Thanks for all the good help. Her teacher suggested this flute...any thoughts on this one?

http://www.wwbw.com/Barrington-Model-349SH-Student-Flute-with-Sterling-Head-i229022.music

Thanks in advance for all your help.

ask your dauther if what to still play and then look at music store for flute that

May I ask how experienced your daughters teacher is and how long she has been teaching? I only ask because I find if very odd that she would recommend this brand of flute to you. Your daughter would be much better with the Yamaha in my opinion. She wouldn't happen to be a band director would she? They are notorious for giving out not the best of advice.

Goofichick,

Being a parent of a 16 year old girl also, I think I understand your situation. Being able to surprise her with the flute is so important.

If she has been playing on a less than great flute for all of this time, I'm sure she would be thrilled with the Yamaha. This level of Yamaha has a great reputation, and if it is in good working order (refer to Kara's comments about this seller) then you should do fine. I know that most of us would recommend someone trying out flutes before buying them, but I also understand the "Santa" issue.

I bought a used (refurbished and beautiful) student Yamaha flute from this site :
http://fluteragious.blogspot.com/
I have been playing the flute for forty years, and I bought this for myself! I am thrilled with the quality, to say the least. Perhaps you could contact the seller (I highly recommend her)and see if there is a flute for your purposes. If not, I know she may be able to further help with your questions.

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That should read "Goofichic"!!

Regarding the open hole flute issue: We have all debated this to no end, and I think most are in agreement about the hype of the open hole flute, however, it is STILL seen as a status or "upgrade" among the high school crowd. We have to understand that reality. We can only work on it through education, not by put down. I personally still love my open hole/in line flute, although my my wrists appear to be happier with the closed/plateau Yamaha at this point!!

Thanks Kipp!

I'd get over to winds 101 as well and talk to Liz about it.

The Ebay one is about the same price as she'll charge, but it'll be adjusted and gone over properly by her. Anything from Ebay IMO needs a proper adjustment or repairs, IME, so that'll add another $100 to the actual price by the time you are done, plus the time spent in the shop(holiday rush and all of course exacerbates the problem right now)

IME, I'd get her an open hole(she can use inserts to plus the holes if she wants) but *offset* G key. It's a bit of bling for her being in high school, yet will keep her from suffering with an inline flute(if she's not fully grown or has smaller hands, inline is even more stress on her hands)

I like to support smaller shops myself, though most any good music store will have a Yamaha or two used.(plus Liz is a nice person.

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One more thing - the top-end handmade Yamaha headjoints will make a difference. She can get a lot of mileage out of a 200 or 300 series Yamaha with a better headjoint in a year or two(about $600-$650 last I checked).

The CY "cut" is one of about twenty that they can make(there are about four that are common though, with the CY and EC being the most common two), and isn't bad at this level. My personal flute has a handmade CY headjoint and it's worlds better than a student CY model to be sure.

"I personally still love my open hole/in line flute, although my my wrists appear to be happier with the closed/plateau Yamaha at this point!!"

The reality with open holes is that the flute is often an upgrade with the springs, the tuning and the tone quality but if the kids aren't covering the holes well then they probably are actually playing worse than with a closed hole.

This whole upgrade thing is a big can of worms. I was talking to the store ownere last night who plays Tpt and the best trumpet that is necessary costs about $2279.00. which is the price of a step up intermediate flute.
~If you are really going pro with your flutes then you aren't going to settle for anything less than a $35,000.00 (or more and in United States Dollars) instrument. http://www.nagaharaflutes.com/pdf/2007%20Pricelist.pdf

I'm sorry but I refuse to spend that much on my car.

Now I've actually settled on the Yamahas (For now) and I particularly like my CY (handmade, I believe) as well as a 600 series EC head BUT I'm a bit perplexed, I have it documented by a student that I can get a better tone quality out of the EC "IF" I play it left-handed. go figure. I'm thinking of writing the Yamaha Company and asking if I can get an EC with the lip plate and riser soldered on backwards.

well, since your duaghter is a junior, you should really just look to make sure these flutes have these qualaties

solid silver, headjoint, body, and foot(atleast the headjoint)
Open holes
B foot(optional)
in-line, or off-set, which is up to her.

and if you get it used, it should have good pads, keys and mechanisms, so that does not bother you in the future

My best suggestion to you would have to be to check in your area to find a reputable instrument store. I realize the convenience of shopping online, but at a store you can insure the quality before you buy, they often offer generous return policies (especially around this time of year...musical instruments are almost as popular a gift as puppies), and their prices are very competitive. When I bought my intermediate flute a few years ago, the listed price was in the $1200 range, but we actually ended up paying only a little over $800, so there was a pretty decent knockdown in price.

Now, as far as brands go, I cannot really tell you much about intermediate level Yamaha from personal experience, although they came as one of the most consistently recommended from several private flute teachers and college music professors that I consulted before upgrading to an intermediate level flute a few years ago. I ended up purchasing a Gemeinhardt, with which I have absolutely no complaints. I've played it for a rigorous four years, and have needed absolutely no repairs or anything of the kind (knock on wood). The reason I chose the Gemeinhardt, though was because of the way it felt to me, and because of the tone quality that I was able to produce when they let me try it in the store. This is another reason why I think you should find a music store instead of buying it online, and let your daughter have say in the decision. An IOU note with a promise of taking her to the store and letting her pick out the flute that she will be playing for the next few years will in the long run mean alot more to her, I think, than taking a risk of buying an inappropriate flute.

As far as features go, I would definitely go for an open-holed model (while it may be useless tone-wise, it does correct hand positioning; I had learned bad habits on my beginner flute that I soon learned to correct with my intermediate. Plus, it should come with plugs, so that your daughter can be in control of the transition between.) If she's serious about continuing playing flute through college, I would definitely recommend a B-foot. As far as inline keys versus non-inline, I would let your daughter decide what feels better to her. That's more of a personal comfort decision than anything else.

Hope I've been helpful. Best of luck!

if you are looking for a good step up level flute, i would strongly recomend a gemeinhardt instrument. they are very durable and produce an amazing sound for the price range. I would suggest looking at the Gemeinhardt 3SB or the 3SHB. for more info on these instruments look at www.fluteworld.com or www.gemeinhardt.com. I have owned a gemeinhardt instrument for about two years and I love everything about it. You can get a numerous amout of options on it like a gold lip plate or an inline or offset G keys. I hope this helps you make your choice easier.

spencer

oh, i would strongly suggest that she tries the flute before you buy it because every flute feels and plays different. spencer

Yes, Spencer...I a Gemeinhardt 3SB, and I LOVE it!

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sorry for the typo...it should read I own a Gemeinhardt 3SB...

I found information. She is playing a very ancient Yamaha YFL-24S right now. Why is the teacher so adament about her having a sterling head and would buying a Barrington with a Sterling head be a better choice than buying a Yamaha without? I somehow think not, but unsure. It is all confusing. I appreciate all the input though.

Happy Thanksgiving by the way!

uh...That Barrington brand.
I don't know about the others here but I can't recommend (or not recommend) a flute that I don't know. Seems that there is a virtual explosion of "Brands" out there lately that are either brand new companies or simply copies of legit flutes that may be made cheaper. So I'm not sure. I would caution then about buying just any flute because it has a "silver head". I would stick with name brands that are a good investment for the long run (as in decades) or will net a good return if you decide to resell it when your daughter is finished with it in a few years.

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To add:
I can whole-heartedly say that this suggestion from kippsix:
"I bought a used (refurbished and beautiful) student Yamaha flute from this site:
http://fluteragious.blogspot.com/"

would be the best source of quality and reputablility if they had something ready in a step-up model at the moment.