Bilbo- You bring up some good points. Listening to a "live" performance is better than any recording.

A live performance is different than a recording. The acoustics aren't the same ....ever. The recording can also be altered in qualities. The temptation to correct any flaws is very great these days.

I once had a music professor who refused to listen to any recording of Jascha Heifitz. "Why?", I asked him. Because he's too perfect, no one can play like that! I feel the same about James Galway, especially his new recording of the Khatchaturian Flute Concerto.

the problem with this thinking is that it may be that there are performers who do posses that sort of technical ability and we may be missing out on a chance to develop our technique. Galway is a very big advocate of the Moyse daily studies and working very hard at fundamentals.

You mentioned vibrato, too.

I'm not sure that I did.

When I was stationed in Europe, one of my friends studied flute with a teacher from England. The teacher refused at first to take him on because the way vibrato is taught and used is completely different from the it is used in the U.S. (My friend studied with him in the end).

There are some issues. One is the perception of the US players by those in Europe. Not all players in the US fall into their stereotypes. We are a big country and there are many teachers from several lineages of pedagogy. In your example, it appears to me that the British teacher felt that they couldn't change the player's basic concept of vibrato and so is suggesting that they aren't a very effective instructor.
If you like wood flute tone, I recently found this one Syrinx -Aisling Agnewhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwXXn16HqV8

There are some issues. One is the perception of the US players by those in Europe. Not all players in the US fall into their stereotypes. We are a big country and there are many teachers from several lineages of pedagogy. In your example, it appears to me that the British teacher felt that they couldn't change the player's basic concept of vibrato and so is suggesting that they aren't a very effective instructor.

No,not in the least. This was back in the 1960's when the pedagogical techniques may have been a bit more rigid. My friend was stationed with a military band and as such, the teacher recognized that he would only be there about 2 years. He was more worried about training him in one method only to have him return to the U.S. and have another teacher try to "take apart" and rebuild his playing.

Well, the flute industry is a lot of marketing and misinformation. Not all, but quite a lot of it.

First off, modern flutes are engineered with computers and precise specifications and as such, are all within extremely close tolerances to each other as far as the bodies go. Or else it simply wouldn't play in tune. What is different is the quality and durability as well and the various options on the keys and so on.

So why do all of the major flutes sound so different? It's mostly the headjoint. And the dirty little truth is that from a purely scientific standpoint, what kind of metal it is hardly makes a difference. Metal is metal. What can make a difference is how thin they can make the tube, but that's just affecting a few harmonics at a level that your audience can't possibly hear. Flutes can resonate. But the makers fail to tel you that the graphs that you sometimes see of the differences in wave forms are at a level that your dog might not even be able to tell the difference.*

Simply put, the energy to resonate a flute to the level where the metals would sound different is exactly the same as another instrument with metal tubes and massive volume. (ie - an Organ) Since a human can't approach even a tenth of this energy, (or in cases of a big organ, a hundredth) absolutely nothing resonates.

It comes down to how the headjoint is designed and cut. There is no magic. Just different interpretations of geometry and shape. Most of this work is done by hand, so no two will even sound exactly the same even from the same line. Some makers simply suck at their work, and others are true geniuses.

*There is a difference though in types of materials. But this is an overall color to the tone of the flute. That is, plastic, wood, metal, and glass do have a different overall "sound" to them. But it's there for every note and can't really be changed much.

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NOTE - My "makers" I meant the actual person on the production line/craftsman. IMO, headjoints should have this information on them like handmade guitars typically do.

Very informative.

My conclusion at this stage is to swap my current Dana Sheridan, as opposed to upgrade, to one that better suites my preferences.

Cheers.