Do I need a new flute? Or is my old one broken?

Dear Flutists,

Quite a few "I want to buy a new flute" questions came in over the winter holidays, and I thought it would be helpful if folk knew how to test their flutes to see if they need repair. Also see Flute Care for more tips on annual flute repair and why it's normal.

Sometimes your old flute is just fine, but you have forgotten that it has a maintainance schedule that's annual. This is a very common reason for flute students thinking that they need a new and better flute. But it's a normal repair-requirement that can be quickly remedied.

Firstly, simply ask your flute teacher to test your flute for you. If you don't have a teacher, for gosh sakes go for at least one proper lesson to find out what's going on with your flute.
When the flute teacher tests your flute, you will be able to see and hear for yourself what the flute's current condition truly is, and get corroboration on your own observations.



This morning I quickly created the two quick diagrams above, one of the headjoint, and one of the body, (click on them to make them bigger, then use the back button) so that online flute students and novices could see the basic functions of flute repair and maintenance. It's surprising how few flute-shoppers are informed of these little details. Should help enormously!

And once you get an idea about the mechanics of the flute, then you can re-consider the size of your bank-account, and possibly circumvent that emotionally desperate consumer-purchase feeling, and instead, get a repair on your current flute.

By all means, have your teacher test the repair, and then start to save up for a well-informed flute purchase in the future.

(See below for super-budgetary restraint advice.)

Best advice: take that money that's burning a hole in your hobby-budget, and spend it on your annual flute repair visit first.

And by all means invest in one or more flute lessons so that someone who knows how to play-test flutes can be your personal expert. You can even audio-record the sound samples of the flute or flutes being tested by the teacher.

Then later, if and when you re-sell your current flute, you will likely make any repair-money you spent on it back again, because your old flute will be worth more, and sell faster. (Of course, because NO ONE wants to buy a flute that's leaking and squeaking.)

Repairs are cost-effective in ways you can barely imagine at this point in your search for flutey-perfection. :>)

Not only is the flute worth MORE after repair, but you can't put a price on the reduced practicing frustration; it is indeed PRICELESS!

Best, Jen


From Flutenet today:

STARVING COLLEGE STUDENT WANTS NEW FLUTE
I'm looking into buying a new flute once I have more money saved up ( I'm a starving college student, of course.) Another flute major at my school suggested I find a solid metal flute, whether it's silver or gold (although silver is definitely more likely in my case).
I guess pure isn't the right way to say it. I mean non-plated metal. Are there any benefits to this? Or is there any difference between having a sterling silver flute with a plated key system?
I could post about all these extra mechanisms and stuff, but I think I'll ask later on in my shopping process.

Jen replies:
Dear starv. coll. student,

You can read all about flute shopping and all the options here:
http://www.jennifercluff.com/buying.htm

Basically, you decide your budget, and then look at reputable brand names within your price bracket with the help of your flute teacher.
Buying without the help of an expert is fraught with possible purchase errors.

There is a very large difference between the reputable flute brands,and their precision in manufacture, and the lesser-quality band flutes in the cheaper price brackets. Stay wary of those extremely cheap flutes that are sold on the internet. The plating on them flakes off,
apparently.

Plated silver keys on a solid silver body are just fine (and I enjoy their lighter weight) if well-manufactured. The only drawback would be if a very dent-causing accident required soldering. Plated keys are cosmetically damageable during large dent-related accidents.

Solid silver keys do not affect the sound or action of the flute; but do cost more, and are likely to be found on the more carefully made, more expensive flutes.

Other options (such as offset G and inline G, b-foot, etc.) are topics you can ask your teacher about or read about online. Most flute specialty companies have a glossary of terms that you can look over to learn about all the myriad options.

But try before you buy.

Too many unusual flute options when ordering, means you have already narrowed down the number of flutes you are going to try, and trying
many different brands is the key to the whole shopping process.

And it's always best to buy a flute with the help of an expert flute teacher.
You're much more likely to get a flute you can use for 5-10 years, and one that will actually do what you NEED it to do, plus the teacher might know of other "used" flutes in her studio (from other students) that may have good track records (accurate record of repair) and be
within your price bracket.

Buying a flute without having it fully play-tested by someone who can stretch it to its limits is a very dicey business.
The teacher will know immediately whether the flute is functional, flexible in tone, and responds well, or whether it needs repair prior to being properly play-tested.

Best, Jen

Also:

How to improve your flute when you have too little money to buy a good quality new one:

I just thought of a way of explaining a common flute-purchasing situation; the novice flute buyer who doesn't know which flute to get,
who's trying to work with a teeny tiny budget.

Here are the steps I would take, knowing what I know as a flute teacher who's seen this situation dozens of times, if I were to go through it
again:

Let's say the novice flutist has $400 and realizes after looking around on the net that they need $1000 to buy a decent "step up"
flute, or maybe even $2000. But $400 is all they have and they are truly motivated to improve their flute situation.

Here are some of the recommended steps:

1. Rent a flute - Rental flutes from quality music stores can be as inexpensive as $25 per month. Look for a newer Yamaha or other quality instrument,
and have it checked for pad leaks. Take it home for a month and compare it to your old flute that's been bothering you. You will learn
alot about what's wrong with your old flute. Cost: $25-$40
Still have: $350-375 in savings.

2. Get advice from a flute teacher in person - Flute lessons start at around $25 for a half hour; take both flutes (rental and your own) to a flute lesson and get some basic playing advice. If you enjoy it, sign up for some more lessons. The new teacher can help you buy a quality flute.
Cost: $25 to $100. Still have $300 or so in savings.

3. Repair your old flute - At your flute lesson(s), inquire about any quality used flutes for sale, and the name and location of the best flute technician in town (the one the flute teacher recommends highly) and take your old flute to the shop for repair.

Your old flute will sell at a higher price if it's in good condition and recently repaired.
Test it again when it returns from repair; is it as bad as you thought? Cost of repair: $80-$150+
Still have $100-150 or so in savings.

(If it is "unrepairable" due to poor grade manufacture, at least you now know this.)

4. Use old flute to help buy new one - You can always sell your own instrument after selecting the best new instrument (or previously owned flute) that you can find. And that will replenish your bank-account.

Your old flute will sell for more, because in good condition, and your flute lessons will have helped you select a good quality flute that's suited to your new and improved flute skills.

Selling your old but completely refurbished flute and earn back repair bills of over-$200 in the future. Savings would then be back up to $200 plus whatever you have left over from renting a flute and some flute lessons. You may even recoup half your costs.


Problem: You started with $400. And of course, now only have zero to a future $200, because of the cost of flute lessons and flute repair bills. But you now know exactly what was wrong with your own flute, and what it feels like to play on a better quality flute.

You can put the $200 toward a payment plan for a new flute (with parental help), and/or can continue to play your newly repaired old flute diligently until you've saved up more.

This seems like a sensible plan to me.

And it shows parents that you're seriously invested in not just owning a "new toy" but having taken on the hobby of flute playing in a serious way. That really helps when birthdays and Christmas come, and you are asking for them to help pay for lessons and/or a month-to-month rental flute.

Hope this helps,
Jen

Tone Experiments for Advanced Flutists

(click to enlarge cartoon above - then use back button to return here.)

Dear Flutists,
Have you ever actually kept a record of what works for you when you're practicing to improve your flute tone?

For advanced flutists working with a teacher, this dissertation on flute tone makes excellent reading. I found it in a free pdf online, and it's truly helpful.

As the author of the dissertation notes on pages 29-31, there are conflicting instructions aplenty when you read flute "how to" texts. Every flute author seems to leave too much unsaid, and not agree with eachother on almost any of the tone instructions! No wonder there is so much confusion!

Add to that the various levels of tactile sensitivity and listening skills, of each player, and you have myriad half-described tiny feats of accuracy and precision. Then add to that the widely varying ability in students to goal-set, experiment and focus, and then finally, add the fact that flute students and teachers are not always able to be perfectly clear about what it is they are physically doing to improve the tone, and you have "the art of playing the flute" is "Practice Practice Practice".

I mean, gosh, even all the great "how to" texts completely disagree!
See sample below: (click to enlarge - use back button to return here.)

Hilariously wild in the disagreement department: to wit:



So setting ones own flute tone goals, creating ones own embouchure experiments with the help of a teacher, and taking notes, like a scientist, is the best method of self-educating.

Re-reading past note books and self-reminders can be illuminating too. So often embouchure and head-throat instructions are more "thought" then performed. A single idea can make sufficient changes. For example:
I found a book of scales up to high B the other day where a previous flutist had written "blow your throat open" and it saved the day once again. (gets rid of unconscious throat-tightening and keeps air moving quickly.)

And of course, I highly recommend flutists who want to improve their tone to consistently record their lessons and/or take notes while working with their teacher, and then, when practicing at home, take quick notes of which ideas worked and what changes were effective.
It's also incredibly helpful to record yourself and listen back.

A student the other day phoned to say: "I listened back to what I thought was a gorgeous full low register, and suddenly heard that I was too rolled in! Ack!"
(see 3rd comment below).

Well, ha ha. We are not alone.
And there is no faster method to re-creating your embouchure and air-speed successes at will, if you know what they are and have made notes to yourself!

Comments from flute teachers who are interested in this topic are truly welcome!
Best, Jen