Can’t a girl have a nice flute too? 
Sure, G!
When it’s a BIG OL’ PRATTEN! 
And how about the flute? 
Really, the flute might or might not matter. In any case it comes down to what a (skilled) player is looking for and what he can do with the flute.
A different flute probably won’t make one play better. But it might help a person enjoy playing more … and then he will play more and get better.
By and large the best players (Harry Bradley, Paul McGrattan, Jean Michel-Veillon, Catherine McEvoy, Christie Barry, Matt Molloy, Jimmy Noonan) play only one D flute. They may keep others going but they don’t spend all their time seeking the perfect flute. They spend their time playing.
after a couple of bars on a rudall & carte and he’s able to draw a definitive conclusion of that nature?
hmmm…no offense, but i can only doubt if he took a fair amount of time to play it or if he could even blow it right. 2 bars isn’t normally a fair assessment (i’ll take that with a grain of salt). maybe alitte too abrupt and inaccurate a statement to make. but if it is - then obviously it’s his loss. i wonder what would a wise girl (or man) do in a situation where they are handed a rudall & carte to play?
I think Ken’s description of a pro and the Hawkes-Rudall thing is probably right on, Rama; allow me to explain my position.
I’m from the player-not-the-flute camp. Now, player-not-the-flute in my opinion, means that the MOST important determiner of how someone sounds is the player, not the flute, but that’s not to say that the flute doesn’t contribute something. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it says nothing about how we PERCEIVE how we sound as players. Like Cathy’s mentioned, I think that I sound quite different on my Rudall, say, from my Pratten, but when I’ve recorded myself on both I’m more overwhelmed by the similarities in the sound than the differences. I think, for the most part, we’re talking about distinctions that just don’t translate to the audience.
Of course, all of this assumes a certain level of workmanship on the flute; if you give Eamonn Cotter a horrible shesham Pakistani mass-produced out-of-tune piece of crap, he’d probably at least sound out-of-tune on it.
I don’t think we should discount the player’s perceptions, either. A professional (or very accomplished player) can probably make snap decisions about instruments; I don’t think someone who’s played or recorded for 20 years, for example, needs to spend hours and hours getting to know a flute. He or she can probably get to know the instrument much quicker. And if he/she hates it, then he/she hates it. Sure, he/she might be able to learn more of the instrument’s subtleties after a time, but . . . it’s not like the (as David’s suggested in other posts) the person buying his/her first flute who posts a glowing review of a new instrument, even though he/she’s still not able to produce a low D or even touch the second octave on the thing.
My opinions only. Somewhat rambly.
Stuart
sturob,
i understand what you are saying and agree, but i still don’t think 2 bars is considered a fair assessment of a rudall-carte that one has never played, especially since he had asked to play it, in other words, he wanted to play it, not like it was handed to him unsolicited. even the best pros make more of an “effort” than that, maybe at least 5 mins.. so obviously a bias exists, one in which one flute is perceived as man-enough and the other flute too girlie, no offense but i doubt very much that is accurate.
the rudall-carte was probably presenting more of a challenge to him, one which he aborted quickly. if the flute doesn’t play a key factor, then why would such a quick and clear distinction be made between the two flutes, i’d like to think it should have been more arbitrary than “manly /girly”. if so then hey, his loss.
that shows the flute makes a difference for sure - not just in sound, but playability, response etc.
i think we can agree on what has already been mentioned - that knowing what to look for in a flute or what one prefers in a flute (depends on how “refined” the preferences are and how “biased” or “discriminating taste” one has) , letting the flute teach you to play it the way it wants to be played (or ability to “appreciate” a flute), and feeling content playing , etc. (some people may never be) are contributing factors
knowledge, experience, taste, contentment.
Seeing as you have been reporting how good the Hawkes flute is , Ken , I should advise your readers that any one of them ( Except That Chris ! ) can have my Hawkes " First Class " Siccama style flute for £ 550 + postage .It is fully restored and newly padded . Looks virtually like new .
WOW! LIGHTEN UP DUDE!
Rama,
fair points but a bit of background. Des is a seriously good flute player with an old “driving” style. He came second to Tansey at a Fleadh back in about 1964. He broke his own flute some time and concentrated on the banjo after that. Nevertheless when he picked up the Hawkes, it really rang and fitted his style perfectly. The Rudall was lighter, maybe easier to blow but not as hard a tone as the Hawkes. Hence his comments. He does a few warm up exercises before each tune so strictly speaking it was more than a couple of bars but he didn’t actually finish the first part of the tune. He has played it a couple of times since but still rates the Hawkes much higher.
I reckon he’s seen enough flutes in his time to make these sort of decisions pretty quickly. It’s very personal and I’d say that anybody on this site who’s been playing 20 or 30 years will have had enough other flutes through their hands to know how this works, and make similar quick decisions - given a choice of two flutes one will “fit” you better than another. I felt the same about the Hawkes nearly 30 years ago when I was offered the choice of three flutes, the Hawkes, another English flute and a small holed French flute. The owner of the Hawkes was very happy to give me that flute as it didn’t fit his style but it seemed right for mine.
Ken
thanks ken,
very interesting, i do recognize des’ name as being a well-respected musician, and you’re right about finding a good fit.
you certainly have some grand flutes to choose among.