hi my band member would like to learn the flute and i said i would ask around for a good buy at a budget price of up to 150. she .i have seen flutes for 89 pounds what are these like and should she save abit more and wait( easier said than done!) i have warned her off the colour flutes on ebay at least!

any advice is more than welcome as i am no expert in such matters and its not my money i am spending!

Perhaps your best bet would be to ask around locally. There must be second hand beginner flutes around for that sort of money (but check the condition carefully...kids don't tend to look after them very well).

Something like a new Yamaha 211 isn't hugely expensive and there are lots of hire/purchase schemes around - ask your local musical instrument shop whether they have any deals.

The only new student model that I would be happy to recommend at that price is John Packers JP MK111, which is £159 on their website. I have a few students using them and they are fine, with the added back-up of the shop if anything does go wrong. Any other cheap model I have come across has been a disaster!

I would go for a good second hand one yamaha, trevor james, buffet (the older ones are better) steer clear of the really cheap models and anything from china they break bend and intonantion leaves alot to be desired.

"i have warned her off the colour flutes on ebay at least!"

GOOD ADVICE!!!

Just before I left a school last year a couple of beginners (primary 5) arrived with a Montreaux, and another with a Lindo. Montreaux are a fairly reputable option at the more affordable end for woodwind. Only good for starting out, but at least should do that. There's also Jupiter and Armstrong, but not sure you'd get them under £150, unless second hand of course.

Hi thank you for all the answers so far i thought this would be the case in regards to the cheaper flutes available i wouldnt want her to be put off by starting on a bad flute with problems. i think a tour of the flute shops i the area and ringing up to find out if they have any second hand student flutes will be the next step.

thanks all

lastly she is planning on self teaching ( baby number two is on the way so money is otherwise spent) i have lent her the boosey and hawks book that i started with, a fife and my very old yammaha flute mentioned posture how to hold and clean the flute. she did hire a flute four years ago and can read the music a little bit.
(baby number one came along so she stopped the hire and playing till now)

is self teaching possible with helpful hints from yours truley and a detirmined mind.

There is no substitute for good teaching to iron out bad technique and faults as sson as they occur. But yes I suppose it is possible I self taught clarinet, but even then I had a few lessons and picked up valuable tips.

Other tutor books include learn as you play and tune a day (not sure whether this would be suitable for an adult, teachers can probably advise) Trevor wye does books as well more suited to the adult

hi thanks sjc
i have tune a day and learn as you play ( i tend to pick up flute books in a very good second hand book shop (oxfam) when i see them. i didnt want to bombard the poor girl with too many at once

i am trying to teach myself basic piano at the moment so maybe i can play along with her when we improve together at our relevent instrument

thanks again for the help
monkey flute

not just kids!

I bought a second hand one on ebay for about £100: I got lucky, it's in good condition and no problems, so was a bargain.

I'm not a beginner but I have one of these (because i wanted a new flute and was on a tight budget). I absolutely love it. And the aftercare service is really good.

One of my pupils uses a gear4music flute and its much better than I thought it would be. I have taught her for over a year now and had nothing wrong with the instrument. So for £79 I am extremely impressed! But maybe she got lucky

Hi malone i looked a these on line i think she might be tempted by this as there is nothing nicer than a shiny NEW flute to start with ( fondly remembers buying florance!) i shall print off the details and show her tonight

thanks monkey flute

It is possible - but I would say, if she can afford even an occasional lesson from a good teacher, it will be a worthwhile investment.

I was self-taugh to about G4-5 standard as a teenager, then had a year of lessons with a rubbish teacher THEN had about 6 months of lessons with a truly excellent teacher. The difference that 6 months made to my playing was quite incredible. Even now I am largely self taught, just because of transport issues really , but the fact I'm not just totally useless is mainly due to about 9 months total of lessons (I had another few months a couple of years ago) with one excellent teacher.

I would say that, ideally, having a good teacher is so worthwhile, and I wouldn't recommend being totally self taught except if having a teacher isn't possible. I know how many bad habits I got into, and have seen even worse examples that have been a little scary of how much of a pickle a self-taught flautist can end up in. Good habits are much easier to learn than bad ones are to unlearn, I say from experience! And just in terms of feedback, encouragement and guidance, I'd always much rather have a teacher than not, even if I could not have a weekly lesson.

thanks sarah flute i know i could not have got on as i have without a teacher either i will help her as much as possible and recommend a lesson once in a while maybe birthday and xmas gifts could help towards a few

Sounds like a nice idea - a lesson to get the basics at the start may be a good investment for her! It's an investment in one's future playing

Are the gear4music flutes really that good? I had a piccolo from them and it was awful.