flute info

[Sovek]

Hi, Im an 18 year old clarinetist and have been playing for some 2 months, but am already quite good at it. I had a hard time choosing which instrument to go at first, Clarinet or flute? Clarinet won out, but I'm looking the prospect of also taking up flute as well. But I know next to nothing about it. A friend who has played the flute for years says the clarinet is easier as far as breath is concearned but I don't buy it. Moving a reed with air has got to be harder than flute which has no reed to block air flow.

Also what is a good intermediate flute, (I made the mistake of buying a cheap clarinet cause I thought I would be stuck at the student level for years) also keep in mind that I seem to quite good at wind instruments, (I have no idea why, I've been trying to figure that out ever since I started playing clarinet)

also is Ebay any good for flutes? I bought both my clarinets off Ebay and saved a ton.

another thing is what method books do you suggest? I would prefer something with more sacred songs such as hymns or the sort.

[Chang He]

Bear in mind Sovek, that almost everyone here plays exclusively Irish, or "simple system" flute, not the Boehm flute you seem to be interested in. This forum is in fact dedicated to the Irish flute.

As far as breath is concerned, as a former clarinet player myself, I'd have to say that flute is harder. It isn't a matter of force of breath, but control. Clarinet you can pretty much just blow, once you get the basic emboucure down, while flute is much more precise. Use the search function to find out about eBay flutes if you are interested in an Irish one.

If you are in fact interested in Irish flute, a good intermediate Irish flute is probably an M&E R&R or a Seery, both of which can be ordered from Doc Jones' <a href="http://www.irishflutestore.com/">Irish Flute Store.</a> There are ardent defenders of both around here, and most would insist that saying "beginner" or "intermediate" in relation to those flutes is a bit of a misnomer, since professionals record with Seerys, and there are quite a few who think the M&E is a better flute. Doc Jones is a nice guy though, and I'm sure he'd love to answer your questions.

[Henke]

Hi.

First of all, I guess you're talking about Boehm flutes (modern orchestral flutes made of metal)? This forum is mainly devoted to wooden simple system flutes often used in Irish traditional music. But hang around anyway, there are plenty of people here who can help you with the Boehm flute as well. I'll do my very best to help you also, but my knowledge is a lot more limited than some of the other people around here.

About the issue of which instrument being harder to play, your friend has a point. The fact that there is no natural resistance in a flute is part of what makes it so difficult, instead of having a reed or something similar, you have to learn to be the reed yourself, and this is not as easy as it sounds. Developing a good, consistant embouchure (the thing your lips do to make the flute sound) takes months, even years of practice. It might take you several days or even weeks to even get a sound out of the flute, then make it sound across the range, then improving that sound and then make the playing efficient (you will need tons of air to play the first few months) takes lots of time.
Moving a reed with air is very difficult as well, it's just a whole other thing.

If you're looking for a good flute I have one for sale (the other board members must be getting tired of me saying this now, the thing is I'm not trying very hard to sell it, I'm just asking whenever the subject comes up). PM me off board if you're interested and I'll tell you more about it.

The best way to get started on flute is with a teacher, at least to get basic embouchure, grip end fingering down. Finding a good teacher on classical flute will probably not be a problem.

[fearfaoin]

I started on Clarinet and picked up flute later in life. I think a lot of people would agree with your friend
that Flute can be harder to learn than Clarinet. What that really means, in mathematical terms, is that
Flute has a steeper learning curve than Clarinet. It is difficult to make a good sound when starting
to learn flute. Fluite emboucure is not forgiving, and there are more variables such as angle of the airstream
on flute that aren't a problem on Clarinet. On the other hand, on Clarinet I could at least get a sound out
the first time I tried, then I had to learn to make it a good sound.

But once you can get a good sound out of either the Clarinet or Flute, at that point the challenges
are similar: learning to "cross the bridge" between octaves, dynamics, getting a really good tone.

At least when you start on Clarinet, you have a leg up on the fingerings for the Flute. The Flute
has (almost) the same fingerings in both octaves. I can't imagine learning Flute first and then
going to Clarinet... the confusion of having to relearn fingerings for everything that doesn't use
the Register Key!

[Sovek]

oops, my mistake, however I am somewhat intrested in the Irish style music.

I did honk on a recorder for about a month or so, was never able to get above a certain note cause you had to kind of cover the thumbhole, course never put much effort into getting that part down.

Henke, how much are you asking for that flute, assuming its the orchestral version?

and I probably will stick around, don't be suprised if I stick my head in for a while asking the names of some good pieces.

[AaronMalcomb]

If you want to play Boehm flute and like Irish music you may take in interest to Joanie Madden. She plays the Boehm flute but gets a very traditional tone from it.

And watch who you say that "recorder" word to. It's a bit of a volatile word around here (lightheartedly of course). See this link to find out.

Cheers,
Aaron

[fluti31415]

Hi, Im an 18 year old clarinetist and have been playing for some 2 months, but am already quite good at it. I had a hard time choosing which instrument to go at first, Clarinet or flute? Clarinet won out, but I'm looking the prospect of also taking up flute as well. But I know next to nothing about it. A friend who has played the flute for years says the clarinet is easier as far as breath is concearned but I don't buy it. Moving a reed with air has got to be harder than flute which has no reed to block air flow.

Also what is a good intermediate flute, (I made the mistake of buying a cheap clarinet cause I thought I would be stuck at the student level for years) also keep in mind that I seem to quite good at wind instruments, (I have no idea why, I've been trying to figure that out ever since I started playing clarinet)

also is Ebay any good for flutes? I bought both my clarinets off Ebay and saved a ton.

another thing is what method books do you suggest? I would prefer something with more sacred songs such as hymns or the sort.

Congratulations -- I too, came to this instrument via a different one. For me it was (and still is) the oboe, with some (a very little bit) bassoon in my background as well. I think that you will probably find that it does indeed take more work to begin to make a good sound on the flute than the clarinet. Since my background is double reeds, I can tell you that it does take more work to move the air for the flute. Remember, in a clarinet, all of your air is used to move the reed and make the sound. In a flute, half of the air is sent of into space, and only half of what you blow goes down the instrument. Also, as others have mentioned, breath control becomes even more crucial with a flute. You don't have a reed to give you the resistance you need to control your air. Of course, mastery of any instrument is quite difficult, so I don't think that any of us can say that James Galway works harder than Richard Stoltzman.

I suspect, as the others on this list have already said, that you are looking for what is called a Boehm flute -- the silver kind, with keys that you see in modern bands and orchestras.

Here is my advice:
First, find a good teacher. A good teacher can help you find a reasonable flute at a good price. Although you can find some good deals on E-Bay, unless you know what you are doing when you look for a musical instrument, you can spend much more than you should for a sub-quality instrument.

Second, if you do not want to find a teacher, I would recommend purchasing your flute from Flute World. They have an online presence at www.fluteworld.com Gemeinhardt is a good brand to go with. The Flute World salespeople are excellent, and you can purchase a flute on a 10 day trial, (even the student models) and see if it is to your liking. Even if you do not know how to play yet, purchasing an instrument on trial is a good option -- you can invite your flute playing friends (and have them bring their flute playing friends, also) over for coffee, and they can try out the flute, hear each other play, and evaluate the instrument for you. The more people who play the flute, the better you can gauge how it will sound when you learn to play.

These are my opinions only -- as always, YMMV.

[Guitar Kat =^..^=]

I started with the flute... the "band" type of one... then I got interested in the guitar, then the Irish whistle... and wow, I wish I could have an Irish Flute...

I can only imagine... I could actually be good at it.

But the technique with the flute is very... picky. It takes awhile also for the tuning. And wow, do I know!! *plays in a band with 7 other flutes*

Best of luck!

[Jack]

I play Böhm flute. In many ways, it is easier to play decently than simple system (or Irish) flute. It's definately easier to play than clarinet!