I love John’s sentiment about one flute…
and then I look at the photo of him and a slew of flutes spread out on a table before him, a picture on the back of his solo recording.
oh…flutes and bombards
amusing…even he’s got it!
dm
You know, I’m not certain I agree with the one flute message. Personally I like to have two instruments that are similar but different. I keep one for years, and the other changes. For flute, I doubt I’ll ever get rid of my old Armstrong. It’s silver and Boehm and I really don’t like playing it, but I am so familiar with it that the instrument is transparent to me. If I’m having trouble with something on my current love, I pick it up the Armstrong and play it. Never fails, I find my mistake problem in minutes, but on any other instrument it might take weeks to ID. I did the same thing with guitar - I never got rid of the mandolin, because I could debug my playing on it, then go back to the guitar and play the passage correctly.
Some day, perhaps, I’ll settle on my ONE flute, but for now, count me in for Two. Even if one of them is tarnished and only played 5 or 6 times year, it is worth it in the saved headaches for me.
Just my 2 cents worth of observations.
Cheers
David
Fear not! John will be the first to tell you he’s got a room full of flutes and such, few of which he ever plays. And he still has his Hawkes, too … but what he’s saying is you need to get to know a flute inside and out, because that’s ultimately what’s going to make you a better player, esp. when you trade up. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard him say it took two years’ solid playing on his Olwell before he really felt he knew it (in particular I remember him coming back from last summer’s round of teaching and saying ‘At last, I’m finally getting to know this thing’) … and I think most listeners will agree the results of such effort are pretty obvious.
I mean, before the Olwell the man toured the world with a flute held together with electrical tape and rubber bands, and he managed to make that sound pretty good, too – but of course, he’d been playing that one for Lord knows how long – since the late '70s?
Anyway, that’s just what I’ve understood from hearing him talk, but basically he’s not against multiple flutes – shoot, he’s the one who told me to jump on the Hamilton I have now when it came up for sale on this board – what he is against is being “an owner of many flutes and master of none,” simply because he believes even the best flute is not going to make you a better player. The only thing that’s going to make you a better player is … playing!
I hope I haven’t misspoken – like I said, that’s just my understanding – but his philosophy’s pretty simple: know the flute like the back of your hand, know the tune like the back of your hand, and then work on both some more!
Hope this helps 
cat.
P.S. I’m pretty sure I recall him saying that “flutearrhea” photo was supposed to be sort of a joke.
Interesting post. I sorta do this with with a very old old harmonium.
If I improvise something exciting on flute
I will take it to the harmonium and sing to “debug” it,
to get a handle on it, and then when I go back to the flute
it kinda develops better on the flute then if I’d stayed just with the flute.
I know this because I’ve only had the harmonium 2 years
and singing with it has improved my flute compos greatly.
And then watch music kiss it.
now, that’s poetry!
‘Just one flute’ deosn’t mean owning
just one flute, but playing just one flute.
John said he’s got nothing against
collecting flutes.
Cathy I was in the front, center–I was the fellow who was
always dropping stuff. Terrifically
helpful workshop.
good clarification, jim
I’m not a fan of playing more than one flute at all.
Makes it hard on the embouchure and, besides…my fingers are way too short to hold both flutes and cover the holes properly.
Now, playing two whistles is another matter entirely!
dm
Why must I be the butt of merciless jokes
from ruthlessly clever chiffandfipplers?
Jim –
Wasn’t it good, though? I actually bailed on the Mary Bergin class and came in after lunch (yes, I’m sick but I’m really obsessed with the flute right now and anyway, I’m just a terrible whistle player!)
– I was the one with the rubber-banded stick.
Hey! Wait! That means it’s broken and I need a new flute, right?! Heee, heee, let’s see … a McGee? A Murray? That $3k Hall?
Ah, the addictive personality 
Okay, John… sigh. Back to the repair guy.
Yes, Jim’s comment (and Dave’s reply) reminded me . . .
Sure, Just One Flute isn’t like the Chinese Just One Child. You can own whole messes of flutes, but should really concentrate on playing the one.
Oh, heaven forbid an injunction against collecting flutes.
Stuart