How To Choose A Flute
A Few Helpful Hints
Buying a Beginner Flute
If you have never played the flute, the most important thing is to talk to a teacher before you go flute shopping! Ask advice and if possible get them to come with you whilst you choose. It is also a good idea to do some research at home and our First Time Buyer's Guide offers a lot of helpful suggestions.
Flutes for Small Beginners
Buying on a Budget
From Fife to Flute
Curved vs Straight Heads
Upgrading Your Flute
Student instruments are designed to be easy to play, but this ease of play comes at the expense of sound quality. Top-end flutes are harder to play, but then they don't need to be easy, as it's assumed you already know how to play to an extent by the time you reach one of these instruments. So, when you reach the higher grades, you'll find that you want sound qualities that are difficult to achieve on a student instrument:
- fullness of sound
- variation in tone colour
- speed of response
- dynamic range
Step-up and intermediate instruments are designed to help you with these qualities without sacrificing the ease of play too much.
It's vital to test out an instrument at this level before you buy. Reviews and manufacturer descriptions will get you so far in narrowing down the list, but every player is different - in their physiology (teeth, lips, mouth size, lung capacity), their strengths and weaknesses, their sound preferences. Each flute will play differently with different players, and can help (or hinder!) with the areas where your playing is weaker.
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