Thinking about getting a flute... Got questions.

Irish Flute
1

Every time I think about getting into a new thing (instrument, hobby, whatever), I think the “Which _______ should I buy?” question has been done to death. However, I always seem to end up with either too much or too little information when I start looking around. So, I’ve got a few questions.

I play the whistle and Native American flute. I’m thinking about getting a flute. I’ve considered it a few times, but always seem to convince myself that I’m happy enough with my whistles.

However, sometimes the whistles are more shrill than what I’m in the mood for, and my wife is never in the mood for them. I have a Kerry Songbird Low D, which I like, but I just don’t connect with it all the time. So, I’m wondering if a flute might be something I’d like to get into.

Now of course being new, I don’t want to (and can’t) spend several hundred dollars (or more) on my first one. So, I’ve been looking at starter flutes. In my limited hunting around, I’m finding two basic options for me.

First, there are the inexpensive plastic flutes. The only two I know of that seem OK are the Tipple flutes or a Tony Dixon. I know Doug’s flutes get a lot of praise here and I’ve heard very little about Dixon, so it seems the Tipple is the way to go.

Second, there are a few flutes that I’ve seen in the $300 range. Namely, the Casey Burns Folk Flute, a Sweetheart (laminate), or possibly a Dixon Polymer. Since I’ve read very little about the Dixon Polymer, it seems the Burns FF would be the way to go. I’m guessing that a laminate wouldn’t be as good.

Obviously, it would be much easier for me to justify spending $60-$80 on a Tipple just to test the waters. But, I could probably spend $300 for Christmas for one of the others.

I guess what makes sense would be for me to get a Tipple to try, and maybe move up to one of the $300 flutes later.

Sorry if this just turned into mindless rambling. I’m just not sure if I really want a flute. Sometimes I like the sound, and sometimes I’m not sure. Then I read how much harder they are to play than a whistle, so I think I’ll stick with the whistle. Then I want something more mellow than a whistle, so I start thinking about a flute.

Anyone care to convince me that I should take up the flute? :smiley: Does a Tipple seem like the best way to start for say, less than $100?

Thanks,
Jason

(Again, sorry for the rambling)

2

You answered your own questions, and chose a great path, IMO.

3

Two of us newbies are about to or have received Folk Flutes. Perhaps we’ll be able to give you some information from the newbie perspective soon.

I have never seen a real expensive Irish flute in person. I can understand not wanting to pay a lot of money for a thing of beauty that you may end up neglecting. Also, a wood flute takes a bit of care and I certainly wouldn’t want to botch the caring for it on a $3K flute. I’d rather take my chances on something cheaper. I kinda like how I can rinse my whistles out with soapy water, so maybe a plastic flute has its plusses.

One thing everybody says is if you don’t like your flute you can always sell it. It takes a while sometimes to get a new one and some people don’t like to wait.

4

Hi Jason, yes, as Crookedtune suggested, you’ve already figured out that the Tipple would be an excellent start for you, at a very reasonable cost. You can custom pick your options, or ask if anyone might be willing to sell one here on the forum. It would get you started playing flute in short order-and give you some valuable playing time to see if you like it (most do), instead of waiting for Christmas!

Next step up from there would be a Folk Flute, if you want wood, or an M&E or Seery, or Jon C. polymer flutes. All excellent intermediate flutes that can make you happy for a long time too, with the more typical conical bores of Irish flutes, which gives you a little tighter sound, and not as long a spread for the fingers, as on the Tipple (cylindrical bore flutes).

There’s nothing like sideblown flute-challenging, but very doable, and very rewarding. I still love the Low whistle I’ve found, but I won’t part with the flute either-they are each unique in voice and what they bring to the music.

Good luck, and have fun!

5

Well, I’ve had not one but two Tipple D flutes and a Burns Folk Flute over the last year of being a flute newbie.

The first Tipple was a three piece 8 hole with in-line fingering, purchased used. It blew easily and sounded good, but the stretch was too wide for me.

A used Folk Flute came up and I bought it. The off-set tone holes are smaller, closer together, and much easier to finger. And the instrument sounds great. It is fairly easy to blow, especially in the low octave, and, again, it sounds wonderful. Casey re-reamed and polished the bore a few months back and it is a bit more responsive as a result. And the mopane smells great when it is warmed up! My only real issue with it is that it is a bit heavy.

I traded the first Tipple to someone who wanted an in-line instrument. I got his two-piece six hole D with the offset holes. He got the “better” instrument, perhaps, but I like this one a lot more. It is lighter and it is much more easy for me to make the reach. It will be the one which goes into the suitcase when we travel this summer.

So that’s (some of) my flute beginnings. Other flutes and fifes have found a home here, including several (4!) Sweetheart instruments and I love them all.

Enjoy!

6

Double posted. Sorry

7

Well I’ll play Devils Advocate and say, from what you just said, don’t get a flute, if you only like the sound of flute “sometimes”, and if you don’t want to put much work into it. Flutes are a lot of work, and a lot harder to play than whistles. If you want to get sometimes more mellow sound, without hard work, play a lower whistle. Perhaps a G or F. I love my Overton low G, it is also pretty loud, great for outdoor events. To get away from being accused of shrill whistle sounds a Bb is quite sufficient, and can be cheap. I played a Generation Bb for many years at home, before only recently switched to a Overton Bb. If you want to put a little bit more work into it you can learn a low D whistle, the finger stretch is more demanding, but they are a lot easier to blow than a flute (any flute).

All this said, in my personal history I went from cheap whistles to slighter more expensive and lower whistles (Susatos) to a low D Overton for the extra mellow low sound, which was a struggle and convinced me that for all the work I put into it I may as well learn the wooden flute. Trying out a few flutes I quickly was only satisfied with a well made blackwood keyless starter flute (made by Williams). Now I mostly play my 8 key blackwood Allan flute, and low whistles when I don’t have the strength to blow the flute.

~Hans

8

I would also suggest you to get a Tipple. I have one in B from him and it’s great. Maybe you should go for a lip plate when ordering a flute from Doug, as it plays more like a wooden flute with the plate due to the deeper embouchure chimney. It also moves the sound towards the “irish” tone we all want. Check out the comparison MP3s on Doug’s web site.

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A few years back i didn’t like the sound of the flute at all, but there’s so many different flutes to choose, that i’ve found a flute with a sound i really like. And now i can play flute, i can’t play whistle anymore, so don’t think flute’s that hard :laughing:

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You can sound as you like on a good wooden conical flute. The variations you can achieve in tone and in dynamics are what sets a flute apart from a low whistle.

11

Another question for you to ask yourself is, are you motivated to play the flute almost every day, even if for just a few minutes, for the six months or so it would take for you to find out if it’s for you? It’s important that you put some work into building up the muscles necessary to play it and get a decent sound out of it. Since you’re on the fence about whether you really want to play it or not, if you don’t put the work in, I’d be pretty confident you’d wind up selling your flute after six months or however soon you get tired of it. OTOH, if you get a Tipple, the most you’d be out is probably 20 bucks, if you get a Casey, maybe 40-50.

12

Ok, so I find myself constantly advocating these but that said

buy a Seery! Be it new or used from the board or wherever. They are excellent flutes, there’s not great risk of damaging them (thus hurting your investment) and if you don’t like it, and don’t want to play flute you can always sell a Seery. They seem to move about regularly on the board.

I myself have owned and sold two, really I wish I had never sold the second one, it was a fantastic instrument, but I was young and foolish.

Still as far as relative expense, survivability and quality go the Seery is your man. It’s a lot of flute for the money.

That’s just a 2 cents opinion

13

Heard a guy playing what I later found out was a Seery (PART OF A GROUP) recently in Belfast and it sounded brilliant to my novice ears, but as I’m still struggling with basic tunes on the whistle (absolute beginner), I’d find it hard to justify spendind £250 on a Seery.
I have A Dixon two piece and I’m struggling with it and I don’t think I’ll ever learn to love it, so I’m thinking of buying a Doug Tipple, as they seem to be the beginners most sensible option.
Also ordered Grey Larsen’s Essential Guide, as I need help.

I have to agree with the above post saying that it requires a certain amount of commitment and an effort to play every day.
I’m wasting time here :smiley: I’m away to have a toot :smiley:

14

Thanks for the replies so far. I knew I was rambling, answering my own questions, and generally thinking out loud. Sorry, that’s just how I operate sometimes. :smiley:

It seems that a Tipple would be the way to go, if I decide to get a flute. I’ll have to wait a little while though. I just got an O’Brien C/D whistle set a couple of weeks ago, and I don’t want the wife to put me outside.

Yes, the bigger issue is whether or not I want to play the flute at all. With so many gung-ho proponents though, there must be something to it. I guess I should just listen to more tunes on flute and see if it’s a sound I want to work toward.

Should I decide to take it up, daily practice isn’t a problem. It’s pretty normal for me to pick up a whistle, ukulele, or NA flute a few times during the day and spend some time.

Also, I already have Grey Larsen’s big book, so that will help.

Thanks again, and any further comments or attempts to hook me on the flute are welcome. :slight_smile:

Jason

15

There’s no such thing as an easy instrument. Some makers’ll give your money back after a month, if you don’t like it. How can you possibly go wrong there ?? and if you’ve got the opportunity to try out a few different flutes somewhere near you, take it.

16

I don’t think it’s a good way to tell, as listening to one, and playing one are far different things-you have to experience it personally to tell whether or not you like it, to be fair to yourself and the instrument. It’s not something that you can reason about logically.

17

That is the best option. Get a Wooden Flute Obsession CD and listen to all the variations in sound from player to player.

18

There IS something to it, see more in following paragraph.

I concur with Barry, but would add something. With the flute, to a greater extent than many instruments, your sound is your own. So even if you aren’t crazy about the sounds many Irish fluters get from their flutes, you may find you sound entirely different, and you might like that. Also, to a greater extent than on many instruments, it’s possible to get a great range of different sound textures from a flute, from sweet to reedy to dirty.

19

Don’t play any instrument unless you can’t help it. It’s got to be a matter of love, IMHO.

20

I have always thought the flute to be the most beautiful sounding instrument. Frequently it is neither the star of the show nor one of the more important instruments, but in those times that it is the star of the show – wow! The flute really makes it.

Plus it is capable of much expression, in the right hands anyway.