The flutes of some makers are very popular,but famous flutist,rarely,use it in albums and performances.Does that mean they’re not good enough?Or is it something else?I didn’t mean any offence.
There is an interesting interview with Matt Molloy on YouTube. He explains that he thinks Pat Olwell is a great flute maker and makes flutes that are very easy to play but that he himself (Matt Molloy) prefers his old flute (a Boosey) he played for such a long time. So if I remember correctly, his daughter plays the Olwell.
So I guess, many flute players prefer the flute they grew accustomed to.
Ah – I found the interview (it was not on youtube):
http://www.irishfluteguide.info/matt-molloy-interview/
Could you be more specific as to which popular makers you aren’t seeing used in albums or performances? I myself see plenty of variety in both. For instance, Murray, Hamilton, Olwell, Wilkes, Grinter, Doyle, as well as antique flutes. We might be able to direct you to some recordings.
It doesn’t seem like a good idea to just write the name.Of course,it is not what you mentioned.They all have own sopkesmen.Maybe I don’t know enough about good player’s flute.
Those are some of the top names right there. However, there are certainly other makers that have been mentioned that have their own adherents. A few may have fans & availability in particular regions, whether just because of location, or complications in cost, wait list times, shipping, taxes, etc. Breton players have their own favorites in their locale, for instance. I’ll throw out a few more names: Reviol, Lehart, Noy, McGee, Lesouef.
I don’t know if you’re thinking of makers that often have a different class of customer, though may still see some professional use: Copley, Windward, Seery, Somers, Ellis, Baubet, Thompson, M&E, Lambe, Gabriel.
I’m sure I haven’t covered them all. You shouldn’t be afraid to list names you’re curious about, especially if you’d like to view discussions, videos, etc.
Nice article.I haven’t played the old flute.But the new one seems to be better than the old one.They are in good condition,improved,good at in irish music.Perhaps there is something magical about the old wood,like violin.Or as you say,many flute players prefer the flute they grew accustomed to.
Not that I’m any good at playing, but I personally prefer instruments that don’t need a lot of looking after, therefore I will only buy delrin, plastic, or metal flutes - it boils down to what works for you personally, so most, I expect, use what they have spent most time with.
it boils down to what works for you personally, so most, I expect, use what they have spent most time with.
It is true to an extend, you will always be more comfortable with an instrument you have spent a lot of time with, you tend to know exactly how it will respond. Some years ago I was talking to a young player, a neighbour, who at the time held the All Ireland under 18 flute title. Her parents had bought her a Grinter but she confessed her original Brendan McMahon was the flute she preferred playing by a country mile . But that doesn’t mean the Grinter wasn’t the better flute. It takes time to get acquainted with a new instrument and find what it will allow you. It takes effort, throwing out, to an extend, what you know and are used to, and re-learn to go with what’s new. If you do that, the new instrument may well reward you with new possibilities and colours. The process does involve a period where things are awkward, slightly uncomfortable and that makes you self-aware and less confident as a player,. Not everybody will want to go through that so they’ll stick with what they know and are comfortable with.
I’m not convinced it’s “what you are accustomed to”. I rather think it’s much more important. I reckon it’s “what suits you”.
I’ve made flutes for previous customers of very highly-regarded makers such as Patrick Olwell, Michael Grinter and Chris Wilkes, and these players have written back and thanked me copiously. You can sense their sense of relief. They had thought that a flute by one of the most famous makers would have guaranteed they would be happy. Not so, as it transpired. They were blaming themselves. Not fairly, as it transpired.
Do I interpret that as I make better flutes than Pat, Michael and Chris? No, I interpret that as I make different flutes than Pat, Michael and Chris, and that for some reason, yet to be determined, this suits some players much better. Not all players, clearly, or they would be out of business and I would be raking it in! And I’m equally sure that Pat, Michael and Chris have made flutes for some of my previous customers that have suited them better than my flutes did. We’re not talking better and worse here. We’re talking different. At least significantly different. Perhaps dramatically different.
Some “different” we can probably put a finger on. Michael and Chris were keen on the post-Nicholson-era style flutes that exhibited very flat feet. In my experience, only a certain proportion of players can successfully deal with that. If you can do the offset-jet trick, great, you’ll love the flute. If you can’t, sorry, you will struggle desperately. I have made replacement sections for players who couldn’t manage it. Or sold them flutes they could manage. They liked the flute. Just not the tuning.
And I’ve played flutes by Michael and Chris, and found the embouchure didn’t suit me. But never have had the time to delve further in as to why. I imagine that flute makers are the fussiest in regard to embouchure. “I can do better than that!”
Less sure why some customers for Patrick’s flutes would come to me. (And, to be fair, there are probably fewer of them.) I haven’t had much experience of his flutes (I live a sheltered life down here on the south-east coast of Australia). But I’m not aware of any serious difficulties his flutes present. I’m imagining that, again, perhaps we just enjoy a different embouchure. But maybe that’s enough?
It seems to me that we, as a community, haven’t bitten the bullet on understanding this rather fundamental issue. It’s no doubt very tempting to think that “since I love my flute from maker X so much, everyone else should have one”. But it doesn’t work like that, or maker X would be the only maker in existence. The reality is that we now have more makers, not fewer. Great, I say! More variety means more happy flute players.
But it still leaves the awkward question - I want to buy a flute, who should I buy it from? “No problem”, half of the Flute Forum are quick to respond. “Maker X made my flute and it’s the best flute I’ve ever found.” Best for you perhaps, but is it necessarily best for everyone?
I’d love to finish this rant with a concrete plan for where we go from here. But to be quite honest, I haven’t a clue! It would be fascinating, post Covid, to assemble, at an international flute gathering somewhere, examples of flutes by all our makers, and get lots of players to experience them, and rate them. And ideally to say why. It should probably be a “blind tasting” - makers’ marks should be concealed and replaced by numbers to get around the “awe factor”.
I suspect that, in the first instance, it would raise more questions than answers. I don’t think that it would come down to just embouchure, or tuning, or any other single factor. It may come down to issues none of us could have imagined. But at least we would be on the way…
Interesting concept. From my limited experience, I’ve found that it takes me awhile to “get used” to a flute. I’ve gone through a bunch of instruments on my quest, and some were great at first and then, as I got used to them, the glow faded—just not the flute for me. A couple of others were tough for me at first but now that we’ve spent some time together, we’re getting along very nicely.
Perhaps more experienced players can adjust much more quickly than I—maybe even “on the fly” of a side-by-side testing. But for me, it’s taken time. And there’s that crappy flute that I never could play that I dragged out the other day and it just sang. How could it have improved so much just sitting in a box? Very mysterious.
Best wishes.
Steve
Absolutely with you here, Terry! Since what-to-get and who-to-go-to threads (and I’ve seen plenty on both flute and whistle forums) so often turn into what-I’ve-got lists from the same people, I normally just leave them alone unless I’ve got something more to contribute.
Of course maker X did make the perfect (necessarily unique) flute for me and was great to work with along the way, but I still don’t leap in and tell everyone to go to him whether or not he makes what they’re asking for!
Hi Terry, nice to hear from you and I couldn’t have said it better.
I always tell people to trust their senses and play as many flutes as possible to find the one that fits them and don’t heed too much attention to the name on the barrel, more to do with Concert Flutes where I don’t have a stake in selling anything as I only repair them. But same for wooden flutes. Try flutes out, see if they fit your style/needs, take a few days to get used to it and also going back to one to re-check might be a good thing…
All the best,
Maurice
This discussion, as well as the “Wilkes–the knack” type discussions (without all the polemics) is so fascinating to me.
The variety of themes proposed are interesting:
-
Is there a ONE better flute for a person–let the search begin…?
-
Are you better off focusing on one flute? (Love the one you’re with…)
-
As us “Improvers” build our embouchure(s), will we seek more challenging flutes?
-
Do more challenging flutes (knack required) offer more satisfaction, more dynamic range, and tone color? Or, are they just difficult flutes?
-
Is the flute that works well for where I am NOW the one where I should be focusing my effort?
-
If great player “X” sounds wonderfully on flute by maker “Y”, should I not seek out that flute to play?
-
Do we really sound exactly like US regardless of the flute we are playing? (I believe I do.)
I’ve found a flute that works wonderfully for me where i am currently in my development and it is a joy to play. In addition, I’ve also spent weeks with two flutes both made by one top maker–they are so very different! One is very attainable and has wonderful tone, for me. The other is tougher to play and I struggle with a consistent strong bottom D. Of the two, do I play the one that suits me much better right now? Or, is there something to the challenge of “finding the knack is going to be rewarding” line of thought?
Wow, we are fortunate to have so many excellent makers of fine flutes. It is rewarding to try different flutes; the journey is fantastic. If only I knew where to focus my efforts!
I agree with this, too, although I think this is a separate issue, and not necessarily to do with how an individual makes flutes sound, although blowing style contributes. I know fluters whose whistle playing couldn’t be anyone else’s; same with some pipers I’ve known. Once it’s established, personal style comes through. Having gone through a few flutes myself, at more than one session I’ve had arrivals tell me they knew I was there before they saw me. I thought it was best to let that sleeping dog lie…
I have at least 2 beautiful flutes. I also own several fifes. When I want to play I reach for the tube that is me and is objectively not the best instrument of what I own. It is the fude that I paint bamboo with. When I reach for a knife I grab the wood handled garbage from the 80’s and not the chef’s workhorse knife with forged blade and polyoxymethylene scales. Art is a process, and the first step is choosing a tool. Anyone that chooses a hunk of wood over a tublier metal typewriter has chosen a specific art that they want to make. After that, I think fine details should be put in perspective. At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter how I sliced the tomato for my hamburger.
Regarding the interview with Matt Molloy: The interview took place on 26 September 1997.
To the best of my knowledge Matt is still playing an Olwell 6-key made of cocus wood. This was true when we visited him a few years ago. So far as I know he used it on his recordings over the past twenty years or so.
To quote from the article:
I’d say arguably the best of the contemporary makers would be a guy called Patrick Olwell from Virginia. He’s an excellent flute maker. He plays the flute himself. He just understands the instruments. When you try to impress on him what you want in an instrument, when you start talking about ranges and colors and tones, he can interpret what you’re talking about, and reproduce that, which is rather a serious talent in itself.
I reckon when my wind goes, Patrick’s flutes are so easy to fill, to blow. Twice as easy as the one I play now. He has it down to a fine art.
Matt does mention other makers. But he still plays his Olwell Pratten. This doesn’t make it The Best flute, but it does say something…
Just to add that, as I recall, the Board expects us to comment on the worth of flutes only if we have hands on experience with them, enough to know how the flute plays. Naturally this tends to select for people who own the flute they praise. Generally the endorsements are reasonably moderate and usually better than no suggestions at all.
Part of every person´s ´_Flute Search_ is finding the flute whose ´sweet spot´ is most simpatico with their embouchure and their artistic goals. The most highly regarded makers seem to hit that ´sweet spot´for the vast majority of today´s players.
Albert Cooper, an extremely well regarded maker of Boehm flutes, who started his career as a young man, with Rudall, Carte of London, was once asked during an interview why he thought he was so successful. He said he thought it was down to being an extremely good listener. . .by which he meant that he listened very closely to the wants and needs expressed by his customers and bent every effort to fill them. I think this is in concordance with what Matt Molloy had to say about Pat Olwell.
I know I have read similar sentiments expressed by Hammy Hamilton.
I think Terry McGee expresses a very attentive approach as well.
This is by no measure the final list of fine and responsive makers.
Bob
All super interesting and very well said.
The more flutes I own and try the more differences and subtleties I find. I might even find differences day to day or based on how long the flute is played for.
Some days I think my Olwell is a work of genius and I’ll never be worthy of playing it. Another day I’ll love the bark off the Hamilton.
Sometimes I pick up my caucus Doyle and it feels sweet and joyful. The Sam Murray is punchy and easy to fill. And so on ..
.. I will say that the Olwell has never failed to disappoint no matter the day ..
I’m sure there’s science at work here but I suspect it might be too chaotic and with too many variables to explore.
But to the variability between makers and the no size fits all philosophy - agreed.
The more flutes I own and try the more differences and subtleties I find. I might even find differences day to day or based on how long the flute is played for. Kildarekonga
Yes, I believe it’s the flute player that is the most important factor not the flute. “A bad workman has a tendency to blame his tools”. I have a few fine flutes acquired over the years, and any shortcomings regarding my flute playing are down to me, not the instruments. However, I’ve started to practice more, play more, and recently started to alternate between instruments. One week I’ll play a flute by one maker, the next week a flute by another maker. All the flutes are of good quality, Rudall, Olwell, Wilkes, Williams, Doyle.
As Kildarekonga wrote flutes by different makers can have a different feel, sound, and response, but I sound like me on all of them. I’m the weak link so to say. I believe Cathal McConnell, Orlaith McAuliffe, Aoife Granville, Paul McGlinchey etc. would sound fine on any flute they pick up, as they have put in the time over the years, practicing and playing, and becoming competent musicians.
Of course we all have preferences, I think a 170 year old Rudall & Rose with a patent head has a mojo and presence that is lacking in modern timber flutes, once you’ve got used to playing on one. I think you should practice and play on whatever flute you have on hand. Improve your playing and you’ll sound fine on whatever well made flute you decide to purchase.