This forum, as opposed to other flute forums on the net, seems extremely elitist. I think it gives the impression that if you don’t play certain brands of flute you might as well not play at all. I can’t imagine that new people, especially young people playing student instruments, like having their flutes dumped on all the time. A lot of young people have poor self esteem anyway and the opinions of other people make a big impression on them.

I`m sure that some of us wish we could afford an expensive, professional, high-end flute. But Some of us play Jupiters, Gemeinhardts, and the like. Some of us are very happy with the instruments that we play and we think they sound just fine and suit our needs perfectly.

I would just like to say to all those people that feel like they are getting dumped on, It doesn’t matter what you play, as long as you play. Enjoy the music.

I agree to a point, it is just that so many flutists are so opinionated, I tell my young student that the audience never asks what kind of flute you play on

I agree but I must add that there is absolutley nothing wrong with Jupiter, Gemeinhardt or even some of the Chinese inports. Yes I know that many of them are cheaply made and need repair but thats not to say that they are fine for beginners who aren`t sure if they even want to play the flute. My very first flute was a cheap chinese flute and it was fine. It meant that when I moved onto my next flute(a Trevor James) that my tone and thechnique were so much more improved.
To highlight the point I remember reading somewhere that James Galway was giving a masterclass somewhere and picked up a girls cheaply made chinese flute and played it almost as good as any other flute in the room.
Sure the gold flutes may look pretty and give a rich tone but does a beginner really need that. Ehh...NO!

Thank you guys for agreeing with me. I just don`t want beginners to think that they have to go out and buy a $10,000 flute, or even a $3,0000 flute, to have an instrument that plays well. There are flutes under $1,000 that have a nice tone and will reliably serve a student for many years. And there is absolutly no reason to make someone feel bad about their purchase if they have a flute that they enjoy. Lets support each other`s playing, not put down their instruments.

I think that this subject has been debated here in a couple of threads. The bottom line: a pro flute will not make anyone a pro player.
Work with whatever is in your reach and you`ll be fine. My first techer always told me: as long as you work enough you can make plumbing pipes sound like gold.

This is not a subject that I`m trying to start a debate on. There is no reason to debate it. The point I`m trying to make is, There is no reason to make someone feel bad about the instrument that they play.

I should add that I think the extra work needed to produce a nice sound in a not so nice flute will only contribute to a better development of playing skills.

We seem to be posting at the same time. I just wanted to say that I agree with your point. I was just expanding it a little.

juanjose,

Your wrote:
" I should add that I think the extra work needed to produce a nice sound in a not so nice flute will only contribute to a better development of playing skills."

This statement is true to some extent but if I may add a few comments.....

Please be aware that I`m not defining student flutes or even different brands. Sometimes a particular flute of a reputed top quality brand can be a dog. Understand too that at some point I`ve played most of the brands out there.

Compare the quality and condition of a flute to a vehicle. A young student is learning to drive Gran Prix style racing on a 4 cyl. pickup truck with a bad spark plug that is difficult to shift gears. The principles of race car driving can be taught in that truck but the truely finer points can`t because it doesen`t allow the student to achieve them. Everytime the student downshifts into the hairpin, the gears grind and the engine stalls.

In a flute, the tonal capabilities, the tuning, the alignment of the pads, and quality of the finish need to be taken into account when buying. One can`t just go and buy the cheapest, prettiest or even best sounding instrument if it`s going to be junk in a few months. All of those factors need to be taken into account when choosing. On the other hand, I don`t think that a young student should be playing on the best pro flute for a few reasons. Now as for the internet, it`s difficult to know what the other person knows about these subects. They may just know their one flute and they may have read a few comments about other brands and they become experts. There are a lot of people going around that are intent on showing off how smart they are when they have little experience. -Not really trying to single anyone out here except myself.

Some pro flutes or even just the head joints take more work to make them really perform to their best. Some of these flutes are worth the extra work and some aren`t. Sometimes the easy playing flute is only good for one type of expression.

There is nothing more enjoyable for me than trying out flutes. New flutes should have that ring of newness. They should advance the players enthusiasm and make them want to practice.

Having said all this, I value the psychological concept that a player needs to respect the quality of their instrument so that they can enjoy practicing with it and others should respect this as well. In other words, If my student owns a Mephitis brand flute and it`s working for them, I don`t want someone to come up and burst thier bubble by telling them that it stinks.

It`s unfortunate that in the world of flute forums, there is so much of this, "MY flute`s better than YOUR Flute " junk going around because there should be lees of that and more of the practicing.
TTFN
Time for my tone studies.....
~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

Bilbo
When said that I didn`t mean by any chance that professional flutes are not worth what they cost. I`ve tried 3 pro flutes in my life and each one of them was notoriously nicer than my intermediate one.

However, I do think that when up grading (unless financed) a person should consider other factors. For instance: I`m not so pleased with my flute`s intonation and I have a job that would allow me to get a better flute eventually, but I rather keep my flute and spend that money in a pro teacher that can help me to work on my tone production (which I`m currently doing), and maybe look for a different head in the future.

What I mean, to rap this up, is that in stead of wasting energy deciding wether platinum or gold is going to sound better, one should devote to overcome his own limitations, by locating the problem and working on that. Forums like this are helpful for the locating part, the decisions and the work depend on each individual.

Regards
jjav

I have seen way too many times a student get frustrated and want to quite the flute because their Chinese brand ebay flute is so hard to play and will not produce a good sound for a beginner. Often times these types of instruments need repairs as soon as the student receives them which is sad. Because of this, I will never recommend one of those to anyone. They are a repair techs nightmare.

If someone wants to compare flutes and ask about different brands then everyone is going to have an opinion on what they think is the best.

You must take into consideration that Micron and I repair flutes and talk about the pros and cons of certain brands when someone asks or brings it up. Why recommend a bad student brand flute?

I don`t believe that I personally have ever said that you need a professional flute to play good. I play on a Yamaha 211 student for my backup and love it. Brands are important as far as beginners go, you want something that last and that is not going to break down every week. That being said, I will continue to give advice on certain brands from experience if it can help someone out.

I totally agree with you Kara. What`s the point in recommending a bad student flute? I feel this forum has quite alot of fairly advanced players and repair technician that often use high quality instruments and their knowledege on the flute can often help those with less experience greatly. I have experienced from teaching beginners that a poor quality flute can be helpful in the cost point of view, but can be a severe hinderance in production of good tone and intontation. This said, those who go the other way and play on a pro model before they have got the hang of the basics also encounter lots of problems. Basically im trying to say that people dont recommend poor instruments as they dont want others to experience problems that can be associated with them. They are trying to do you a favour in the long run.

You must take into consideration that Micron and I repair flutes

You should not be waiving that statement around to support your opinions as having more weight than others...

Again, you miss my point. You don`t have to defend making recommendations about types of flutes to someone buying, the problem is with making people feel bad about what they already own.

I agree that in general a professional flute is better than an intermediate flute which is better than a beginners flute. No one is debating that some flutes are better built and produce a better tone than others. Just stop making people feel bad about an instrument that they have decided is right for them.

I`m not pointing fingers at anyone, so there is no need for anyone to defend their previous posts. Lets just be more inclusive and more welcoming to all those that wish to post. And we can give advice, when asked, without putting down anyone or anyone`s instrument.

Of course that a begginer should try to get the best flute he or she can. And is completely necessary that, when you make recomendations, you name what you think are the best models and brands: that`s what a forum is all about, exchanging useful information and opinions. The more opinions you get, the better, because this allows to make an informated and, therefore, responsible decision.

My point was regarding the person who is making the decision, not about those recomending. And in my opinion the top priority should be a good teacher with the flute as a close second.

Is just about working within a limited budget.