I know some of you are going to say it is mostly the player, OKAY.
But this is a different kind of question.
If you have “that sound” in your head, and your flute does have its own character after all…how do you find the flute that “has it” when you are not able to try out a lot of these toys.
I have two flutes , aebi large holed rudall in blackwood tuned for irish musi, jon C pratten in delrin.
Both are fairly new to me so I still need to get to know them (aebi 3 weeks and cochran two months), but the flute from jon comes closer to the sound in my mind than does the aebi. (so what am I looking for???)
Oh yeah I am still fairly new to fluteplaying, now a year and a half, might have something to do with it but doesn’t help the question.
any thoughts? newbie bashers go elsewhere please, we all want to learn!
cheers
berti
The short answer is that you’re more likely to get the sound you want out of the flute you’ve played the most.
And now for the long version:
I won’t debate whether or not a flute’s design or material effect the probability that you’ll get the sound you want. Either way you look at it, the amount of time you spend on the flute is going to have a more significant impact.
The most important factor in the sound of a flute is also the most variable which is the airstream that hits the blow edge. What makes it variable is that the consistency of that stream is determined by fine muscle control in your embouchure. That consistency comes from practice.
If your embouchure had 100% consistency, then the sound you want would only be a question of what design and material automatically respond to your embouchure with that sound.
But even the best flute players don’t have 100% consistency for the same reason beginner’s don’t; the muscles that control embouchure are just like any other voluntary muscle. Voluntary muscles don’t naturally behave that way like some of your intestinal muscles. Any anatomy book will tell you that. But with training, those muscles can be trained to perform with precision.
Sorry about the mini-thesis. I was frequently distracted while composing my response and just stacked the ideas.
And then don’t be surprised if you record yourself and find that how the flute sounds under your ear is quite different from how it sounds out in the universe…meaning the sound you think you have may not be the sound you have at all.
You are also comparing two different styles of flutes Rudall and Pratten. The differences between these styles of flutes may be subtle but they are tangible. I suspect that you simply prefer a Pratten type flute.
In general the Prattenesque flute will have a more open sound and the Rudallesque will sound more occluded and complex.
I suspect if you keep playing the Aebi, you will discover its’ strengths and find songs, ornaments and/or techniques that you prefer to play on it.
I’ll confess that I’ve recently become Prattenized! But there are still times I want to play my Rudall, it has its’ unique sound, faster response and I can bend notes better on it.
All the Best!
Jordan
P.S. Can I bash you if I’ve got 2 or 3 months more experience?
A good point, Cat. The same is true for photography. When I’m playing I just know I look like a young Sean Connery would if he played flute but when I look at a photo I look more like Shrek.
jordan: yes I know I was talking about a rudall and a pratten, but just to state a point, what am I looking for, not to compare apples with pears I think it’s not unlikely you are right…will have to test that too.
anyone in europe fed up with their pratten may send it to me then…
Sean vs. Shrek … hilarious! I’m sure you’re closer to the former being as you probably don’t have a mysterious bike-horn-like protuberance coming out of your head or neck or wherever it is on the big green fella …
I only bring this up because our band just started trying to record a CD, and … sheesh. Nothing sounds like it’s supposed to, especially me. If Junior Samples played Irish flute, that would be Yrs. Truly. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Rudall or a Pratten, I sound like Junior Samples on both (just a little bit louder on the Pratten ).
Berti66 wrote If you have “that sound” in your head,
First you need to have a good flute which i believe you have, practice and building a good embouchure is extremely important, you will develope your own sound on the flute, but if its not the sound you want then youve got to start experimenting with your embouchure, for instance you can try dropping
and pulling back your lower jaw a little while blowing more down into the flute, this results in a type of hollow sound for some players, i call it the “'shark approach” this comes natural to players who have a smaller receding
lower jaw, this will also give you a more focused sound, on the other hand when you blow straight across directly at the edge of the embouchure hole the result will be a more thinner and pointed sound, and of coarse theres always an in between position with regards to what suits you best and the sound you are looking for,
It is also important when playing music to think positive, you will eventually
get the sound you are looking for and play very well if you include in your practice to “think positive”,
Play the flute you like, that’s it. Although Jethro Tull owns several high end flutes (he records on a Sankyo Artist and a Silversonic), his tour flute is a beat up Armstrong which he is constantly cobbling together from parts. I’ve tried a Muramatsu, but the sound wasn’t “it”, whereas a Sankyo fit my ear to a tee. However, in the hands of others, the Muramatsu can produce awesome tone. Who cares who makes it, as long as YOU like it. That being said, there is some merit to at least trying instruments from reknowned makers, as they seem to have a knack for getting a very desirable sound in their design.
Right you are! The Pakistanis are world reknowned for their flutes, and they have a knack for getting that wondeful “crackling” sound out in their design, the sort of crackling that keeps one warm in front of the fireplace on cold winter’s evening…
Actually if you take a good flute and select 10 great flute players and have each one play the same piece of music, every one of them will produce a different quality of sound than the other.
From another Irish newbie: keep an open mind. Your playing might take you places you didn’t count on, but are fantastic nonetheless. I like the suggestion about small-holed vs. big flutes. Strength and subtlety. The Grail will be the flute, experience, skill, and ear that allow both.
I have been playing around 6 months longer than you have Berrti, but I may have owned a couple more Flutes.
My opinion is this, the Flute only matters to a certain point. I actually think that it has more to do with playability of a Flute. I could get the sound I want out of either of my D Flutes, Burns Boxwood Pratten and a Sweetheart Resonance for traveling, the two are vastly different. Yet, on a day when I have that really great embochure (which seems to be more and more days as time goes by) they sound almost exactly the same on the the Sweetheart can’t play as loudly. I choose the Burns as it is A) louder and B) better suited for my aggresive blowing style.
I do find that different flutes sound different when I play them,
and I move through different phases of liking one sound
more than another; this after 3 1/2 years.
The Olwell Pratten sounds signifcantly different from the Seth
Gallagher which sounds different from the Byrne.
The latter two are more focused, the Pratten more
open; I suspect that Olwell flutes have a unique
sound.
My solution to finding the sound I want is to buy the flutes,
not being able to play them otherwise, on the rationale
that I’m merely shifting money from one form to
another. So I tell my wife…
But I still don’t know which sound I like most…
I’m glad (very glad) to have all three.
The flute will certainly make a difference. As everyone else has said, you need to find your own sound, and you’re the one making the sound, and your comfort level with a flute will have a profound effect. But, once you’re an accomplished player, the flute will still make a difference in the sound you get, although it may be subtle.
To use an example someone brought up, Chris Norman certainly sounds different on my Bleazey Rudall than he does on his Cameron or (real) Rudall. He sounds pretty much the same on my Olwell Rudall as he does on his flutes, but that’s no surprise – the Olwell is based on Chris’s Rudall. Now, does he sound as different on my Bleazey vs. Olwell as I do? I’m not sure. Would he sound as different on them if he had a month to play the Bleazey? I’m not sure. But the differences in sound between his playing and mine are qualitatively the same – the Bleazey simply has a very mellow sound to it. It’s warm and smooth, whereas the Olwell has a lot more edge to it.
I think it’s not unlikely you are right…will have to test that too.
If Junior Samples played Irish flute, that would be Yrs. Truly. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Rudall or a Pratten, I sound like Junior Samples on both (just a little bit louder on the Pratten 
).