I was recently (re)thumbing through Hammy’s ‘Irish Flute Player’s Handbook’ and stopped to notice this passage:
There is no such thing as the perfect flute. I am always meeting people who spend a lot of time and money trying to find the ‘right flute’. In general the defect is in themselves, and not in the long series of instruments that they acquire and reject.
Having just concluded the annual season of desire and acquisition, these are perhaps words worth hearing. Many of us (myself included) have been among those people, but time after time, I’m reminded ‘it’s the player’…I’ve heard inexpensive Folk Flutes by Burns sound brilliant and top-of-the-line Olwell flutes sound less than, in both cases credit to the players.
So assuming you (and I) have a good flute, whatever it may be, let’s love the one we’re with and direct our covetous desires at tunes, which one can’t have too many of and which are free (aside from time) to acquire.
I went through a good seven or eight flutes before finally finding the model that works best for me. I now own that same model in both keyed D and unkeyed Eb versions. I won’t claim these two flutes are necessarily better than the others I owned, but I will claim without hesitation that they suit me better, which is really all that counts.
I encourage trying lots of flutes, and am very glad that I traded heavily in my first few years of playing. Unfortunately, it’s not like guitars, where you can drive down to the store and play forty of fifty. That’s why I find the banter and trading that happens here to be so valuable.
I tend to agree with what has been said. I think there is a perfect flute for a specific player but that flute will not make them a better player it will just suit their playing the best. No two flutes or people are exactly the same; what suits one player will not suit another. I think it is valuable to try different flutes to figure out what any given player may be looking for and what suits them, but this isn’t something a beginner needs to do. A player has to be able to control a flute before they can really know what they are looking for. They need to know what type of player they are before they can find a flute that will suit their playing, but in order to find the flute that will suit their playing they need to try different ones. Unfortunately most people don’t have the option to try out all sots of flutes without actually buying them.
In the first couple of years I played I did a lot of buying and selling, after about 3 years of playing and trading I found myself with a Martin Doyle flute. I loved it and felt like that would suit me for a while. After about 4 years on that flute I found that I wanted something different. I have never really had an issue with volume and therefore I like a flute that is a bit more difficult to play, helps keep me in check! I’ve never been told I was too quiet but I’ve often been told I’m too loud. The Doyle had lots of power in it and was easy to play, really more power and ease than I needed. Of course it was also adept at being played softly and could have a very hollow mellow tone if desired. I started to focus more on playing with a middle of the road tone and found that the Doyle did not respond well to this. Entirely doable but the tendency on this flutes was one extreme or another. I also figured that after 7 years of playing and being in my final year of a bachelors degree in trad music I thought it was about time I looked into getting keys, plus I had been saving up and the money was there. I went looking for something second hand and ended up with a J. Gallagher flute after getting loads of offers this one just seemed right. I took a chance on, it but now after 2 years of playing it I realize I made the right decision and really have no desire for a different flute. This one suits me perfectly, but it will not suit everyone perfectly. I’ve met great players who couldn’t get a sound out of it and mediocre players who got a lovely tone out of it. It is the perfect flute for me, well it would be if it had a rh Bb key, but not necessarily the perfect flute for anyone else.
My point is that IMO one is better spending time learning on a flute they know is good and looking for ‘the one’ later when they will have the skills to appreciate and recognize it when it comes along.
Hammy´s right, you have to put the time in, and it all comes down to the player in the end. But at the same time flutes do sound different, and have different qualities. Over the ten or so years I’ve been playing the flute I’ve purchased some good flutes second hand, which I play and appreciate because of their different sounds, and qualities. The Olwell Pratten can be very loud and is easy to blow, strong bottom notes, but doesn’t have the great sound/character of the Rudall Carte which is 120 years old.
Top quality timber flutes are not that expensive compared to what people are prepared to invest in violins, bows, oboes, old Martins, Gibson & Fender guitars from the 1950’s & '60’s, so you don’t have to be a millionaire to own more than one flute if sufficiently obssesed.
Both sides of this argument have validity. Certainly, playing lots of different flutes is fun, and rewarding in of itself. But it should be noted that something not-particularly staggering happens during those first years of a new player trying and trading off flutes until they find the one best suited to them; they’ve played and practiced a few extra years. Not a great surprise, then, that they find the flute best suited to them right around the same time they’re getting pretty comfortable on the instrument in general. Had they stayed with their first, best flute, they’d probably find it just right for them around that time, too.
I think I may be one of the worst “offenders” in this category! I’ve been playing for about 5 years and I don’t even know how many flutes I’ve owned in that time (over 10, for sure!). I’ve even had a blow on a couple of Olwells (they weren’t for me) and many others. The good part of this adventure is that I’ve become aware of a lot of nuances between the different makers and can discuss them with “newbies”. I don’t think there is a bad part, actually. Money-wise, I think I’ve come out even or slightly ahead, but I think I’m lucky in this respect. My only caution is that you shouldn’t trust your impressions for the first couple of years or so.
I should mention that I THINK I’ve found my “lifer” flute (97.31% certain) in a John Gallagher Pratten. My backup flute, however, is still a revolving door! I DO have a case of “seller’s remorse” for a keyless Martin Doyle flute!
That’s precisely it: do you want to play music, or do you want to play (with) flutes? (See guitarists.)
Anyway, I thought this topic might ruffle a few feathers…
“That’s precisely it: do you want to play music, or do you want to play (with) flutes?” Cartoon guy.
Both of course no problem combining the two, Hopefully you play the music on the flutes you have. I’ve acquired three flutes over the years which I play on a regular basis. No wish to sell my flutes, no need to acquire more to try out or trade or whatever. The temperature goes below zero these days here, so I don’t cycle to a session with a Rudall in my backpack, I take one of the other two.
Actually, I’m more a guitarist than flute player, so I have to take exception here. I absolute love guitars and would own many (more) if I could (I’ve certainly been through a lot, over the years), yet I almost always stick with my one main choice for most playing - the one I depend on most onstage (which roughly translates to ‘the one I’m am most comfortable with’.) . Kept another guitar onstage for emergencies, but rarely changed between them during a set. If I was wealthy, I’d own lots more guitars (and, yes, many flutes). But for regular play, I’d most likely stick with the main instrument. Of course, then there are the amps…
So, being obsessive about intruments themselves, as opposed to actually practicing and getting better - and therefore acquiring lots of them - is an entirely different issue than learning which flute is or should be your particular favorite or regular flute for practice/performance. To improve, it’s probably much better to work on getting the best sound out of one particular flute. The skill, and sound, will translate to other flutes - that’s why great players sound good on any flute. But if you can manage to do both, hey… I say go for it.
I think that my third flute, and my third fife were the ones that really held. I have a few brass and plastic fifes for those times where I don’t want to worry about damage and just throw the things in the rucksack I think my second whistle but bought a third because the characteristics seemed opposite from my favorite one. None were “upgrades”, none were “better”, they were just what I wanted and what I was looking for. If there is one thing I know about myself, if I like what I am using, I tend to use it more. Seems that 2-3 shots is how much it takes to know what I want.
the quicker path is likely sticking with just one and practicing
Sure it’s quicker, but there’s more in flutes than just playing them. What you gain in sticking to one flute is what you loose in the experience of having others. IMO…
That generalization doesn’t work in my case. I found what I wanted when I knew enough about what I wanted out of an instrument that I could make an appropriate choice.
I haven’t yet sold off my older flutes and fifes, and every once in a while I’ll pick one up, play it, think “that is absolutely lovely” and go back to my favored instrument.
Different view of the same phenomenon, IMO - you tried out lots of flutes over the years, got better, and chose a ‘final’ flute based on where you were at after other flutes had been set aside or sold. The fact that you can return to your earlier choices and find them “absolutely lovely” means there was no fault(s) in your earlier choices, so much as you moved on to other options because, well, you could. And you wanted to. Which is fine.
Look, I don’t think there’s any harm in trying out flutes - perhaps many flutes - as you grow, or even after you’re well accomplished. And if you’re financially able to keep several along the way, great. I do think, however, that players who do not really work through the possible ‘issues’ of a singular flute often just abandon said flute - and its possible advantages - too quickly on the idea that it didn’t feel quiteright. But, often, what doesn’t feel quite right is its contrast to the last flute - the hole spacing feels odd, the bore is different and requires different amounts of air, the outside diameter is bigger/smaller, the embouchure cut needs a different focus, etc. So, rather than fully own the first flute, it’s swapped for another, probably much different, flute. And then another.
In any case, I’m not saying everyone should stick with their first or only choice, or that - ultimately - there is no truth in preference(s). We’re all different, physically, and want different things from our playing, and the experience of playing. My only support for the (mostly) one flute theory is that most worthy flutes take time to adjust to. Some of the most comfortable flutes I’ve tried wore out their welcome after six months or so; my main flute is a handful, and I’m not always up to the task. But the reward for my diligence, I believe, enabled me to play most, if not all flutes, well. Now, if I only had other flutes around, I’d be a happy guy…
no problem combining the two, Hopefully you play the music on the flutes you have. I’ve acquired three flutes over the years which I play on a regular basis. No wish to sell my flutes, no need to acquire more to try out or trade or whatever. The temperature goes below zero these days here, so I don’t cycle to a session with a Rudall in my backpack, I take one of the other two. 
