The two main goals when purchasing an intermediate flute are:
1. An improvement in sound (including the ability to add colours and dynamics)
2. An improved mechanism for better technique.
According to Canadian flute technician Kim Jurens (Kimberley Jurens Woodwind Repairs Inc), the greatest influence on the sound of a flute is what the flute player’s air stream hits first. The air stream hits the embouchure hole first then travels down the tube. So the biggest influence on the sound will be the quality of the headjoint cut, followed by the riser material (where the air stream first hits inside the flute) followed by the headjoint material, followed by the body material. So your first priority should be a good headjoint cut.
Headjoint Cut
The embouchure hole on a beginner flute is machine cut and designed so that beginners can get a sound out easily. Unfortunately this type headjoint cut also produces a one dimensional and hollow sound.
A good headjoint is hand cut, with overcuts and undercuts, and then played and adjusted by the flute maker until it meets the maker’s criteria. Overcut refers to the beveling or rounding of the top of the sides of the embouchure hole and undercut refers to doing the same to the bottom. A well cut embouchure hole enables a flute player to produce an even sound across the whole range of the flute with a wide array of colours and dynamics. A good embouchure cut should produce a fast response when tonguing and should play in tune.
Although some intermediate flute headjoints are machine cut to reduce labour costs, there are now more intermediate headjoints that are hand cut. When you are doing playing tests and comparing intermediate flutes against one another, the headjoint cut is what makes the biggest difference to the sound.
Silver Content
The consensus amongst flute players used to be that the more silver content a flute had, the better it would sound and that a gold or platinum flute would sound even better. But, as mentioned above, what actually makes more of a difference to the sound of a flute is the headjoint cut.
Here is a link to an interesting double blind test where professional flutists play a Muramatsu flute made of seven different materials. All the flutes were the same model (therefore we can assume they had the same headjoint cut) but the materials they were made of ranged from silver-plated nickel to full platinum. The sound of each flute was judged by 110 professional flutists on the sound color and dynamic range as well as overall preference for the sound.
Surprisingly, the solid silver flute fared the worst in this blind study, and the silver plated flute (the body was plated and the headjoint was solid silver) was preferred over the 14K Gold flute! The conclusion of the test was that the metal that the flute body is made of has no measurable effect on the sound color and dynamic range of the instrument, nor does it necessarily affect the rate of preference.
The extended version of the study states: “Although the test subjects were very experienced flutists from top international orchestras with an average of 20 years of professional experience and were all firmly convinced that they could immediately tell from the sound whether it was a silver, gold or platinum flute, the results of the instrument recognition tests were a complete disaster. Even those people who recorded the sounds themselves were not able to identify the instruments correctly when listening to their own sounds.”
We should remember that this test does not conclude that there is no difference in the sound, but rather that the material doesn’t make a significant difference in the color or dynamic range and that, although there may be a difference in the sound, one metal wasn’t uniformly preferred over the other.
(Note: It is unfortunate that the silver plated flute in the study had a solid silver head - it would have been interesting to know what the difference was between a silver plated headjoint and a solid silver one.)
So, if the wall material doesn’t make a significant difference on the sound color or dynamic range, should you save money and buy a silver plated instrument?
Some silver plated flutes have a thinner plating than others and some players who have acidic body chemistry may be prone to wearing through the silver plating. A severe dent on a plated flute could also damage the finish permanently. And the finish on a plated instrument won’t last forever, like a solid silver flute. These are cosmetic issues, so they should be secondary considerations, although they may affect resale.
The Miyazawa 102 and 202 and the Muramatsu EX are examples two well regarded handmade (‘professional’) flutes with silver plated bodies.
Risers
The riser is the part of the headjoint where the lip plate is soldered to the headjoint tube. When blowing into the flute, a flute player’s airstream hits the riser and causes the flute tube to vibrate which creates a sound.
It makes sense that the material a riser is made of would affect the sound more than the tube of the flute since this is what the air stream hits first. That being said, nobody has done a study like the one mentioned above comparing risers made of different materials.
Sometimes you will see an intermediate flute with the option for a gold riser. According to flute makers, a gold riser offers more resistance which can result in a fuller more colourful sound “because it expands the harmonic range.” Apparently the higher the karats of the gold, the more texture and warmth is said to be added to the sound. However, after reading the double blind test mentioned above, we may want to take that with a grain of salt…
A gold riser is by no means necessary on an intermediate flute - it can add roughly $800 to the cost. However, you may want to try a flute with a gold riser to see if you like the sound you are able to produce better.
The same can be said for choosing a solid silver headjoint over a plated one, or a plated instrument with a solid silver riser or a flute with a silver riser made of a higher content of silver. Try it - you may prefer the sound you are able to produce on it. But the quality of the headjoint cut will make the biggest difference.
Mechanism
An intermediate flute should have a better mechanism than the one the student is currently using. A flute with a good mechanism has pads that close very precisely, coming down in the same place on the tone-hole every time with a good air seal. This enables the flutist to play with a lighter touch, which cuts down on hand and arm tension, and increases the potential to play faster and more evenly. Pads that seal well also result in a better sound.
Almost all brand new flutes have smooth, even mechanism. There are however, some brands of intermediate flutes that fall into misalignment after being played for a few months and that then prove difficult to repair and/or keep their adjustments.
The best way to know whether an intermediate flute has a good mechanism is to 1. Consider flutes by makers that have a good long standing reputation for building quality instruments and 2. Have the instrument checked by a professional flute technician before making your purchase.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Once you have narrowed your choice down to a few flutes from reputable companies in your price range, you’ll want to play the flutes, preferably one after the other, in one sitting so you can compare them well. Have a teacher (or someone with a good ear) present to listen to you play each instrument objectively. If possible, test the instruments ‘blindly’ so you aren’t influenced by what you think should sound good.
Why not just buy the flute in your price range with the best reputation?
The two main reasons to test several instruments yourself are the embouchure cut and how the instrument physically feels in your hands.
The embouchure cut on intermediate flutes is different from one manufacturer to the next. What sounds best for one player may not sound so good for another. Each flute player forms their embouchure differently depending on their lip size and shape and the way their jaws and teeth are formed. This is why it is of utmost importance to play several different flutes, to find the headjoint that works best for you.
The spacing between the keys can also be slightly different from one flute to the next, which means some players may feel more comfortable playing one instrument compared to another. Even something as small as the height of the trill keys can make a difference.
The weights of different flutes can vary slightly, depending on whether the flute is silver plated or solid silver. An instrument with a B-foot (as opposed to a shorter C foot) will be a little heavier. A slight difference in weight may affect a person with hand/arm or back issues.
See the next parts of this blog article on buying an intermediate flute:
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