Hey!

This is Marii (they made us register et all).

This may be on another down below forum, but what kind of flute should I upgrade to?

I don`t know when I`m upgrading, but I just want to see what are good kinds (when I am going to upgrade).

Also, should I upgrade? I have been playing for almost five years on a student flute. Does upgrading depend on playing ability?

No wonder this forum has been so dead lately, I guess not a whole lot of people want to register. I think it is a great idea. It will keep a lot of trouble out of here.

Set a budget for yourself and look into the flutes that are that price range, I suggest requesting a catalog from www.wwbw.com their catalog has a chart were they categorize flutes and compare their features, although some flutes may have lots of features and not be all that great (still probably than what you got now though) and other flutes may not have a lot of features but be really good high quality flutes. When I was in high school I spent hours studying that catalog, but I eventually ended up with my flute teacher`s old flute. I think that upgrading depends on how serious you are about the flute. I`m not sure if it really depends on ability or if that is just a mental thing. That said, you seem to be serious about the flute so start saving up your money and buy the best flute that you can.

I am willing to spend any cost (unless it is over, say, $4000. ^_^ I just need to know so how much to save.

O.K so you have a good price range to use but it`s to your preference. Obviously you want pure silver head body, and foot if you want or gold plate for better tone and quality. Then you can go for other options like open/closed hole, off-set/in-line G, C/B foot and with/with-out engravings.
Personally I love everything about the Jupiter Di-Medici range but then that might just be me.
Hope this helps
Leprachaun

p.s I thinks it`s a great idea about the registering thing cause it will keep out all those one timers

Upgradingis something which should not be hurried and you should try as many flutes as possible. Your flute depends on what kinda music you play really. Alot of people but low spec flutes and as a result kinda box themselves in to certain kinds of music and as a result cant play contemporary stuff. Saying this not everybody wants to play crazy music, you may not to play this stuff just now but in the future you might and a new flute should be seen as an investment for the future. you also have to decide on the silver content i.e lip,riser,head, body, foot and keys. I would recomend a Japanese flute i.e Muramatsu, Miyazawa, Altus or Sankyo(not pearl) but this is an emtirely personal thing, some people just dont care for Japanese flutes, powell is a very good American make. I play on a Miyazawa type 2(uk equivilent to boston) with the great brogger system. Since you`re thinking of a career in music Marii a pro flute (if u can afford it) would be a great idea.

p.s my old user name graham but I had to do register thing and made me change name

Graham: My private lesson teacher said the same thing about professional.

Thanks for all of the tips.

"A lot of people but low spec flutes and as a result kinda box themselves in to certain kinds of music and as a result cant play contemporary stuff."

That statement is very far from the truth. You can not box yourself into any style of music just because of the type of flute you have. I have a backup flute which is just your standard Yamaha student flute and I am able to play anything on it that I can on my Powell.

Japanese brands are good, but don`t limit yourself just to them. IMHO, Haynes and Powell are good, if not better. The Japanese flutes tend to run on the sharp side for some people and are not for everyone. The Miyazawa didn`t work for me because of this. Still, a good flute, but just not for me. So do, yes shop around. Make your own decision, you are the one that will be playing on it, not anyone else.

The brogger system looks interesting, it is too bad it has to look so dang modern though. I know it isn`t about the looks, but how it plays, but still... I can`t imagine spending that much more for a flute when the cost without it is enough to begin with.

Again, I agree with Kara, you will make the flute sound beautiful, not the other way around. One big difference between Boston (Haynes, Powell, etc) is that each flute somehow has its own personality, especially depending on when it was made. In my experience, while Japanese flutes are often fantastic, they are more uniform, depends what you want. Try them all blindfolded.

Saying that "Japanese flute run on the sharp side for some people" is a pretty irresponsible statement. I have NEVER heard anyone at all say that, until you just said it was true for you personally. Just because it seemed that way for you doesn`t mean it is true for a lot of people. All Japanese flutes are made to the same pitch specifications (A=442) as the American made flutes. And thus, they are not "sharper" than American made flutes.

In any case, you should always try as many brands as you can when shopping for a new flute. You should be able to find a huge selection for under $4000. One flute specialty shop I particularly favor is the Carolyn Nussbaum Music Co. (www.flute4u.com).

"Saying that "Japanese flute run on the sharp side for some people" is a pretty irresponsible statement."

Please forgive me, but how is that statement irresponsible in any way?

I certainly would have never said that statement if I didn`t know other people personally that have shared my experience with them and said the same thing. I never said that it was that case for all people. Also, it did not seem that way to me, it is that way for me.

Now, I have heard others that say they don`t run sharp for them when playing on a Japanese flute at all. Remember, we all have different embouchures, so we are not always going to have the same outcome on the same flute. That is what is great about variety.

I never meant to imply that they are not in A442 and are sharper then the American models. The scale is not as even as I would like for me and tends to run sharp in the upper register.

Hope that clarifies things a bit I certainly do not want anyone to read into things that I did not imply or state.

Carolyn Nussbaum Music Co.is a great place, but be aware of the prices, a lot of times you will be able to find the same flute considerably less through another company.

I thought I posted this, but *shrugs*

Thanks everyone!

My friend and I are going to look into prices. My friend works at a music store, so we will take all of this into consideration