Around 4 weeks ago, I tried out some new flutes and eventually went with the Yamaha 311 with the gold lip plate. The more I play it, the harder I'm finding it; recently I'm finding it's slipping (I've bought a thumb port so hopefully that will improve that) and causing my wrists to ache more etc.

Is it common to feel like this? Like a disappointment in an instrument? Will I eventually get 'used' to it? Can't help wondering if I've wasted over 900 pounds on a new flute...

It can take a little while to adapt fully to a new instrument, and it sounds like you're finding the weight tiring. That said, the upgrade should really be a marked improvement on what you had before, and its disappointing to feel frustrated so soon later,

Have you still got your older flute. Maybe have a go at playing something on both: You might be suprised at the difference!

I can tell a difference in playing - I can get much better dynamic contrasts on my new flute than my old one, and the lower register comes out more now than before. Another thing I've noticed, is that the lip plate seems bigger? In the sense it is more rounder than my previous one, it was quite flat so that may be causing the slipping also... My teacher says she can tell a difference in tone now, so I guess that is something

Maybe it's just because you're getting used to the improved tone and ease of playing, so now you're noticing the negative factors more.

I think it's probably just a question of adapting to the different 'handling' characteristics of your new flute.

I agree with Misti - if you still have your old flute have a play on it; my guess is it'll make you realise how much better the new one is.

Why is it slipping? The only reason for a mouthpiece to slip i can think of is because of sweat, and usually, attaching cigarette paper (with the glue strip on the paper) to the part of the mouthpiece that gets in contact with the chin will do wonders.

Wrists to ache more usually suggest a wrong wrist position. Can it be that the position of the keys is slightly different then your old flute? It might well be that it takes half a year to get used to such a thing. I still try to play open holed because of the different position of the keys I now have because of inline G. It gets better, but I guess it will take me a year to completely get used to it - including positioning the wrist.

I don't want to be the devils advocate here, but yes, it can happen that you buy a new flute and be disappointed by it, when finding out its limitations. The only thing that helps until another replacement can take place is, to focus on the good things the new instrument has.

My old Yamaha 511 was such an instrument for me, although I really loved her. She had some great qualities, and some great disadvantages. And some of them were my fault since I would have seen the disadvantages probably, if I had had more expierence playing the flute when I bought it. However, I had to get the expierence first, what can happen when one has a flute that doesn't fit entirely. And I got that experience from my old Yamaha.

I already told that, but when I got my new Yamaha 684H Allegro, which I bought on the Internet, I didn't realize that it had bought inline G. When I bought my old flute, I wasn't playing much. But when I started to do my two hours a day, I realized that I had a nerv running through the side of my left index finger, exactly where the flute was positioned. The hand started cramping badly. I invented several solutions to solve that, but never thought that I could play without pain.

When I got the 684H with inline G, I was for a minute or so completely disappointed. I have extremely small hands, no way you would usually decide for inline G. But that "mistake" actually changed the position on the left hand for about 1/8 of an inch. Exactly the amount it needed to get the pressure off that nerv. No teacher or other player or any shop would be able to tell you that unless one made that same expierence. So, that tells both stories. The buy which didn't suit, and the one that did.

So, use the good things and you know what you will not go for when you decide on replacing that one. Or is there a chance you will be able to give it back and get another?

Thank you for all your replies - one of the main reasons why I feel I get wrist ache is the nature of my job, I do a lot of typing so I guess that doesn't help matters. I can tell a difference in that when I practice at a weekend, e.g. today, my wrist hasn't ached half as much as it does when I practice in the week, and also I tend to practice more at a weekend!

I bought a thumb rest, which incidentally came today. I tried it out, I couldn't get it in a position that I was majorly comfortable, as each position changed my thumb position and ultimately, it made the flute roll in on me which I have never found to be a problem before! To be honest, I think the flute slipping thing may be the sweat on the lip plate, as on my previous flute, I think it's fully nickel plated (it was a very cheap one so I'm presuming here) and as it was second hand, some of the plating had tarnished and I think it left a bit a of a grip on the lip plate! Is there anything else I can use on the lip plate, I don't want the local newsagents thinking I'm smoking funny things

I have gone back to my old flute, and as I said, I think that the difference in the shape and style of the lip plate is making a difference. I don't want to go back playing my old one really, the last time I tried it, it gave me spots

I am starting to enjoy the tone of my new flute more now - it's just the slipping problem that's getting to me

When I upgraded to my current flute I found that the rods on the flute were heavier than on my old one and as a result the flute kept trying to roll in. There were also differences in the embouchure hole and the notes were in different places in terms of the jaw position required. My teacher got me to change to a modified Rockstro position which sorted out the rolling issue and gave me a better tone. The differences in the ebouchure hole and in jaw position required practice to sort them out. The jaw issue was also tackled by my not playing any music I'd learnt on my old flute (to avoid muscle meomory) so that I learnt the positioning as I learnt the piece, instead of my jaw going back to how it 'knew' to play the piece.

Talk to your teacher about what s/he thinks might help. It does sound, though, like it might be worth trying a modified Rockstro position and seeing if that helps. To do this you need to turn the headjoint in further compared to the body and the rods are closer to the top rather than being on the side. Your mouth etc are in the same position compared to the embouchure hole, it's the position of the rest of the flute which changes as a result of the altered headjoint alignment. I use a modified Rockstro position and line the outer edge of the embouchure hole up with the middle of the keys, instead of lining the keys up with the middle of the embouchure hole. It might be worth experimenting, buy do talk to your teacher before making any permanent changes. Not all teachers are familiar with the modified Rockstro position.

I remember someone telling me ages ago that she uses postage stamps on her lip plate!

Can be effective, and is more common than you might think...

I will try the stamp thing - do you place it where you would rest your bottom lip?