Whats the deal with crown weight?
Someone said to put beans or rice in the space between the crown & stopper to simulate a heavier crown.
What does that do?

There will be rattles unless packed very tightly

You can stuff your flute with rice, you can soak the crown in holy water, and you can store your flute so that it is aligned with the magnetic poles. It won't make a bit of difference. Practicing will.

Wow TB- I love your response.... That just made me laugh.

Some people swear by putting bolts in their headjoint crowns. I don't do it myself, but it must make some difference, don't you think?

Micron,

What is your opinion on gemstone crowns?

I'm sure we can all guess what Micron's reply will be!

vamp, gemstone crowns are the same thing. they are for looks. some people think they add weight and make a difference. think about this, a small portion of the top of the crown is not there in order to accommodate the gemstone. the weight of the gemstone has got to be even less in weight then the silver that was there to begin with. they may be nice to look at but they will not give you a difference in tone. practice will only do that.

haha contra! why even ask micron?

Whats the deal with crown weight? Someone said to put beans or rice in the space between the crown & stopper to simulate a heavier crown. What does that do?

The current issue of Flute Talk magazine has an article by Patricia George that discusses crown weight. In it she describes having her students experiment with various crowns of different weight from her "toy bag" as she calls it:

In this Sound Lesson, the student tries each crown on his flute and evaluates the results. I begin with the titanium crown because it is the lightest. This shows students that if the crown is too light, the results are not good. Then we continue through all the crowns in order of heaviness. Someplace in the lineup of crowns, the student finds a crown that works well for him. Then we weigh it on a gram scale and try to reproduce the weight by adding weight to an open crown. If you have an open crown, you can do some experiments by filling in the open area of the crown. My students start with rolled-up paper and then add a base of clay in which to stick a few grains of rice, lentils, or popcorn to increase the weight.

This is probably the basis for the original question...

i don't see any silly comments. and kara doesn't post anymore on here. i didn't see anything wrong with what i posted.

Hmmm, people in the flute forum seem to talk more about each other than their instruments... seems fitting.

My opinion on crowns thus far goes along with Micron's. If you've heard a good metal clarinet and a good wooden clarinet right after each other, you wouldn't have the slightest idea one of them was metal without seeing it for yourself. The shape of the bore/air column determines the sounds first and foremost. That's puts it in perspective for crowns - they really don't do anything for tone. Getting this crown over that is like putting a spoiler on an economy car. Increases value, makes it look cool, but doesn't really affect performance. I've played with and without the crown entirely ... I noticed no difference. Even the minute difference in weight balance was negligible. Are flautists really this sensitive and picky? I'm asking because I'm not really one.

I was just wondering what the various opinions are. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and should be allowed to post their thoughts.

I am not sure about the crown weight/ gemstone thing but sometimes I wonder. I have a regular silver crown and one with a gemstone. It seems as though my playing is better with the silver crown. The gemstone crown is lighter. It looks nice, but I don't think I like the way my flute sounds with it.

<Added>

Maybe it is my imagination, but to me, I think there is a difference.

You know what they say about the power of the mind.

Then do a test. Get an assistant, who remains totally silent throughout, to blindfold you, then to randomly (with the toss of a coin) change the crown, and you play, without touching the crown. You tell the assistant which crown you think it is. Do this say 40 times. Then check what sort of correlation you have, between what you thought, and the truth. Then perhaps try the same experiment with and without a red piece of wool tied around the end of your flute. There is little limit to the power of the mind to deceive itself.

I did something similar with a friend of mine. She picked out the heavier crown 100% of the time as preferred before I even let her know what was changing (if anything)

Crown weight is not going to alter your sound dramatically. If anything it is very subtle. You are adding mass to a complete system which can effectively increase "stiffness" of the system affecting the aircolumn. Every individual has an optimum range depending on their "driving" mechanism (Embouchure induced blowing pressure) There is a threshold on either side. If you do not cross one of these thresholds with crown weight alone, you will notice no difference. If you do however, and there are many variables working together here, then and only then will you or someone else be able to perceive some difference (for better of worse).

Joe B

Done it all ways. The only problem with someone else changing the crown is that the player can just about always just feel the difference in weight as soon as you get to playing position.

Joe B