Hi, I’m a whistle player who would love to try flute.
Which flute have you found the most fulfilling (or the plain best fun!) to learn to play as a beginner? What flute made it happen for you?
All the best…
i started on a Ralph Sweet $135 special in two sections.
That was 15 years or so ago. (for irish flute that is…been fifing for 42 years)
Let me be the first of many… Tipple Tipple Tipple!
Pat
I second the Tipple, but another option would be the Casey Burns Folk Flute.
I’d say if you have the funds, get a delrin Copley, they are the best bang for the buck in my opinion. I am sure Tipple flutes and dixon flutes are okay but they are not conical bore flutes, so you will not get the same effect. I’ve had my hands on many of the inexpensive wood and delrin flutes through working at a music store, and i’ve found my favorites inexpensive to be Copley delrin flutes. I think Dave tends to always have a few of these available. Another inexpensive option if you cannot afford to go the conical bore route, would be to get a Billy Miller bamboo flute. He makes some mighty fine instruments, and they are very reasonable as well.
The Tipple will get the job done, but the Folk Flute will be truly fulfilling. The beautiful wood, the beautiful smell of the wood (if you get mopane wood anyway), the rich sound, the conical bore shape. Very nice flute worth every penny.
If I could do it again, I would go straight for a wooden flute. My first flute was a Seery delrin, which is a fantastic flute, but I found myself quickly desiring the warmth of a wooden flute. Not so much in the tone, but in the feel.
Ditto. As a learning hack (as my posted clips attest to), I’m in no position to recommend to a beginner which flute to buy. However, whenever I’ve heard this question posed to a good flute players/tutor, they almost invariably advise that the most direct path to “fulfillment” is to get a proper wooden flute from a respected maker right from day one. Living in Ireland, you have a raft of good makers (eg. Hammy Hamilton, Sam Murray, Glenn Watson, Martin Doyle, et al) right in your own backyard from which to choose.
Just want to underline the good value of the folk flute - mine is the two piecce in Mopane. Unbelievable value for money. You won’t be disappointed.
I have found the Tipple to be a satisfying flute to play, especially when I first started out. It’s also cool when people are so pleasantly surprised that a pvc flute can produce such a wonderful sound.
I’d second the Copley or Folk flute if you can swing the dough. THe Tipple or Hammy practice flute if you can’t. All are great instruments for their price point.
Doc
Hey, if you’ve got the dough, go with something traditional and beautiful (if you like traditional and beautiful). On the other hand, PVC flutes are a ridiculous amount of fun for the price, Hammy’s practice flute sounds great and is an audacious bit of engineering, and FF’s are highly praised by folks who play a lot better than me. Just as long as you have fun, be patient with yourself, and listen to great players.
I wouldn’t sweat the choice too much - fulfillment is in the music and the friends.
If you got the bucks get something good. It will satisfy
you for a long time, maybe for the rest of your life,
and you can sell it if/ever you
move on and maybe even make money.
Prices keep going up.
The Martin Doyle flutes are great for beginners
and pros play them too.
Thank you all for responding! Perhaps “fulfilling” sounds a bit pretentious, but I’m interested in what you have found rewarding. I’m enjoying this business of looking for a flute, and this board is an invaluable and fun guide.
The feel of a wood flute appeals. I recently made my first attempt at fluting in a music shop. I tried a wooden Dixon & a De Keyser (heftier than the Dixon, with an easier stretch, it rewarded this novice with a clear low D – fun!). I liked them, but a polymer might be a better fit now. It would be nice to have a flute that I can leave assembled for a tootle, much like a whistle. (And it might be more toddler-proof.)
This steers me to Copley and Tipple, and nearer home to M&E and Seery. I notice Seerys don’t often get recommended for novices on these pages. (Though I’m tempted to visit his workshop – he seems a card!)
How does an M&E compare with a Copley Delrin? (I’ll resist asking “How do M&Ms compare with Delrin?”) I know Copley flutes get great reviews on this board.
Cheers!
I don’t know why Seery flutes don’t get recomended. From my experience they have a larger sweet spot (easier embouchure) than an M&E, but the M&E sound better IMO (fatter, sweeter and woodier sound than the Seery). Perhaps there’s the notion that the Seery takes lots of air to fill because it’s a Pratten, but the difference to the M&E in that department seems very slim.
I have not played a Copley, but Dave Copley is a top notch maker, I would imagine he finishes his instruments slightly better than Michael (M&E) does. The obvious disadvantage of Copley delrin is that it’s a budget version of a top notch flute, it lacks a tuning slide and possibility to retrofit keys, like a delrin version of the Burns FF. The M&E is a “full on” irish flute, and in my honest opinion, it’s as good as most of us will ever need, it holds it’s own against pretty much any flute out there.
Just my 2 cl of
whisky 
Kirikee,
If you want Delrin, I would still go with the Copley Delrin, if you don’t really need the tuning slide for serious session play. It’s just so easy to get a big, full tone, and its response is so good, that it’s just a lot of fun to play, and workmanship and tuning are tops. At that price, it’s a winner.
If you want wood, and don’t need the slide, go with the Burns Folk Flute-same traits as the Copley Delrin, for just about the same price, and you get wood.
Sent you a PM (private message)-click on the link at the top of the page to get it.
You live in Ireland, Just phone Martin Doyle and order a flute with no tuning slide. Euro625 - ok not exactly cheap but they are VERY “fulfilling”. And only a few months wait or less.
Had/have both. Copley. What Greenspiderweb said.