Some flutes are better for some players

[eedbjp]

Yes, it's true. Some flutes work wonderfully for some. Some don't. I don't agree with the the idea that you can get used to any flute's peculiararities. Many players say that if you bought a flute that you are having trouble with, to be patient. Sure, be patient, but there's a limit. If I had to give it a number, I'd say 3 months if you play most days. But if you find yourself constantly struggling after many months, trade or sell. I struggled with my first flute for around 2 years. And I was constantly frustrated. I've had a different flute for a few weeks now, and can play an hour each time without the same frustrations. Both flutes are in the same price range, wood, and features. I had the same experience when I played different saxophone mouthpieces. Sure, playing an instrument is a life-long process, but there's an important enjoyment factor to consider, even when your are learning.

[Loren]

Mind if I ask what price range these flutes are in? I'm just curious as I suspect they are low to mid priced, and not "top of the line". Am I correct?


Loren

[Unseen122]

I have to agree with you. I have found certain Flutes sing for others and some don't. Of course, any Flute will sound good with a good embochure and good player driving, but will they be comfortable on it? I do think one can get used to a Flute, but why do that when they could get one that is better suitede for them?

Of course, "a well made Flute plays well period." Is something that Casey Burns says on his site (sorry if that is mis quoted) and it is very true. We will all play differently when given a Flute, why not play one that likes to be played the way a player naturally plays?

Now, if I semm contradictory to myself I am not. A "good" Flute is a good Flute no matter what, but every Flute will preform differently with a different player. I think it is better to get your style down on something lower cost (you know the list) then upgrade it to a Flute that is the best for you.

Always try before you buy.

[eedbjp]

I'm just curious as I suspect they are low to mid priced, and not "top of the line". Am I correct?

Good point about the range: both flutes are in the $800-$1000 range.

[I.D.10-t]

I'm just curious as I suspect they are low to mid priced, and not "top of the line". Am I correct?

Good point about the range: both flutes are in the $800-$1000 range.

Dang. Ouch.
Can't tell you nutthin.
Wish I had your ears, your hands, and your lips to tell the difference between the flutes.

[Markus]

I would have to agree to a certain extent. Not all flutes suit all playing styles. Then again I'd say that if you have a good flute and stick to that, the properties of the flute will also guide the development of your style.

[eedbjp]

Dang. Ouch.
Can't tell you nutthin.
Wish I had your ears, your hands, and your lips to tell the difference between the flutes.

I'm missin somehing here. Can you shed a little light?

[djm]

Always try before you buy.

How would you do that? Do flutemakers regularly ship flutes half way round the world "on approval"? Same question regarding resellers (on this board, for example).

djm

[Cathy Wilde]

So far, I've had a weird curve with flutes. They show up, and BAM! Honeymoon bliss; the best flute I've ever played, so easy, great bottom D, yada yada yada. Then -- I don't know why, but often quite suddenly -- things disintegrate for a bit (often this correlates with the first time I play the flute in a gig, or hear a recording of myself on it. Hmmm.). Then I become disheartened. But being an old horseperson, I climb back on ... and that's when the real work begins.

Over the next year or two years of playing, experimenting, and thinking about it, I grow happy with the flute again. But it's a different kind of happiness now; it's more of a comfortable one. The flute starts sounding closer to how I want it to, and more consistently so. We get more like an old married couple where I know its weak spots and have generally sorted out at least a functional workaround for them.

This is not to say that it may be the flute of my dreams ... I don't know if I even have a particular flute of my dreams anymore, other than whatever I can eventually sound like my dreams on .... but nonetheless, I've learned a lot from the journey and am hopefully a better player because I've worked through some weak spots (the flute's as well as my own) -- and far more important, my handling of them.

Just me US .02.

[I.D.10-t]

Dang. Ouch.
Can't tell you nutthin.
Wish I had your ears, your hands, and your lips to tell the difference between the flutes.

I'm missin somehing here. Can you shed a little light?

Don’t know if I’ll ever be good enough to know if it is the flute or me, especially from makers asking those prices.

[peeplj]

So far, I've had a weird curve with flutes. They show up, and BAM! Honeymoon bliss; the best flute I've ever played, so easy, great bottom D, yada yada yada. Then -- I don't know why, but often quite suddenly -- things disintegrate for a bit (often this correlates with the first time I play the flute in a gig, or hear a recording of myself on it. Hmmm.). Then I become disheartened. But being an old horseperson, I climb back on ... and that's when the real work begins.

Over the next year or two years of playing, experimenting, and thinking about it, I grow happy with the flute again. But it's a different kind of happiness now; it's more of a comfortable one. The flute starts sounding closer to how I want it to, and more consistently so. We get more like an old married couple where I know its weak spots and have generally sorted out at least a functional workaround for them.

This is not to say that it may be the flute of my dreams ... I don't know if I even have a particular flute of my dreams anymore, other than whatever I can eventually sound like the PLAYERS of my dreams on .... but nonetheless, I've learned a lot from the journey and am hopefully a better player because I've worked through the weak spots of the flute -- and far more important, my handling of them.

Just me US .02.

I've had enough emails to know this happens fairly frequently when beginning flutists on the silver flute suddenly make a big jump. They go from an Artley to a Powell (for instance) and sound great on the Powell in the store; they take the new Powell home and the next day they are convinced the salesperson switched flutes on them.

It's just a normal part of moving to a drastically better instrument.

--James

[Cathy Wilde]

Or one that's just different.

[Unseen122]

Always try before you buy.

How would you do that? Do flutemakers regularly ship flutes half way round the world "on approval"? Same question regarding resellers (on this board, for example).

djm

Go to the local session and see what is there. Ask around, see if you can take a few for a test drive and make a decision based on the one that you liked the most.

[peeplj]

Or one that's just different.

That's very true.

A lot of emphasis seems to get put on how easy a flute is to play, with the expectation that the better flute should also be the easier.

People always forget to ask the associated question: easier for who to play? A rank beginner? Somebody with a few years under their belt? Somebody who's played for forty years?

I would venture that the rank beginner and the forty-year-veteran have very different ideas of what "easy to play" means.

--James

[flutefry]

At the risk of restarting familiar discussions, there seem to be different assumptions operating here.

1) What one prefers now will be preferred later.
2) What one prefers now is better than what one doesn't prefer.
3) Short trials are sufficient (from borrowing someone's flute at a session to 3 months).

These seem to me variations on the "Is it better to play an approachable instrument, or better to play on an instrument that isn't initially accessible, but will teach you more?". Opinions vary.
The catches are that it seems likely that there is likely every combination of possibilities. Some flutes are generally thought to be approachable and good (many Olwells are referred to this way). Others are thought to be approachable, but ultimately limiting because what makes the flute approachable means ability to vary the tone colour may be lacking. Other are often called not so approachable, but can be good once one develops a stable focussed embouchure (Seery, Hamilton, Byrne). Other flutes may be of variable quality where it is hard to say if you are a beginner whether you got a good one or not.

In any case, I think the assumptions above are less true for beginners, and more true for the experienced. None of this argues against preferring a flute for any reason you choose. It's your time, and your money. There's no arguing about taste, so if you like chocolate better than vanilla, hey, get chocolate.

I am reminded about sports equipment, say golf clubs or skis or tennis rackets. The features that make equipment suitable for beginners (large sweet spots, vibration control, forgiving, all round performance) are very different than the features that make equipment suitable for professionals, who may well be willing to sacrifice "all-round" performance for specific high performance in one area. Sporting equipment manufacturers make their money from amateurs buying new gear in the hopes of finding nirvana. It's true, as your ability improves, you may well benefit from having better or more specialized equipment. It's likely true for flutes too. I think the issue is whether one can tell as a beginner what the correlation is between what you like now and will come to like later.

I would say that until one has a stable embouchure, that Loren's comment made relatively recently that first impressions can be misleading, is true. Think about all those things in life that you used not to like, but like now, and vice versa.

Hugh