Hey folks,
After a Lunasa binge I’m seriously considering getting a flute.
First off, I play my whistle with my right hand on top… am I going to need a special flute for lefties?
How difficult is it to get started on the flute?
Recs for beginner’s flutes? I was just looking at Glauber’s thread on PVCs, price is right, is that what I should look for?
Thanks for your help!
If you’re going to play with the right hand on top, look for something that has in-line fingerholes or a flute made for lefties, because if you get a standard “ergonomic” flute, the holes will be in the wrong place.
I liked the Tipple PVC. For less than $50, it’s hard to beat (make sure you get the “wedge” option).
Other possibilities are the Casey Burns “folk flute” for around $250, or M&E or Seery for around $400.
The Casey Burns folk flute comes in either ergonomic or small hands models. Be sure to contact Casey about your needs, an ‘off the rack’ one won’t be right for you, for reasons explained by Glauber.
Just bear in mind, unless you are a mutant, your fingers will never move as fast as Kevin’s for as long as you play the flute. Or rather, they will never move that fast AND sound so beautiful at the same time 
Either of those are excellent first-flute options. I personally chose a Bamboo flute from Olwell which is also an excellent instrument in the $100 price range, is surprisingly durable and will continue continue to grow with your ever-growing skill. Probably more tonally complex than the the PVC too (although I don’t speak from direct comparison experience) being a natural material and all.
Welcome to another world,
- Ryan
Bah! Next you’re going to be telling me that I’ll probably never be able to play whistle like Mary Bergin! Nuts to you! 
No, I’m just looking for something that sounds beautiful and will impress friends and family on those long cold winter nights now that there’s no hockey. 
another option: the olwell bamboo.comes in variety of keys. i have one in D and and one in E flat. it is a one piece intrument. tone is beautiful. and the holes are all in line with each other and with the embrouchure hole, which makes it ideal for you. since it is one piece and you cannot adjust the position of the head relative to the body, i would not recommend the pipers grip with this instrument. i am a wanne be piper and even i do not use the pipers grip for flutes.
if you call me i will be happy to play it for you on the phone. mine is not for sale, but they are easy to get with a wait of weeks or so. especially if you are not particular about the key. amazing instruments, nothing like the them for the price.
meir
Bamboo flutes are nice. I have a bunch of them, but Peter Springs, not Olwells. The thing is, with a purely cylindrical flute, the second octave tends to go flat. You can easily correct it, but this changes the feel of the flute, compared to a conical or a Boehm (which has a parabollic head). One way to correct this without having to make a Boehm-type head is to use a so-called “Fajardo wedge”, which is what Doug Tipple is doing, and is one reason why i recommend his PVC flutes.
But bamboo flutes are very nice, very Zen.
Okay I’ve decided to go with the PVC because of the price. Things can get a little out of hand when you’re converting USD to CAND. (BTW, are there any Canuck flute makers you guys know about for future reference???)
Stupid Question: What are the two extra holes for on the 8 hole flute??? And do I go for a 2 piece or 3 piece? And should I get tunable or non-tunable???.. okay 3 stupid questions.
Trying to figure out what I should get.
No question is stupid. OK some are. 
Anyway, the 2 extra holes are where the C and C# would be. When people started making “Irish” flutes, they copied the old 8-key flutes – which went down to C, and removed the keys, but they had to leave the 2 holes there for the intonation to work. Eventually someone figured out what to change in the flute dimensions so the holes are not needed. So these days you see short and long flutes. Most of the difference is esthetic.
2 or 3 piece: 2 piece is probably cheaper, 3 piece is easier to store and carry around.
Tunable or non-tunable: definitely tunable. Most of the time you’ll play in standard tuning, but you never know when someone is going to bring an accordion over, that’s just a little bit left or right of tune.
So I should go with the six hole then and the number of pieces has little to do with sound?
Tuning: And if I don’t plan to take it to sessions? If it is for private use? I’m looking seriously at a Richard Cox because it might be the easiest and only slightly more expensive than a PVC in the end.
The number of pieces has little to do with the sound. Some people think the extra holes give it a more uniform sound, while the short foot gives a stronger low D. Some people say it’s the other way around, which is one of the things that makes flutes interesting: people will say pretty much anything. 
I think the tuning slide is nice to have, and sooner or later you’ll be playing with other people, but if you have another flute in mind that doesn’t have a slide, i’m sure you’ll be fine too. You can do some fine-tuning even without a slide, it’s just not as convenient. By the way, in a wooden flute, not having a slide has an advantage that the flute will be less likely to crack.