did you ever max out a flute?

[Berti66]

I have seen some people mention, especially those who have not yet been playing for so long, that they "maxed out the flute after a few months" and went to look for an upgrade.

Now this makes me curious.
I am a newbie myself, and still on a steep learning curve on the dixon 3 piece I have, and start to like its tone better all the time.
But to say that I have maxed out this flute, if I think I will do that at all....still improving (while waiting for my aebi keyless hmmmm but not because I think I have maxed out the dixon yet)

SO, if you have been playing longer and you were one of those who have maxed out a flute, what exactly makes you say so.
Of course I understand that simply said, you think you got everything out of the thing that you think possible already, but as I asked for an more EXACT explanation....
Also, what did you expect when you ordered the next flute to give you that the maxed out one couldn't give you any more?
Is it at all POSSIBLE to max out a flute???

Any daring takers here????
cheers
berti

[Sillydill]

Dear Berti,

I like to think that every flute I’ve ever played has taught me something. Though some flutes are definitely comprised of more lessons than others are, yet all are different. Hence I will attempt to assimilate the majority of lessons available from each flute. Once I feel that the flute no longer offers readily available lessons, I may pass the flute on to another Irish flute pupil. However, to state that I ever Maxed Out a flute would be, highly ostentatious!

Keep Makin Music!

Jordan

[Jack Bradshaw]

Ahhh yes Berti......I can assure you that I have maxed out on two, before I found any teacher or even this list......my first wooden flute, the Pakistani, which is sooo bad I can't bear to part with it, sooo bad people would do the "that's nice" (they were in shock)......finally got a tuner and then it was my turn...

Moved on to (you guessed it) the Dixon two-piece extruded wonder tube.......another wonderful learning experience...(although to give the Dixon its due, the whistle head is reasonable and I believe the "flute" head to just be an afterthought)

But, since then I'd have to say no, each flute seems to have some unexploited virtue that it may take some time to find.........just ask a really good player to try it, they may not like it, but generally it's an ear opener......

Jack

[Whistlin'Dixie]

I think that's part of the reason it is so difficult for me to stick to just one flute, although I admit it may be better over the long term to do so.

I like and enjoy each instrument for what it offers.

My only problem is cash flow ~ I find myself occasionally selling a flute to fund another purchase, or to pay an unrelated bill or something. Not that I feel the need to "move up" "step up" or whatever.

M

[Jayhawk]

I'm still of the school of thought that with a decent flute (not your Pakistani flute Jack...I've had one too, but had the courage to sell it at a garage sale for $5 with the admonition to the buyer that it was only safe to use as a wall hanger) 90% of the sound is the player.

My guess is that when most folks "max out" a flute, they've usually hit a personal barrier, and it's so much easier to claim the flute is maxed out than to admit they're at a plateau. New flutes are like new relationships - there is a wonderful honeymoon period. But, just like a marriage, if you work with just one flute for the long term, I think you'll see that as you move past a plateau that you're flute still has much to give you.

Please take this FWIW, as I'm an admitted flute bigamist (being wed to a keyed and an unkeyed flute)...

Eric

[mvhplank]

Whoa! I'm not sure where I've been before this discussion, but it never occurred to me that one could "max out" a flute. (I hold the philosophy that "it's a poor workman who blames his tools.")

But that's not to say I haven't acquired other flutes and whistles in search for a different tone, voice, and ease of play. I find it physically easier to play a Boehm flute--I'm struggling with a Casey Burns folk flute, made a little more challenging by some arthritic hand damage. But the difference in my old wooden Haynes and my other, less expensive flutes is quite dramatic. I doubt seriously that one will ever be "maxed out."

I haven't seen any of the dreaded Pakistani flutes, but if they're just not made well, I'd consider that abandoning them qualifies more as wisdom gained from experience than outgrowing an instrument.

M

[seisflutes]

My guess is that when most folks "max out" a flute, they've usually hit a personal barrier, and it's so much easier to claim the flute is maxed out than to admit they're at a plateau.

I agree! Very true in my experience.

(300th post! I know that's not much compared to many people's, but it's taken me a longish time to get even this many.)

[jim stone]

Some flutes have a lot more in em than others.
They may be more demanding but ultimately
they sound better. I don't know
if this means the less interesting flute
is 'maxed out'; matter of degree.

Also, as one improves one may find that
some flutes have served their purpose
and no longer satisfy.

[Berti66]

[quote="jim stone"]Some flutes have a lot more in em than others.

Also, as one improves one may find that
some flutes have served their purpose
and no longer satisfy.[/quote]

Does that mean, when you would get one of the top makes, it will give you much more than the one you are currently playing, ALWAYS?
So the money you pour into that top maker flute, pays itself back, with giving you a better flute? What makes it a better flute, and what more does a top maker add to a flute that some other flute does not have.

As for "the flute has served its purpose" I thought the purpose of the flute is to make music with in the first place?
And it will always give you music, and now that you have gotten to know it well, it is kicked out of your house because you think it no longer offers you enough statisfaction anymore? Hmmmmm

IS it a matter of the craftsman blaming his instruments here.......I find it interesting to read what you all have to say about it.
Seems opinions vary widely on this too.

berti

[Nanohedron]

My guess is that when most folks "max out" a flute, they've usually hit a personal barrier, and it's so much easier to claim the flute is maxed out than to admit they're at a plateau.

I agree! Very true in my experience.

(300th post! I know that's not much compared to many people's, but it's taken me a longish time to get even this many.)

Also agree. Whenever I've been on a new flute, I always seem to hit a wall after 3-6 months. This has happened with an Olwell, too, mind you, so it could hardly be the instrument "maxing out". To paraphrase Confucius, "Upon missing the target, a person of discernment looks within".

What I find is that the end of the "honeymoon period" is where the real learning takes place, where the interface between flute and player is to be sought and, one hopes, will be found and made into a solid foundation for further development. Usually what I'm doing when things go wrong is trying too hard to control things instead of working with the flute and its best responses; very often I have to just relax, or try something seemingly at odds with a previous habit. There's a lot to be said for sticking with one instrument for a long time. I would say a minimum of three years to get to know a flute properly would work. Having been at the Olwell species for about three years, now, there's a comfortable familiarity and ease going on each time I go back to it. On the other hand, I've been learning what a Noy is all about since this January, and I'm just now making the beginnings of breakthroughs. You have to be obdurate and a bit thick-skinned to try to advance yourself with an instrument, and with the flute in particular, as the player's embouchure is capable of variance.

[doogieman]

I have played sax on a semi-profeesional basis for years. I know players who are constantly changing horns, mouthpieces, reeds etc. etc. I guess I was lucky enough to find the right set up - FOR ME - years ago and haven't really changed.
My point - each person brings something different to an instrument and each person wants something different. Part of the process is finding the one that is just right for you. Its the way your lips are shaped, the way you breath, the shape of your mouth and hands and the kind of tone that your "mind's ear" wants to hear.

Seek and ye shall find. enjoy

[peeplj]

I thought I had maxed out the polymer flutes before I got my Hamilton.

Looking back, now, I realize that I had been mistaken.

I'm not convinced you actually can max out a flute, now.

I will say this: a fine flute like a Hamilton, if you're ready for it when you get it, will help you make very rapid progress in aspects of your playing. Then you can turn around and use these skills on any flute.

That's my experience; your mileage may vary.

--James

[Tyler]

I'm not convinced you actually can max out a flute, now.

I agree...Speaking from experience with other instruments, I think that as one's talent and capability level increases, one needs a better, higher quality instrument, so that's just one way of explaining the "maxing out" theory. It's not the instrument that maxes out, its the player getting better....
I guess you max out you plastic fantastic, not your instrument

That's my experience; your mileage may vary.

Ditto.

[Doc Jones]

Sure you can.

I maxed out a PVC flute years ago when I was just starting (not a Tipple). Got myself something better.

Funny thing is I picked it up today and played it a bit. It sounded fantastic. I couldn't believe it. It must have aged or fermented or something. :roll:

Doc

[chas]

I guess it all depends on how you interpret "max out a flute." Yes, I think you can always get more out of a flute. At the same time, I think there can come a time when a flute, even a good one, can stunt your growth. Does that constitute you maxing out your flute?

I love my Bleazey flute dearly, but there simply are things it won't do that my Olwell will. I still play it, but it just doesn't have the breadth that a world-class flute does. When I got the Bleazey, the only other keyless flute we had was a Schultz, that both my wife and I thought was very difficult to play. The first thing she (a Boehm flute player of many years' experience) said was, "It's a lot easier to play, but it's not capable of a lot of different sounds." I wasn't at the point where I could evaluate anything but the "easier" part.

Something that's worth pointing out is that it is literally possible to "max out" a flute. The Bleazey (and other less-expensive flutes) doesn't have undercutting on the toneholes. This will not affect the playing at all for a beginner, but, as one gains the ability to push the flute harder, it will affect the tuning in the upper octave.