Ok here's a little background first.

I discovered these forums about 6 months ago as I began researching what flute upgrade to get for my daughter. My Daughter is 13 and has been playing the flute for almost 3 years now. She loves it, she practices without being told to, and she regales us with music (lord of the rings music i bought her) whenever she can.

At the timie she had a Lavar french flute. Some no name brand I got off E-bay for 130 dollars because I didnt know any better. She made it work somehow even if I had to take it in to the shop on a monthly basis.

I started buying her lessons when we moved to Texas because she was no longer first chair and was behind other students on the high's and the lows. I found a local music teacher in the local orchestra and she's been taking lessons every week for about 8 months now.

She is 95% precent sure to be in the Honor band next year and for her Birthday on April 13th I wanted to buy her a new flute. I'm not a rich man but earmarked about 6-700 dollars and then scoured these forums and then went to onlin resellers looking for deals.

After a lot of reading I came to the conclusion that there seem to be two camps here for flutes for the middle school/high school where flutes can get bumped a bit. Yamaha and Geimenhardt. it seemed equal numbers hated one and loved the other and vice versa, but most agreed it was a good upgrade and a fairly good choice.

I shied away from the lower levels of both as their materials didnt sem well liked here. And I searched the Internet some more. I couldnt find an Intermediate Yamaha for below 900 but I was able to find a Geimenhart 3SH Offset G with a B-foot and a solid silver head for 600.00 that retails for more than twice that much. I took the plunge and bought it. Solid Silver with J1 Model Headjoint if that helps.

My daughter loves it. She has more confidence than ever and we were very happy with our purchase.

HERE COMES THE RUB:

the music teacher is a yamaha lover and a Geimenhardt hater. Every lesson my daughter has had since the new flute arrived has the teacher telling my daughter waht an awful flute it is, How yamaha is better and that I should return the flute for a yamaha. She wont relent. Attached is her e-mail to me AGAIN telling me that I need to get a different flute or my daughter won't do as well as she could.

My question to you all for your opinions is what I shoudl do? I dont play the flute. is she right? Can I tell her what I want to which is to kindly shut the hell up and stop sabotaging my daughters success with your relentless downgrading of the flute she has now which I thought I did a pretty damn good job of researching. I want to tell her I am saving money for a Yamaha so must discontinue lessons but my daughter enjoys the extra lessons. Do I upgrade? Am I ok to tell her " this IS my daughter's new flute and you either need to accept it and shut up about yamaha's or I'll find another instructor" ?


Thanks in advance and soory for such a long post.

her e-mail below:

I'm sure Alex told you I want to talk to you about her new flute. First of all, I think it is so awsome that you have taken such an interest in her talent and you are encouraging her in such a tangible way! I know you researched on your own to pick out that flute... but I am not overly fond of that brand. I have had LOTS of trouble with that brand over the years and they do not produce the best sound for the money. I know it looks good on paper... but if you could just hear the difference between that brand and several others in the same price range, I think you would agree. I talked with Alex earlier this year and stressed with her that if she ever was in the market for a new flute, to PLEASE let me help through the process to get the best flute available for her. Unfortunately, she forgot to tell you about that conversation, and you went ahead with your surprise. Again, I am so happy that you care enough to buy her a new flute, which she needs. She definately sounds better on the new instrument... but I believe a Yamaha or Armstrong, or Pearl flute would make an 80% change in her sound, whereas, the Gemeinhardt only improved her sound by about 25%.
I feel bad having to bring this up, but I think this flute should last for the next 5 years for her and I truly want the very best!!!
Sincerely,
Beth

By the way... I was hoping that this would be the model to hold on to and was thinking a new headjoint come christmas or her next birthday. But now I'm unsure what the heck to do.

regards

From what I've seen and heard Gemeinhart is a decent brand. My own flute teacher at any rate maintains that although she prefers Yamaha for a beginners/intermediate flute, ultimately the player his/her self has the greatest influence, (unless you get a really bad no-name junk flute of the internet, which you didn't.) I've talked to her about it a number of times, and she really doesn't think a super-duper $2000+++ flute is necessary until one is MUCH further advanced. (Although it is always nice.)

I would have a chat with the teacher, and find out, in a nice way, what her specific beef with this flute is. You might indeed discuss changing the headjoint somewhere along the line, if she has issues with say, being able to change the tonal colour, lack of resistance or whatever, (this sounds the most likely to me). If she doesn't come up with anything significant, I would explain the financial reality of the situation to her, not everyone (myself included) can readily spend thousands of dollars on a flute, especially on the pre-college level. If she still doesn't understand, I would indeed ask her to shut up about it as it's making your daughter uncomfortable.

<Added>

JButky aka Joe B also made a point about embouchure hole cut in the thread on "Airy Tone" that might be relevant.

Heya Lost,

I read this letter from your daughter's flute teacher, so before I say anything else, let me say I am also a private lesson instructor, who "helped" a parent purchase a flute for his daughter.

I feel like your daughters instructor is WAY out of line. She is more than free to offer her help, however getting !***!y about the fact that you did not include her in the selection process is ridiclious. My parent sent an email to me asking for advice on upgrades. I sent him back various links to flutes that were ALL upgrades in comparison to what she had, and in all price ranges and models. I was insanely happy when the child came to her first lesson after Christmas with the exact flute I would have picked, however, this student is a bit more privledged than most. For those of us on a budget, it is not always possible to take what is the best on the market. Sometimes we have to take the best right now, and know that in the future you can change it or make improvements.

My first flute $80.00 Artley
My second flute $450.00 Emerson
My third and current flute $650.00 Pearl on sale :D

The Artley was a beginner flute. The Emerson was a "intermediate" flute, and the Pearl is also considered an intermediate flute, however each purchase has been an upgrade from the previous purchase. My current flute does everything I need it to do, and I really like it.

Next,you said your daughter is 13. I think you gave her a solid upgrade at a decent price. She is going to change a lot in the next few years, and may not continue playing flute through high school. If she does, consider a new upgrade at that point in time. However, I would wait until her sophomore or junior year before I made a more expensive purchase.

Lastly, her tone was very condescending through that letter to you. Why does it matter if she is not overly fond of that brand? She is not the person playing it. Also, by making the comment that unfortunately your daughter forgot to speak to you about her offer to help pick out a new flute, she is placing your daughter in between the two of you, and it is very unfair and unprofessional of her to do that to your daughter. If she knew you were thinking about selecting a new flute, she could have emailed you before and made her offer, and I am sure you would have taken some of her advice. I would politely tell her that this is the step you've taken to improve your daughter's instrument, there is a possibility of other upgrades in the future, and you AND your daughter are satisfied with your purchase. If she continues to be rude about it, I would bluntly ask her if she knows of any other teachers in the area who would not have an issue with instructing someone on your daughters new gift.



<Added>

3 cheers for a goofy editing system that blocks out words...It wasn't a swear word, but let's edit it to.... grumpy.

lostintexas,

if it would not be too much traumatic for your daughter, I suggest you take your daughter with her Gemeinhardt to another flute teacher or experienced flute performer and get a second opinion.

You could even consider changing teacher if you feel she is (probably without bad intention) sabotaging your daughter efforts. This could be very bad, as children can easily gain or lose interest depending on the reaction of others to their efforts and results.

If you followed this Forum for 6 months you are well aware how difficult it is to get people to agree about brands and models. I would say that this is not possible at all.

I spent myself a good couple of months in deciding how to upgrade from my three year old Gemeinhardt (but not the model your daughter has, mine was a simple student model) to another instrument.

I finally decided to buy a new Yamaha. I checked for models and prices at several places in USA and Europe, got helpful counseling from very kind members of this Forum and from professional flutist in orchestras.

But finally it was my own and lonely decision (this stage is unavoidable) and I purchased it by Internet at Fluteworld in USA.

I'm very happy with it but I had to spend about 2,500$. But I took a bank credit for that, so it was affordable.

In the Forum many people own other brands and a few have recently acquired new instruments. They are all happy with them, so Yamaha clearly is not the only choice.

As you bought a second hand flute, it could also be that it is not in perfect state and need adjustment or repair.

But the same could happen with a 2nd hand Yamaha or of any brand. It can also happen with new instruments as well.

I wish you good luck.

That music teacher sounds like she has a major problem. No teacher should be that biased about a flute for a beginner, after all the hard work you put into finding a flute your daughter likes.
You would have every right to tell her to stop doing this. It the teacher is not the one playing the flute, it is the student and if the student likes the instrument, then the teacher should shut up about it.
I have never heard of a flute breaking just because it is a certian brand and the teacher should let up on it. Maybe finding a new teacher would be a choice if she keeps trying to "brainwash" you or/and your daughter. A nice teacher would respect the choice of brand and work around any concerns they may have.

your daughter has a decent flute

i know that every musician has his favorite brand...
for example...a keyboard player has a favorite brand of keyboard(probably because of the sound)but he can still play with other brands(korg,kurzweil,yamaha etc.)because he has the SKILL and he is STILL a keyboard player.yes, the sound matters...but it is better to improve the skills first.

well.. i started with a no-name guitar(as in junk and it sounds awful)but people did not complain about it because they knew that i'm still learning and i don't have enough money to buy an expensive one...but now that i'm really serious with music (it's now my job), my dad managed to give me a decent guitar(TAYLOR-collector's)which i really appreciated.

hmm... maybe your daughter's instructor may have a difficulty in adjusting to other brands that's why she is recomending you to change your daughter's flute.well, i find it a bit "demanding"...she's not the one who's going to play it and she's not the one who's going to spend money for a new flute just because she's "having LOTS of trouble with that brand"...
just a personal opinion


---kishi





<Added>

i think she is too dependent on her own brand....:(

I will reserve my opinions about which brands I favor by saying that what young people need is a flute that WORKS. Her current flute in good condition should be fine as I have a number of students who have them and they work fine.

I tell students that they should upgrade once they get their current flute to sound terrific. Tell the teacher that the most expensive running shoes don't make you a faster runner. I think she is doing her a dis-service by harping on it.

Well I think everyone else covered all my thoughts too on the subject. We have a great bunch on here!

I think that you should ask the teacher what brand she plays on and then post it on here and we can pick it apart. Lol! No one is ever going to agree on a certain brand 100%.

If your daughter likes the flute and it plays well then that is all the matters. I personally would try and look for another teacher that is not hung up on brands and more into using their time teaching and helping your daughter.

i recomend a student yamaha, they are awesome for beginners... I love my yamaha! Avoid gemeinhardt and armstrong

Thanks for all your advice. I will discuss her reservations with her and then kindly ask her to keep her opinions between her and I because if my daughter comes home again and tells me that she harped again, that will my daughters last lesson with her.

and to make a funny, Maybe I should get her one of those colored ones on Ebay from China, for the money i just spent I could get her a new color every month and really drive the Instructor to a psychotic episode.



<Added>

Oh and the 3SH I bought is a new one not a used one. I really thought I got a screaming deal till the harping began.

Hah! More power to you! We all hope everything goes okay! Glad we could help!

WOW! $600 is a really good deal. Mine was close to that and it's a gemienhardt 2sp. Even though it's a gemienhardt i still got into highschool honor band..and i bet your daughter DEFINITLY would^_^
If u think about it, some ppl would be impressed and be like Hey! you got in with that begininer gemiemhardt??
Yea..bunch of flutist there had AMAZING pro. flutes..and i had a closed student gemiendhardt...
i think someone else in this forum said they got into honor band with a really stinky instrument...
ANYWAYS..yea, just wanted to mention that.

Just out of curiousity, how old is your daughter's teacher? Her language sounds as if she's barely out of high school herself.

I think everyone else here pretty much covered it though. She's out of line, and you probably should let her know this.

Have you considered the possibility that this teacher might have a financial relationship with one or more local music stores, who give her a commission when she 'sells' a flute for them? I do know that this occurs, as do 'recommendations' by 'specialists' at music stores who state their 'preference' for their most profitable instrument, or the one they have more of in stock.

The flute teachers I know try their best to get the best possoble instrument into the hands of their students. If their student isn't in the position to get a better flute, so be it- they work with what they have.

I second the other posters' replies; if the instructor can't get over it, get a new instructor.

I haven't liked ANY Gemeinhardt that I have played, new or used, but a woman in our Symphonic Band has one and sounds delicious.

Your daughter is much better off with this flute than what she had before.