Hello All,
I'm sure this has been asked a million times before:
I've been playing the whistle for about a year and a half and am fairly happy with my progress. I do, however, want to move on to the Irish flute. I plan on buying something within the next year. So my question is, what should I be buying? I want a flute of good quality that I won't be embarrased to whip out in a session. Do I need to get a keyed flute? My ambitions right now are limited to traditional Irish music. I've seen flutes made in many amterials. It seems Blackwood is the best, but are there other materials of similar quality? I'd appreciate any advice!
Fishie
Advice on buying a flute
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lixnaw
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hi fishie,
i started out on a delrin Seery a few weeks back, and i never want to part with this flute. it's always ready to play and i don't have to take it apart all the time. some people find it hard to fill, i think that's only the case if you want to play very fast. i think i'll get a Copley for sessions. it's about the same embouchure as the Seery, but much easyer to fill and very responsive.
i believe my Seery will last longer though, somewhere in a 1000 years from now, in some pub, it'll still be played...
i started out on a delrin Seery a few weeks back, and i never want to part with this flute. it's always ready to play and i don't have to take it apart all the time. some people find it hard to fill, i think that's only the case if you want to play very fast. i think i'll get a Copley for sessions. it's about the same embouchure as the Seery, but much easyer to fill and very responsive.
i believe my Seery will last longer though, somewhere in a 1000 years from now, in some pub, it'll still be played...
The question comes up about once a week, I should say.
Just scroll back over the past few weeks and you will find plenty of discussion of beginners' flutes.
Failing that you can see what those you wish to emulate are using. After you check if they are sponsored to play them, ( and so eliminate their example perhaps as not showing what they would freely choose to play ) you might be guided by their preferences.
It won't make a blind bit of difference to what you sound like, however !
I like boxwood, myself.
You might suddenly find in a few months, Wanxil, that your new plastic flute is after all biodegradeable.
Player on getting a new flute often think it is "le dernier crie ",
( Perhaps one of you gentlemen of the French persuasion can check my gender and so on, if you don't have cold hands )
only to discover its shortcomings over the next few months as they get to know its limitations better and and their playing improves.
Just scroll back over the past few weeks and you will find plenty of discussion of beginners' flutes.
Failing that you can see what those you wish to emulate are using. After you check if they are sponsored to play them, ( and so eliminate their example perhaps as not showing what they would freely choose to play ) you might be guided by their preferences.
It won't make a blind bit of difference to what you sound like, however !
I like boxwood, myself.
You might suddenly find in a few months, Wanxil, that your new plastic flute is after all biodegradeable.
Player on getting a new flute often think it is "le dernier crie ",
( Perhaps one of you gentlemen of the French persuasion can check my gender and so on, if you don't have cold hands )
only to discover its shortcomings over the next few months as they get to know its limitations better and and their playing improves.
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tin tin
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- Tell us something.: To paraphrase Mark Twain, a gentleman is someone who knows how to play the spoons and doesn't. I'm doing my best to be a gentleman.
It all depends on how much you want to spend and how long you want to wait. I'd recommend starting with a keyless flute. I don't know what your budget is, but I'll assume you don't want to wait for a year or two.
I'll list a few good values (mostly instruments I've played) that I think would be good flutes to start (and grow) on.
If you're not planning on spending too much, for $250 the Casey Burns folk flute is a good instrument, and a nice way to enter the flute world.
The M&E Rudall and Rose model is a nice polymer flute.
Copley flutes are nice, solid-sounding instruments with a short wait. Casey Burns also makes more elaborate models than his folk flute, and they can be nice instruments. I haven't played any flutes by Martin Doyle, but they're well spoken of, and don't involve much of a wait. McGee flutes are now immediately available from http://irishflutestore.com/
There are, of course, lots of other nice flutes out there, but here's a list that, I think, meets the self-imposed criteria above.
As for materials, blackwood and mopane are both very stable, easy-to- care-for woods. Polymer is pretty much indestructible.
http://www.firescribble.net/flute/ is a helpful resource.
Good luck!
I'll list a few good values (mostly instruments I've played) that I think would be good flutes to start (and grow) on.
If you're not planning on spending too much, for $250 the Casey Burns folk flute is a good instrument, and a nice way to enter the flute world.
The M&E Rudall and Rose model is a nice polymer flute.
Copley flutes are nice, solid-sounding instruments with a short wait. Casey Burns also makes more elaborate models than his folk flute, and they can be nice instruments. I haven't played any flutes by Martin Doyle, but they're well spoken of, and don't involve much of a wait. McGee flutes are now immediately available from http://irishflutestore.com/
There are, of course, lots of other nice flutes out there, but here's a list that, I think, meets the self-imposed criteria above.
As for materials, blackwood and mopane are both very stable, easy-to- care-for woods. Polymer is pretty much indestructible.
http://www.firescribble.net/flute/ is a helpful resource.
Good luck!
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Doc Jones
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What's your budget Fishie. We could be of more help if we had some numbers. 
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David Levine
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Man in a bed
I don't see the humor in Treeshark's post.
I though it was tasteless, offensive, and stupid.
I though it was tasteless, offensive, and stupid.
Time will tell who has fell and who's been left behind,
Most likely you'll go your way, I'll go mine.
Most likely you'll go your way, I'll go mine.
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JS
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Fishie --
A search for M&E, Seery, Tipple, Casey Burns will turn up a ton of discussions, recommendations and counter-recommendations.
I got a Burns Rudall in mopane (no keys or slide) as my first wooden flute. Well-made, pleasing design. It seems to play very easily, and as I gradually get the hang of it, the tone gets more complex and interesting, which makes me want to try more difficult stuff--good feedback loop. I'll certainly be a while growing into it. I chose it partly because of Casey's rep on the board as a fine guy to work with, and he is. I decided to buy this rather than his folk flute because I thought I might want to add a slide &/or keys later, and because of his offer to check out his more expensive models after a year or so of play.
A search for M&E, Seery, Tipple, Casey Burns will turn up a ton of discussions, recommendations and counter-recommendations.
I got a Burns Rudall in mopane (no keys or slide) as my first wooden flute. Well-made, pleasing design. It seems to play very easily, and as I gradually get the hang of it, the tone gets more complex and interesting, which makes me want to try more difficult stuff--good feedback loop. I'll certainly be a while growing into it. I chose it partly because of Casey's rep on the board as a fine guy to work with, and he is. I decided to buy this rather than his folk flute because I thought I might want to add a slide &/or keys later, and because of his offer to check out his more expensive models after a year or so of play.
Tell us Lixnaw if you really believe that these sort of posts have ever helped an aspiring flautist to find what would really suit him / her ?
I do not believe it.
Particularly as these people don't seem to have the patience or wit to do any research for themselves. Like all those who ask questions which would have been answered by elementary reading of, say, Terry or Rick Wilson's sites, or even this one ! If they can't go to sessions and find what they like listening to and try
such flutes it is a waste of typing time.
Reading all these identical posts repeatedly is like wombat day or racoon day or whatever you call the film.
I do not believe it.
Particularly as these people don't seem to have the patience or wit to do any research for themselves. Like all those who ask questions which would have been answered by elementary reading of, say, Terry or Rick Wilson's sites, or even this one ! If they can't go to sessions and find what they like listening to and try
such flutes it is a waste of typing time.
Reading all these identical posts repeatedly is like wombat day or racoon day or whatever you call the film.
Last edited by andrewK on Tue Apr 26, 2005 5:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.