the years, and sold one flute there. The owner Blayne Chastain is very helpful if you need advice, and you get an evaluation period after buying a flute to see if it's right for you. Highly recommended if you can stretch the budget for those Windward or Noy wooden flutes.

[rick alan]

Wow, so much good information posted!

I think I'll order the Worldtrad CD's, that's a great idea!

Also, I think the wood Copley from Kevin may make a great first flute.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll come back here and post as I move forward. I've received the tunes from the bandleader. Lucky for me I've heard a good portion of it (as I did a gig with him on Boehm about 15 years ago) and some of it doesn't require much flute action. But there are a handful of tricky trad thats I'll be shedding hard for the next few weeks. Bring it on..!

Thanks!

[Kirk B]

Everyone here has given you great advice. I can't really add anything except that I've followed a long list of clues and determined that you must be RickDetroit on SOTW, lol. Welcome to my other favorite hangout.

[Kirk B]

Oh, here's something that I didn't see anyone else mention. I don't know about the gig you're going to be playing but in Irish Trad "sessions" nobody uses sheet music. Everyone knows the tunes and it's a spontaneous event where someone starts a tune and everyone else joins in.

Maybe since this is more of a gig there'll be a set list and sheet music but you'd want to know that ahead of time.

[tstermitz]

Lucky for you, Keven Krell and World Trad are one and the same.

Maybe you'll get the three CDs AND the flute in the same package!

[rick alan]

Everyone here has given you great advice. I can't really add anything except that I've followed a long list of clues and determined that you must be RickDetroit on SOTW, lol. Welcome to my other favorite hangout.

Oh no. Rick Detroit on SOTW is a naughty, naughty boy and a pathological liar. I'm totally not him.

Or am I?

[rick alan]

Oh, here's something that I didn't see anyone else mention. I don't know about the gig you're going to be playing but in Irish Trad "sessions" nobody uses sheet music. Everyone knows the tunes and it's a spontaneous event where someone starts a tune and everyone else joins in.

Maybe since this is more of a gig there'll be a set list and sheet music but you'd want to know that ahead of time.

I've seen some of trad sessions in the past and was blown away by how complex the music was and the fact that no one was reading, even beginners. Super-impressive. I'll follow suit.

[Kirk B]

Oh no. Rick Detroit on SOTW is a naughty, naughty boy. I'm totally not him.
Or am I?

All signs point to yes. LOL.

[rick alan]

Rick, while I’d be happy to sell my Byrne, I’d recommend buying Kevin’s wood Copley (go for the lined headjoint with tuning slide) as I think that would be a better fit for you. I’ve owned several Copley flutes (both wood and Delrin) and played a few more, all were easy players and each sounded great. I still have a Delrin keyless Copley that I have owned for many years with no plans of selling, they are excellent flutes. My Byrne is a fantastic flute, but it requires a more focused embouchure tuned specifically to this style of flute and as such could give you problems.

Kevin is standup guy, he’s been around the forum forever and you won’t have any problems buying a flute from him. Plus, at $800., you just aren’t going to find a better flute for the money - the Copley is as good as flutes twice the price.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your project!

Loren

Thanks for your honesty and your great advice. Greatly appreciated..!

[Kirk B]

I've seen some of trad sessions in the past and was blown away by how complex the music was and the fact that no one was reading, even beginners. Super-impressive. I'll follow suit.

It's not as complex as it may seem. Most of the tunes are in the key of D or G and can be played on a keyless flute or whistle. Not as complex as playing Jazz. Now speed, that's another issue.

[rick alan]

It's not as complex as it may seem. Most of the tunes are in the key of D or G and can be played on a keyless flute or whistle. Not as complex as playing Jazz. Now speed, that's another issue.

I've been starting to get around on the Boehm flute pretty quickly since my two-year wood shed session (thanks COVID!), but the agility these trad players is something I've got to work up to for sure! The quick leaps between pitches will be a challenge for me. I think it'll improve me all the way around..!