advice for a flute noob

[scoleman]

Hi all,

A few months ago I started taking up the flute more seriously. I have two flutes ... a Dixon polymer 3 piece and a bamboo F from Erik the Flutemaker. The bamboo flute seems fairly effortless to play compared to the Dixon. On the bamboo I can get a pretty nice tone through the first octave and a half (the high A and B, errr.. C and D need work, but I'm getting there). With the Dixon even in the first octave it's sometimes good, sometimes honk honk squawk and the into the second octave I think I'm gonna burst to get out a good tone!!

For you who have much more experience than I ... is my problem...

• -my general lack of expertise?
  -bamboo is easier to get a good tone out of?
  -the difference between the F and the bigger D and the air required?
  -some combination of all of the above?

Also, compared to the bamboo, the D seems really heavy to hold. I had been thinking about buying a wooden low D flute, but I'm not sure it's right for me if they're that heavy.

Any suggestions appreciated!
Thanks,
Sheryl

[jim stone]

Probably the problem is your lack of expertise, by which I mean that you haven't played long enough to develop a
strong embouchure. This is a matter of patient practice, it can take months (e.g. six months for consistent tone).
In my case it came online really at about 9 months.

There are quite light wooden flutes. Boxwood is known for its lightness and a Casey Burns Folk Flute in D
is very light, all wood, no metal to add weight. I personally (note 'personally) don't much like the Dixon flute
you are playing and a D instrument is what you will need, finally. So I hope you will think about
CB's boxwood folk flute (you can check his site on the internet). Even if you decide one day the flute
isn't for you, you can sell it at a good price.

Good luck. Ask us more questions.

[brokish]

Hi Sheryl,

I think it's probably experience. Once you get used to them, I bet you'll find most Irish flutes easier to play than bamboo flutes. I learned on a 3-piece Dixon as well, and the following essay on embouchure helped me to get a solid, consistent sound: http://www.woodenflute.com/playing/paul_mulvaney_essay

As far as weight, I don't think a wooden flute will help much. The Dixon is polymer (heavier than wood), BUT it lacks a foot joint and has pretty thin walls compared to most flutes.

Best of luck,
Kevin

[Feadoggie]

I'll add my two cents here. I have a couple of the Dixon three-piece flutes. Take this for what it's worth.

The Dixon is not the easiest beginner flute to play. It requires a comparatively focused embouchure. When you figure out what the Dixon needs you will be well rewarded. And if you can master the embouchure on the Dixon you should be able to play any flute out there.

the D(ixon) seems really heavy to hold. I had been thinking about buying a wooden low D flute, but I'm not sure it's right for me if they're that heavy.

The Dixon is actually a very lightweight flute. As has been said, it has no tuning slide (although I do have a Dixon with a slide) and it has a short foot (although several have been made with a long foot). One of the advantages to the Dixon is the lightweight. It's comparatively easy to hold, the tone holes are smallish and easy to cover and it requires very little air (really, it does!). But the embouchure hole is also smallish and wants a bit of focus to make it sing.

My suggestion is to work with the Dixon for a bit. Concentrate on it and you will get the hang of it. Some face-to-face pointers from a teacher could help too. Stick with it and you'll get it. It will be well worth your effort in the long run.

Feadoggie

[Robin of Sherwood]

Scoleman, please check your pm.

[david_h]

About the weight. I think it just takes time for arms to get used to holding themselves plus some more weight in an unusual position, and applying just enough, but no more, pressure to hold the flute stable. I received some mild ridicule (princess and the pea references etc) from very experienced people here when I brought up the weight issue. I found it took a few months to 'forget' about the weight of a fairly hefty stick of wood. You might like a boxwood Burns Folk Flute.

[James_Alto]

Hi there,

absolutely - the embouchure takes time to develop, and then, if you switch flutes, after learning on one, you will find it very tricky to adapt. If you're practicing at least 2 hours a day on your own, it would be worthwhile looking up some of the embouchure training on youtube (James Galway's masterclasses on youtube are a good start), and then searching out other embouchure techniques on the youtube resource.

The problem you describe here:

Hi all,
The bamboo flute seems fairly effortless to play compared to the Dixon. On the bamboo I can get a pretty nice tone through the first octave and a half (the high A and B, errr.. C and D need work, but I'm getting there).

is probably related to the flute construction and bore. A low D is a much harder flute to start off with. Until you develop your diaphragm and breathing muscles, around the embouchure and air column maintenance, it's going to be pretty hard to jump in and sound fabulous on a low D flute. I like bamboo flutes a lot. It's not that they're necessarily easier to play - but the embouchure may suit your lip shape and blowing technique better for its size.
Some bamboo flutes I have are painful to work, compared to a huge oval embouchure hole of the Boehm flute! A F flute is more suited to beginners than low D flute too.

With the Dixon even in the first octave it's sometimes good, sometimes honk honk squawk and the into the second octave I think I'm gonna burst to get out a good tone!!

Ooh! Definitely trying too hard too soon. Start with the lowest octave, and stick with it solid. The upper octave isn't worth trying, until you have a solid base octave. It might be tiresome, but stick and trying to refine the tonal quality..

As you're just starting out, I personally wouldn't recommend a high quality and expensive boxwood flute. Get the cheap quality plastic lightweight hand-holdable one to learn, and then rethink whether you might want a low D one in the future. We see forum flippers who sell flutes after barely touching theirs, due to intense interest, but the hard work of sticking it out for months, is too much sometimes. My longest flute is a low F flute (it is over 1 metre long, and the finger span is excruciating). The heaviest ... is probably my bass recorder, which I hold diagonally. As for low D flutes - the finger and hand aches crop up after 2 hours of solid playing, and the risk of splintering/cracking is huge. I've cracked 2 flutes in the space of the past month, just from outdoor playing. For that reason, now that I know better, I'm going to go plastic for practice

Let us know how you progress!

[Denny]

balance is much more important than weight

[scoleman]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful comments! I've gotten some very useful suggestions here I can carry through on and I've already started following up on the links and youtube suggestions. I'm quite determined to tame this beast!

I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks again!

Sheryl