no, it wasnt the spring tension, it was definitely the keys. they seemed too large for the instrument, especially for my small hands.

Thanks for your advice, Kara. I liked the Yamaha, too, and it's my second choice, but it's just a little too bright and "loud" for me.

Anyway, I really do like the most recent version of the Amadeus flute. If you haven't tried them in a while, I would give them a good playing again-- there have been some big changes to the flute, most notably the headjoint cut, which offers a deeper sounds the previous models with much improved response. But don't take my word for it-- try it yourself and let me know what you think.

The cut did not bother me as much as the headjoint taper on the Amadeus. I hope they have improved that, since the last one I did a quick measure on showed no improvement..

The embouchure hole cut itself is not responsible for a "deeper" sound depending on what one exactly means by that. There are many other factors that hold much more of a bearing on that particular variable. The riser height vis-a-vis the head taper could be one source of creating that particular effect..but not the cut in and of itself..with the exception of combining an increased taper at a particular point while balancing an enlarged hole or increased riser height ultimately balanced with a commensurate amount of sloped wall geometry..

It must be considered as a system since all the variables work together..

Joe B

ckstar, from what I gathered you have only tried a 600 series Yamaha. Am I right? I was meaning for you to save money and get a stadard closed hole student Yamaha flute (which is an awesome body) and match that with a handmade professional headjoint like a Powell, Nagahara, Sheridan.. etc. That will change the sound of it completely and yet you will have a very well made body. The headjoint is the heart of the flute where you get most of your sound from. You are further ahead in my opinion by not wasting mooney on open holes and a B foot and focusing more on getting a good headjoint. It also would make more sense being that you are only in the 8th grade.

Even for the average flutist at your age that is not planning on going ahead to colllege with it, then a high dollar pro head may stil be overkill in what you need.

Hi Kara, I have tried a 200 series. It sounds like a good idea, but I've really never heard of anyone doing anything like that.

The high school has 3 different bands: symphonic band, concerts band, and jazz band, and of those three I want to get into the symphonic band which is the highest level and I think they got somewhere between 1st and 3rd place in a national competition last year. Most of the flutists in the symphonic band take private lessons from the same teacher I have, and all of them use flutes at about the same quality level that I'm looking at.

Are there any important reasons why a b-footjoint and open holes can be impractical?

Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Let me ask you this, how many times have you needed to play a low B in band? Have you ever needed to play jazz where you have to bend the note using the open holes?

many professionals (though not many in the us) play on closed hole, c foot flutes. because its not popular in the us to play on said instrument (and it is to play on the open hole/b foot), anything less seems inferior. in europe, its not very common to see a professional flutist playing with a b foot. honestly, you dont need it unless youre playing certain levels of music (such as sonatine by dutilleux, sonata by prokofiev, etc.) and it requires one to play a low b. in fact, the only time ive ever play a low b in orchestra was when playing pines of rome with a french orchestra. every single one of the flute players had a c foot and i was the only person who played the low b, since another instrument played the same part and it was covered. plus, youre saving money. personally, i wouldnt recommend buying another student flute, but maybe upgrading what you currently have. what kind of flute are you playing on now?

I don't the Dutellieux or Prokofieff Sonata go to low b, but I agree with you about the low b issue and have said so on this forum many times, I have worked in Europe and Asia and most don't play on low b, although, with the high pitch in europe, A=448 in some places, you see it more often...but not in Asia

no, they dont. i know dutilleux doesnt. im not sure about prokofiev, as i dont know where that piece is... im so unorganized! i was saying with the high level of technicality involved with those pieces, such a note would only be found in something of that level.

::checks dutilleux::

nope. just a lot of low c. i cant exactly think of any solo piece off the top of my head that has a low b in it. of course as soon as one is mentioned itll click and ill start calling myself an idiot.

In a lot of cases as Yamaha student flute with a good head is much better then some of these so called "intermediate" flutes.