I noticed there was an oboe thread going on at the moment - just a place to chat about the instrument , but there was no flute one. i searched the forums but i couldnt find any existing one so i decided to make my own!

come talk about the flute!!!

xxx

I play flute. I teach flute. The end.

I play flute with more enthusiasm than skill - waiting for my ABRSM grade 1 result
I occasionally play a really beautiful note and that keeps me going

I blow air into my flute in an unfortunately random and uncalculated manner. Occasionally the resulting noise is not offensive to the ears.

At the moment I have a flute to try from Topwind, a Muramatsu EX which I have fallen in love with, hopefully to replace my current Yamaha 211.

I got my end of term analysis back from my flute teacher the other day and she says I need to play more challenging pieces and studies. Which is good I suppose... Although, I'm a little confused as a while back I took in a pile of new music which included le merle noire, zoom tube and prokofiev sonata and she decided to work on Mozart concerto in D, and Danzi concerto with me instead - neither pose a particularly big challenge and I could probably learn them at home in my own time but she insisted. She had never come across Ian Clarke which is a bit concerning But when I took it to my lesson with David Nicholson he got quite excited and said we could do some work on it.
So I'm a little confused as to why she said that when it was she who decided to do work on these in the lessons. And I bought those study books as well and I've been doing them quite a bit. Are there any harder ones out there that I am supposed to do?! I have Berbiguer, Boehm, Anderson, 76 graded studies and another one which I dont have the cover of.



Dont blow - breathe into your flute!

Low! low! breath (don't blow)... etc

Oh man. I can't even get the flute lingo right, what hope it there for the sound!

hi windies i think a flute thread is a great idea the best thing about playing the flute to me is ???

learning for my own enjoyment,

a common interest in which to meet other people and join in

something that has helped me get over my shyness and nerves

a great way to relax after a stressy day at work

exciting!

I have played flute for around 9 years. I stopped playing properly in 2004 when I passed grade 8 but still play for own enjoyment when I have time. Technically its my first instrument but I consider myself more of a pianist these days.

My favourite work has to be "la Flute de Pan" by Mouquet.

The best experience I have had playing was when I finished learning la Flute de Pan and performed it in concert

The worst experience was playing Jolivets "Chant de linos" for my A level exam- nerves got the better of me x_x

Oh yes. I just wish I'd fallen for one of the cheaper alternatives! (*looks at harps and remembers it could be so much worse*)

it'll be worth it!

I loooove flute
I've been playing for about 5 years and took my grade 8 on Monday. It went pretty well! I messed up Pan et les Berges, which is usually my best and favourite piece =( Very disappointed at that. But hey, it happens! I read that someone said La Flute de Pan by Mouquet is their favourite work. Has to be one of mine too, I love it!
I have a yamaha 311 at the moment, but am saving for a Miyazawa to do my diploma and for university Although i've been told the best make is Altus? anyone have any experiences with these makes than can tell me what i should go for?

You need to try out as many of the top makes as are within your price range, ideally - it's no good us telling you "you must buy an X" if it turns out that flute Y suits you best!

Altus and Miyazawa are both good, respected makes. Others include (but are not restricted to...) Muramatsu, Mateki, Powell, Brannen, Sankyo, Arista.... I can't think of any others! What you will be able to stretch to will depend on your budget, what you will like best will depend on you talk to your teacher about it, too... and if possible take your teacher or some other wise flute-y person flute shopping somewhere where they have a wide range

Started flute last...July I think when I got bored in the summer holiday. Starting grade 6 repetoire next week on my new Muramastsu EX open hole which is due to come tomorrow .....That's about it really

Marcel Moyse books are good for technical work. Seems a bit odd you are bringing high-standard repertoire into your lessons and she's dragging you back down to Grade 8 level pieces! have you done Grade 8? If not, Le Merle Noir and the Prokofiev may be a bit too much of a challenge as they're LRCM/FRCM standard. If you're sort of in-between these and Grade 8, try the Copland Duo for Flute and Piano, Mucjinski Sonata, mayeb Dutilleux Sonatine. I could suggest more but I'm at work and in work mode so my brain won't remember properly! PM me if you want any more suggestions

Malones signature says



So yes she has done grade 8

haha, yes, i am somewhat slow on the uptake and decided to read that AFTER I posted my helpful suggestions!

Omg you played Chant de linos for A level........

Hi - out of interest (I had another thread earlier this week about the EX)

where did you buy your EX from ?

Which Open hole model is it ?

and, of course you have the right not to answer, how much did you pay ?

Cheers

Good morning flutey friends! I don't know what we're actually talking about so I'll say this - I'm grade 8 jazz flute(honours) (oh and with guildhall) and I'm goin to uni to study music!

What do you plan to do when you are finished? Or at least which path will you take in 3rd year? Teach or something else?

I like the flute smily!!! is it new?? x

Newish yes

I am enjoying my new alto flute

is that the big low one? ive played that before at a flute weekend!!!

x

It is a big, low one, yes!

cool! i dont have my own flute - i have a school one. x

Why is the flute a woodwind instrument? it should be brass because it doesnt have reeds! anyone know?

x

One of my saxophone pupils asked me why flute was considered woodwind as it is 'just a metal tube with holes in' I explained that it was because it used to be only made of wood. It doesnt use a conventional brass mouthpiece like all the other instruments. Its like asking why the trombone is in the brass family because it doesn't have valves. There are other things that make it belong to that family besides the common similarity ie. brass=valves, woodwind=reeds, strings=Bow. None are true - trombones are brass, flutes are wind, harps are string.

! thats shocking!!! you should of given him a 30 minute lecture on how it is no 'metal tube with holes in' but it is a magnificent amazing piece of work, and how the person who invented it should of been announced queen/king for producing such an wonderfull thing!

xx

I worked out the other day that when I first started playing the flute, the other students on my HND course were 4 years old!!! I also realised that when I first started reading music (and playing the recorder) they weren't even thought about.

I'm hoping to take either grade 7 or 8 this year ( as I keep saying) but I haven't decided which yet.

Me too!!! Took my Grade 1 flute on Thursday 12th July and I occasionally produce a cracking note which amazes me. I really like this instrument and wish I'd learnt it years ago. I'm 48 so a bit old to be learning a new instrument, but I reckon I could make Grade 4 or 5 within the next year if I crack on at my scales and arpeggios (I can read music already).

Focus the air (like a whistle but with a more relaxed lower lip) and breathe into your flute and you might get nice sounds more often. Practice your embouchure every so often in front of a mirror - but not religiously as you may come to rely on it to much.

I do this - my husband wanted to know why I was playing the flute in the bathroom....

Brilliant!

My bathroom mirror often lives downstairs for this reason...

I the flute. I had a dream where I went to All Flutes Plus to try wooden flutes and for some reason I took my flute with me. While I was there I dropped (or did something similar to) my flute and had some kind of breathy panic attack at the shop assistant! Weird!

I do use the mirror - especially when I practice my octaves just on the headpiece (as per James Galway).

A question: I am renting a Yamaha student flute. Obviously Yamaha are a good make - but would I notice much difference if I were to play a really good top quality flute? Or is it really all down to me?

I had exactly the same dream a couple of nights ago. It was really weird. There were people in ice skates trying violins and I mentioned to the shop keeper, who was ironing at the time, that I wanted to try a wooden flute and she found a yamaha 874WH in a drawer and let me have a play. She said she would give me a good price for it. I was in Dawkes though. I've never been, nor do I even know where Paignton is.

That's where I rent my flute from!! (From Dawkes in Paignton). Paignton is in the county of Devon - South West of England.

Ah right!! Thank you for that geography lesson... Was there an old lady ironing in a corridor?
In reply to your earlier question, it depends on what level you playing is at really. If you are say, less than grade 4 standard or so, then you probably wouldnt be able to tell if you were playing a solid flute or a plated flute, apart from of course the weight. Then grade 5+ which is the usual time to upgrade, which makes sense, as you will be much more aware of your tone and experimenting with colours etc. And even then, that is just down to the headjoint. A good flute like most people mention on here from makers such as miyazawa and altus, if you were told what to feel the difference in, you might notice it. Like, lighter, quieter mechanism, quicker response etc. If you are near Dawkes or any other flute shop, go in and play test a few from differenct price ranges and see if you notice a change. If you dont, then its not time for you to upgrade, if you do, then try more and see which one suits you best and you will benefit from the craftsmanship that has gone into it.

Eurgh, now the waiting for my diploma failed letter starts. Starting new repetoire straight away! My plans for summer are Martin Ballade, Muczyinski sonata and Bach Em sonata.

Anyone else got plans for new repetoire over the summer?

Faure's "Pièce" and my husband and I are working on the Beethoven variations on Mozart's "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" from the Zauberflöte. That should keep us busy for ages.

well.....I don't know about new repertoire, but I want to tackle the final mvt. of Poulenc's Flute Sonata over the summer (will be playing for DipABRSM).

I'd quite like to get hold of 'Bossa Merengova' by Mower. *must concentrate on dip music*.
Sunstreams/Sunday Morning - Ian Clarke ~ want sooooo much .

No serious repetoire plans at the mo, using the summer to work on the much neglected technique! Have been having a look at Hypnosis, to try to keep motivation going. Ooo, the Muczyinsky is lovely!

I was going to do Mozart D major, but I bought it then came home and sight read it easily, so thats not going to pose much of a challenge.
Probably, the rest of the Danzi Concerto in D and still working hard on my Prokofiev sonata

I've just bought the Chopin variations What sort of standard is it?

I think the first 4 variations used to be set for grade 7 on trinity....

Thanks! I've sight-read through them and it's not too bad - the trills in the 3rd variation are a bit tricky though.
What about the sonata by Donizetti?

Hi,

I have been playing the flute since I was 8 years old and I am now 18 going off to university in September. I have a Yamaha YFL 311 and ave recently purchased a piccolo from Topwind in London which is an extremely good woodwind shop if I may say so! My Piccolo is a Yamaha 32 and am very happy with that and is good to play lots of lively and bouncy melodies on such a high and light instrument!

Annetta

Sorry I meant to say the Theme and first 3 variations were grade 7. The 3rd variations trills are awkward (lots of LH 1 and 3 movement)

The Donizetti Sonata isnt too hard, probably grade 8? Need to find my copy of it to make sure as I learnt it a long time ago.

It's on it's wayyy. It's coming Monnddayyy