Hi all,

I am a beginner on flute and would like to buy a new flute. Could anyone help me how to choose? Brand : Yamaha? I notice there have open and closed hole, e-mechanism, C or B foot, inline G and off-set G, Silver or nickel plated and the like , how should I choose?

Thanks a lot!

I am no flute proffesional or anything, but it really depends on how you`re going to play, and how much you plan to invest on. I would reccomend Yamaha, but if you`re a beginner, I think it`s better if you get the non-hole keys. Obviously anything with the gold or the silver is expensive and the B-foot, you wouldn`t need this unless you were a pretty skilled person. Again, I do reccomend Yamaha because it will last longer than much of the other brands.

Buying a first flute can be very hard- you want one that is nice enough to be able to depend on, yet is not too expensive.

First of all, I would stay away from Ebay brands to buy your flute. These include Gruskin, Hans Jurgen, Kersting, Sky, Jinyin, Concert, Grand, and Victory, though there are hundreds of others.

There are a bunch of "name brands" for flutes, but the ones that are the best-playing and most durable are Gemeinhardt, Yamaha, and Armstrong.

The open-hole vs. closed-hole issue is completely up to you. Most people like to start off with closed holes, because it is easier to not have to cover the holes initially. Personally, I would get open holes, because after the first couple of days, you won`t even feel an effort to cover the holes, and you are more likely to get the correct finger position.

If you want an offset G (which means that the key where your left ring finger goes is placed forward so it`s easier to reach), then go for it! It doesn`t make a flute more or less advanced to have this feature, it just helps ergonomically.

You don`t necessarily need a "B" foot on your flute (that means there`s an extra key on the end, and you can play one note lower). A lot of people get it, because it helps the top few notes come out easier, but you will hardly ever need that extra note.

I don`t know a lot about split E, but it seems to be a switch that helps you play high E. I don`t have it, and I don`t think you really need it. It just costs more.

So with all of those options being said, I`ll give you some models that I would recommend to look at (others may or may not agree that these are the ones you should consider).

If you want to spend under $400, the Gemeinhardt 2sp is a very good choice. This has closed holes, and a "c" foot. Another Gemeinhardt to look at is the 3, which is the same as the 2sp, except with open holes. This is what I started playing flute on, and it got me all the way up to 9th grade (4 years) before I upgraded. I still play it in marching band, and it`s very dependable- in its life, I`ve only had to put it in the shop twice. Also, you can get a B foot on the model 3 (3B), and you can get part or all of this flute in solid silver (which makes the sound more clear and pure).

I think Armstrongs cost a little more than the Gemeinhardts- but I think they`re about the same in quality. The ones to look at here are the models 104 and 105. The 104 is closed-hole and 105 is open. These are pretty nice and dependable- about 1/3 of the kids in my high school band are still playing their 104`s/105`s from beginner band, and they sound good!

If you really want to drop some bucks, but get the best student flutes on the market, look into Yamahas. The 200 series Yamahas cost about $750-$800, but they are definitely the best. I think that the 221 is closed hole, 261 is open hole with offset g, and 281 is open hole without offset g. I love Yamahas. The flute I play on now is a Yamaha 481 (solid silver), and I love it!

Well, sorry my whole post got so long, but I hope this helps you choose!

yamaha`s are very good for student flutes. I think the most common flute (at least out my way) is the Gemeindhart. It`s sturdy, and quite durable, and also very affordable. Just go to your nearest flute dealer and try out the instruments they have. Get the one that you like the best. If you can`t play the flute at all yet, then ask a flute playing friend to come along with you. All instruments are different. Also, as a beginner, don`t get fooled into buying stuff you dont need on the instrument, unless you`re sure it`s something you will need. Right now you dont really need a b foot or anything... so dont let the sales person tell you that you need this stuff unless you decide that you will need it later in your career. Also, regarding open holes.. it`s hard to learn to play the flute with open holes, but later in life you may want to have this option. So one thing you could do, is purchase an open-holed flute and get some plugs to go with it. This way the flute will grow with you. You can start off with all the holes plugged, and slowly take one out at a time as you get more used to the fingerings.
best of luck!

My first flute was an Artley plateau (spelling?). I think it`s a great brand, perhaps not on par with Geimenhardt or Yamaha, but still a nice student flute. Open-hole flutes really have a lovely tone, at least compared with my Artley! Poor thing...I hate degrading it so....

I think it would be smart to start out with a platuea, one, because they`re less expensive, two because you just want to learn how to play, without worrying about whether or not your fingers are covering the keys entirely.

first off, play flute for a longer time (like 6 month - 18 month) and during that time, try, if possible, to rent different kinds of flute and see which you like. if you have short fingers, then don`t get holed flutes. because after you play for a while, you will get a hang of the sound, such as what it should sound like and what you want it to sound like. Now on to the brand... Personally, I don`t care about brands. Many people like yahama, but I don`t see differences between that and any other flute, even ones from foreign country. To get the best flute, as in the one that could make the best sound, a pure gold flute is the best (if you can afford one), because gold is very soft and thin, so it vibrates greatly when you play it, thus making the best sound. I have a gold flute, it is made out of soft and thin copper, but it`s "tanned" with a thin layer of gold, and it`s very good, the difference is clear when playing xtremely high or xtremely low notes. Many people can`t afford a gold one, then get a silver one. Silver is harder than gold, but softer than tin, or whatever the most flutes are made out of. Here`s what I suggest, go to a music store near you, or far from you, whatever u want, ask for all the flutes, and weight them and feel them. the lightest one, most likely the null looking one, is the best. DO NOT GET A VERY SHINNY FLUTE! and after you check out all of the flutes, you can take down the brand and all, and shop online if you want. Do NOT buy a flute online before you go to the music store.

hope it helps.

Thanks for all advice.

1. Somebody wrote "Open-hole flutes really have a lovely tone"

If some flutes have a lovely tone it is because of other aspects of flute design, not the holes.

The open holes do not affect tone. Block them up and the tone is the same.

If open holes DID affect tone, then the 5 (only) notes of the chromatic scale which involve open holes would have a better tone than the other 7 notes that don`t. This is never the case.

2. Do not get fixated on gold and other precious metals. People BELIEVE many things, and even imagine them. However when CONTROLLED "double blind" studies are done, the material is found to have zero (or very close to it) significance.

I`ve played a number of golf flutes, and expected wonders, but they were actually no better than their silver counterparts. Some nickel-silver (containing no silver) flutes have a superb tone. Yamaha chose BRASS for their VERY expensive, superb, top professional alto flute.

Don`t believe all you hear. Gold flutes used to be very rare. Then Galway marketed himself as "the" man with the gold flute. A fashion was born, and now every other player thinks he/she is nothing without a gold flute. The gold was little more than a marketing ploy. Galway practises on a silver flute.

A superb player definitely does not need gold or platinum to sound superb.

1-27-05
Hello!
34 year old Female from Baltimore, Maryland! Sup??? I used to play the piano for many years when I was young, but lately have had the urge to buy a flute............I see so many on ebay but not sure which one to buy?
any suggestions?

from my personal experience, go with your teacher. And don`t get something too fancy (split e, c# trill and the like) because you never know how serious you are about it until a few years. and your first flute usually isn`t a good one because once you think you want to persue it more, then that`s when you get a newer and better flute as your 2nd one (which can last about 5-6 years) so...any questions?

Stick with the basic student flute. If you buy a Yamaha 221, you can`t go wrong. I play on a very high end flute that I spent a fortune on and got all the bells and whistles, but I find myself wanting to play my Yamaha 221 back up flute instead. Don`t waste your money. If my husband (a musician also) can not tell if I am playing on my $7000 flute of my little Yamaha student flute, then I really begin to wonder.

I`ve been playing the flute for 14 years but since learning the flute is so foreign the first time you play it I think it`s better to get a close hole flute first and then as you gain experience "upgrade" to a higher quality flute if you wish to do so. Thinking back if I started with an open hole it would be too much learning how to apply air to it how to position your lips and all the fingering let alone worry about getting my hand position on all the holes just right. You can plug them up. Then again I was 7 and not to mention a bfoot open hole or just plain b foot would have been very hard to reach the keys. I had a hard time with my first c foot flute ooh it hurt but with practice go better then you grow into it and maybe at some point out of it. When I say out of it at least my interpretation you`ve improved your tone and if got a better quality flute could improve the sound more. Also my first flute I was way more carless with it just because I didn`t understand all the parts to it so if you get a real expensive one and some open holes seem to be more expensive than closed ones it may be safer to try a cheaper flute first. Usually if you work with a private teacher or school band teacher they will reccomend a flute for your or after working when to advance. Good luck it`s hard work but fun!

Thanks for everyone`s response. I am 34 years old and do not want to go to a teacher. I have a piano background and am sure I can teach myself with time. Just not sure which kind of flute to buy. Ebay has so many and they seem affordable...about $50-$70? does that sound reasonable? Should I rent one first??? What about a beginner Flute Book to teach me?

As a person that started playing flute at 44 (I`m 45 now), I bought a pawn shop flute that needed some work to become playable, that ran me $110 total. I bought the `Play Flute Today` book, but came to the realization, that I needed an instructor. I found one that gave me basic music lessons, but now I`m taking lessons from a jazz flute player.
another book I use is the Rubank method book.

chossing a very first flute is very hard. i would go with a german made flute becuase i find them the sturdiest of them all. Kersting is a good brand even though they are new. i would go with a open hole becuase they are easier to play. i woulndt go with armstrong or geminhardt becuase they are starting to get poorly made.