Casual fluting

[Xylogoat]

Hello

I have struggled with the flute (a polymer Seery) for about a year & although I have made progress I have sort of hit a wall. I know the reason for this: I'm not giving the flute enough of my time as I have to share it with my other instruments: mando & low whistle. I think the Seery demands daily practice to achieve a good embouchure.

So to get to the point: I need a flute that is easy on the lips, something I don't have to pick up every day to obtain a good consistent tone. I'm thinking something like a Bleazey maybe but loud enough for a good sized session. Does such a flute exist?

[chas]

I suspect if you're not getting a consistent tone from the Seery, that you'll have difficulty with other "session weapons." It was at about this time in my flute development that I got a Bleazey. I'd had a larger-holed flute for a year or two and was making little progress. The Bleazey was exactly what I needed, a flute easy on both the lips and the hands.

That said, I'll muddy the waters a bit. First, an "easier" flute may not be a panacea. You might want to try a routine on the Seery for a couple of months. It may be less important to spend lots of time on the flute, but make sure you're playing it every day. Set aside 15 minutes, do a few exercises and play a tune or two. Second, you'd be surprised how loud a Bleazey can be. In absolute terms I can get as much sound out of it as I can out of the Olwell, but it's a mellower sound, so doesn't carry as well.

I'd also recommend you go visit Phil to try out his flutes -- it looks like it'd be a hike for you, but I've traveled farther to visit Patrick Olwell, and it's definitely worth it.

[jim stone]

To express my profound and unforgivable prejudice--
the D flute can do a good deal of what the low D
whistle can do (not everything, mind you) and is
a more interesting instrument. A symptom:
there are a good number of superb musicians,
like Mike Rafferty, John Skelton, on and on,
who play flute as their main instrument.
There are very few who concentrate on the
low whistle.

So why not put aside the low whistle and spend that
time on the flute? As doing it all isn't working out,
make some choices. What you learn on the flute
is likely to transfer to low whistle better than
vice versa.

The Seery has a demanding embouchure--a number of
people have some difficulty with it. There are several
session worthy flutes that are a lot easier
to play, embouchure wise--Copley flutes definitely
come to mind. Loud, good sounding, easy to
play flutes.

[rh]

I have had a Seery for years and some days it seems more challenging than others. I just got a used Burns and the thing almost plays itself -- the first time i tried it out, i was a bit surprised at how easily i could get a nice tone out of it, even before i got warmed up.

[fluti31415]

So why not put aside the low whistle and spend that
time on the flute? As doing it all isn't working out,
make some choices. What you learn on the flute
is likely to transfer to low whistle better than
vice versa.

I was going to suggest something very similar. If this were me, I would set aside a longish period of time (maybe the summer), to focus almost exclusively on the flute. Only play the other instruments enough to keep from losing your chops, but work on the flute hard for this period of time. Then, when you reach your deadline, reevaluate the situation. You will have a better idea of what role the flute in general, and this flute in particular, should play in your life.

[johnkerr]

Hello

I have struggled with the flute (a polymer Seery) for about a year & although I have made progress I have sort of hit a wall. I know the reason for this: I'm not giving the flute enough of my time as I have to share it with my other instruments: mando & low whistle. I think the Seery demands daily practice to achieve a good embouchure.

So to get to the point: I need a flute that is easy on the lips, something I don't have to pick up every day to obtain a good consistent tone. I'm thinking something like a Bleazey maybe but loud enough for a good sized session. Does such a flute exist?

No, you need to quit playing the low whistle and play the flute more instead. You will never develop a good consistent embouchure and tone on the flute if you don't play it virtually every day - even if for only 15-30 minutes. That small amount of time on a daily basis beats the equivalent or greater amount of time played on only a few days during the week. Embouchure and tone are entirely built on muscle memory, and your muscles will forget if they're not reminded on a daily basis of what they need to be doing.

You want to play loudly enough for a good sized session? You'll never do that on a low whistle, or on a mandolin either for that matter. (Perhaps you may wish to quit the mando as well. Just a thought.) But you can on a flute - any flute - if you work at it and practice daily.

Low whistles and mandolins are limited-niche instruments, good for solo playing or band situations where you have a sound system to equalize things. Flutes, on the other hand, are all-purpose great instruments. (Okay, they're not the best in some keys like Dminor, but you get my drift...)

[Gordon]

While I have no great opinion about Seery flutes, one way or the other, too often the flute is blamed for the "plateaus" we hit. While some flutes are easier to finger, due to spacing, flute weight, etc., all flutes take a certain degree of time, attention and practice to play well, and to grow on. No great trick, really. If you've hit a plateau, knowing that you are not practicing enough, the solution isn't an easier flute. If you're not putting the time into playing your flute, you will feel just as dissatisfied with an Olwell or a Grinter as you will a Seery.
Well, maybe a bit less, but my point, I think, was made... Casual playing doesn't really work on any instrument, unless your expectations are kept really low, and then it's not about the instrument, but about the player, and the plateau he/she decided to stop on.

Gordon

[jim stone]

I agree with the last two posts--there is no way to
learn the flute by casual playing. It's a demanding
instrument.

And I will add this too--there are people, newish to the
flute, who work hard enough but have the devil of
a time with the Seery embouchure. I bought a
Seery from a guy here in St. Louis who had
been playing over a year, taken lessons,
was devoted to flute (still is), and couldn't deal with
the Seery. I don't think the Seery is a good
flute for beginners.

But absolutely, without really practicing the flute,
another flute is money wasted.

[Xylogoat]

Thank for you insight guys, but the fact of the matter is that I do pick up the Seery nearly every day, but after about 10-20 minutes I'll put it down because I'm not really enjoying it - probably due to the fact that progress is so slow.

Learning an instrument for me has always been fun, a activity I look forward to, which is definitely true of the mandolin & the whistle, but this flute is just hard work.

I'm not expecting there to be a flute that is 'easy' to play - I'm sure there is no such thing - but this flute demands much more time than I feel like giving it. I need a flute that could take the 10-20 minutes each day (maybe more if I'm enjoying it) & make good steady progress.

I might try a Bleazey as I see he has a 14 day return, no questions asked policy. I might even put aside my low whistle, but the mando, never!!

[cocusflute]

I've been reading this thread with interest. I used to play the fiddle but felt it was too much like riding a wild horse, that I always had to be in control. Even after twenty years it took lots of effort. I feel much more comfortable with the flute and have seldom regretted putting the fiddle down.
So my advice would be: stop fighting the flute if you want to. There's nothing wrong with playing the low whistle or the mandolin. Flute chauvinists here notwithstanding, other instruments can be as rewarding. If your heart's not into it then it will always seem like work rather than play. We talk about playing an instrument, don't we, not working it.

[dow]

If your heart's not into it then it will always seem like work rather than play. We talk about playing an instrument, don't we, not working it.

My gosh, there's wisdom raising its ugly head again

Great words there, cocus.

[greenspiderweb]

Yes, a lot of good advice given so far, but it doesn't always apply to everyone for their needs/wants. People are made differntly, their lips, facial muscles, etc, and what works for some may be very hard for others. There's certainly no harm in trying some other flutes to see if it helps you along your path of playing the flute. Of course, if you dedicate yourself to one instrument, you will attain a higher level of play, no doubt, but it has to be workable for you-let alone enjoyable. No sense in playing an instrument if you don't look forward to it after giving it a good try.

Dave Copley's flute was the easiest to play for me, along with Paddy Ward's, and of course, Casey Burns Folk Flute would be another excellent choice. I have no personal experience with Bleazey's flutes, but from what others have said here-it's definitely another good choice for an easy playing flute. And if it doesn't cost you any more than shipping-why not try one?

[DCrom]

I think "easy to play" varies from person to person.

I have a Burns Folk Flute and a Jon C. R & R model. I find getting a consistent and solid 2nd octave on the F-F is a lot harder - for me - than with the R & R model. I've had several other players tell me the same thing after trying both. But at least one other experienced player really liked the F-F and found it easier to play.

I like both flutes, but they require different embouchures to get the most out of them. And if I could only keep one, it'd be the Jon C.

YMMV - I'd recommend *trying* a new flute before buying. But if you need to remote order, the easiest-to-play flute I've personally encountered was Mike Eskin's Terry McGee GLP model (rounded rectangle embouchure, I believe).

[crookedtune]

I used to play the fiddle but felt it was too much like riding a wild horse, that I always had to be in control. Even after twenty years it took lots of effort. I feel much more comfortable with the flute and have seldom regretted putting the fiddle down.

Wow, my experience to a 'T'! I have played (?) fiddle for about twenty years, and will NEVER be a fiddler. 'Wild horse' is a perfect analogy. I dropped back to mando, which I love, and also play guitar, banjo, whistle and now flute. I'm very happy with my progress on all, and especially love playing the flute.

Regarding which one, yeah, we're all different. I quickly cycled through a Jon C. delrin, Seery delrin, and Sweetheart Dymondwood Resonance, (all good flutes), before landing on a Casey Burns Large-Holed Ergo Standard. This seems to be the one for me, and of course, YMMverywellV.

[tin tin]

People are made differntly, their lips, facial muscles, etc, and what works for some may be very hard for others. There's certainly no harm in trying some other flutes to see if it helps you along your path of playing the flute.

True, another flute may be a better fit. However, it seems some people aren't built to play the flute; certain lip shapes seem to be incompatible with forming an embouchure. My aunt comes to mind--she's a top musicologist and brilliant pianist--but she tried (and failed) to learn to play the flute as a child. She looks like a Cabbage-Patch-Kid when she tries to play the flute! (Fortunately for her, that's the only time she looks like a 1980's toy.)