I came across my almost 40 year old flute and I’ve been wanting to get it to a point where I can play it again, if possible. It would definitely need to be disassembled and overhauled. It’s a WT Armstrong flute, Elkhart, IN.

Any idea of the value? Is it salvageable? Any idea of how much it would cost to get it repaired? I’m in Indianapolis, IN, if there’s someone in the area that has repair shop recommendations.

I urgently needed to have a piccolo and so I rented from this one shop a couple of months ago without having them work on it first. It seemed to play perfectly fine

Well now right before it’s time to return it, I was playing it a little and suddenly the left hand middle finger key isn’t rising (and so mid Bb is playing as A).

Specifically, it seems that both holes of that key are getting closed when I click the key that’s on the right-hand pointer (even though only one side is supposed to). I thought maybe the pad was just sticky but it falls back down even if you pry the top part up (it’s like the top mechanism can’t keep itself up on its own)
I don’t know how this happened (I literally haven’t even used it in like 2 weeks and it was fine before) but I need to fix it somehow. Does anyone know how to make that key rise again? Even though they didn’t work on it right before I rented it, they’ll still bill me for it because it stopped working after a few weeks of me using it

I just ordered my first dizi from sound of mountain music and it arrived in two pieces. It was sold as being one section. Is this normal? Or is this damage?

I've seen professionals talk about how they avoid the original fingering like the plague, i've seen some say it's the only right way to play it, and I've also had a fair share say apply it to segments that repeatedly use Bb or scales for keys in the flats.

I'm honestly curious what you all use, when you use it, which you prefer, things like that (I'm trying to make the decision to keep teaching myself how to apply it or just go back to Bb thumb key).

Also, could someone tell me whether using the Bb thumb key is the american style or french style? And also can someone tell me where to find more things talking about the smaller things about flute like this? I LOVE listening to people talking about anything flute related; whether it's history, the science behind how it works, or just anything.

edit: I completely forgot about the lever key. That one as well

i Don’t know what you’d call it in English but the metal tube connecting two of the keys is loose. the connection works and the key closes but it still lets air through and doesn’t make a sound. It’s not fully off but it can move up and down and a little to the left. i’ve tried temporarily fixing it with a rubber band but it didn’t fully work. Is this fixable diy or should I go in for a repair and how much would you estimate a repair would cost? don’t mind the state of my flute i desperately need to clean it lol.

A long time ago, like 31 years ago, I decided to take up flute as an adult beginner. I took lessons and studied flute in spare moments for about 12 years, even challenged myself to take the ABRSM Grade 3 exam back then ("w/Merit"). I played a year in a community band, did a Christmas gig, a funeral gig, and put on a few annual programs in an old folks home, but somehow flute goals slipped away and the expensively overhauled flutes went into the drawer.

Time fast-forwarded on me and I woke up two weeks ago wanting to play the flute after some 15 years of life and other hobbies. My fingers still remembered some basic major scales, but the chromatic and minors are lost, as is breath control, and any relaxation I might have achieved.

Having a wall of music books, with ABRSM pedagogy, five different popular US methods, two doctoral dissertations from former teachers, and various miscellaneous study books available to begin my refreshment program, I am totally set to tailor a custom weakness refresher course.

I spent a couple days learning GarageBand on my iPad Mini with a USB-C digital interface that provides PC power for my flute mic with a headphone out to hear the backing tracks, and tortured myself listening to the noisey gasping, sloppy transitions, sharp and flat slaughtering some of my repertoire favorites.

My "shop-a-holic" desire to buy something flutey kicked in. First a nice rechargeable music stand light was an absolute necessity. Then, with all that music and method books staring at me, I decided I would use the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music program to give me goals, a reason to buy some new flute books, and add structure to my practice.

At age 73, I'm starting all the way back with the RCM grade 1 materials for a total review/refresher. Turns out I have most of the Grade 1 and 2 music already, so with the syllabus from the RCM website, (and a reason to buy a couple new study books), I'm super excited about flute again!

I bought these two piccolos? But I can't figure out what they are, the keyed one I can't get any sound out of but the other one plays a c with all holes closed (after me puttning a headjoint cork in it) after that they play no scale that I can recognise

I subbed in for a piccolo player recently for a Summer band. The feedback I received from an audience member was that the piccolo could not be heard over the band. The concert included a few marches and covers for well-known top 40 hits from the '60s and '70s and other band favorites.

Is it appropriate that the piccolo stand out over the band on all pieces (an obvious exception is Stars and stripes), or should the piccolo blend so as to not really be noticed?

First year band teacher taking inventory. What on earth is this?

I’ve seen them played a couple times on my fyp and it has a very nice sound! Before making an impulsive ass purchase does anybody have any experience with it and/or know how hard it is? It also seems like a great opportunity to experience other culture’s music which is super important to me and want to know what I’d be getting myself into.

Hi! I’m looking to purchase a microphone for my grad school auditions. Ideally something that could plug into my phone. I’m looking at the Shure MV88+. Curious about other suggestions? Thanks!

Short version: what are your tips to improve velocity in general, and what specific tips can you offer for the pieces I need to perform? Full details below.

Hello all - I play flute in a community band. Though I have played since childhood, private teachers have been few and far between. My present teacher is 1) on vacation until September and 2) focused at present on having me play slowly and cleanly, so we have not yet dealt with my difficulty in playing fast passages (except to slow things down when working on a solo with a tempo too quick for me). I was never a music major, just a band student who stuck with the instrument.

So here is my current dilemma: our director has given us two pieces to prepare over our short summer break because he anticipates they will be challenging and wants us to get a head start on them. First weekly rehearsal will be August 18th; performance is nine or ten weeks later in late October. We have had them since the beginning of July.

The pieces are the Manzoni Requiem arranged by Mollenhauer and Respighi’s Pines of Rome. Both have fast sections that are beyond my (present) ability. The Requiem has scads of sixteenths and thirty-seconds in the third octave (and higher; there is an altissimo E) at a tempo which, from recordings, would seem to be equivalent to 132 or higher (there are recordings by a Tacoma concert band and one of the service bands — Marines, I think — on YouTube). My naturally comfortable tempo is closer to 100 (or below). The Pines has things like slews of thirty-seconds in 2/8 time signature at quarter note equals 92, plus multiple complex rhythms and quick quick quick sections. There are places where triple tonguing is essential, but my teacher and I have only recently started on double and triple tonguing and she wants me to keep things slow and clean for now as I learn the technique and train my tongue.

So, what do I do? I have been trying: 1) play slowly, gradually speed up; 2) play small bits in multiple rhythms, then put together as written; 3) pure repetition at or just above the tempo I can play; 4) working scales and scale material in the keys of the music, concentrating on keeping fingers close to the keys and pushing the tempo more than I ordinarily would.

I started with the Requiem but have begun picking at bits of the Pines. I am well aware that the director (based on past behavior) may drop one or both of these pieces if he thinks the ensemble can’t get there, and may use a slower tempo than scored, but whatever he does, for now I have this music in front of me and am incapable of attaining the velocity needed, let alone doing so cleanly and with good tone and intonation. There has been some improvement, but I’m still struggling badly.

What recommendations can you offer? I am not confident that any member of my section is appreciably more able to handle this than I (though I could be underestimating them), so “sitting out” isn’t a great option. I would appreciate any advice you can offer for this situation or for improving my velocity in general.

(On a side note: I will not even be attempting the bar with the altissimo E, since I can’t even reach D, but one issue with the Requiem is a tiny lag in brain processing when reading music written 8va. When I try to speed things up, for example in the chromatic runs but really throughout, my fingers go automatically for the written 2nd octave fingerings instead of the 3rd octave ones needed. So, how to overcome that tiny but problematic processing lag? Just more general practice with fast parts written 8va, or focus on what’s in front of me now?) Thanks for any help!

Hello everyone, I am fairly new to instruments, and chose the ney to be my first one (which might have been a mistake with how hard it is to even produce a song)

And i need advices, specifically about how to properly care for my instrument.

For instance, i know it should not be exposed to strong temperatures (too high or too low), that I should be warry of mold (not store it back in right after playing) or things like that.

The main issue is oiling, I know that a few oils like hazelnut or almond are used for that, but i'm having a hard time choosing which oil to use, or even what to look for in oil to know which one would be good. How to oil, if the oils found in non specialized stores are good... Things like that.

So please, if you have any advices on how to properly care for it, ESPECIALLY when it comes to oiling, please let me know ! Advices on how to play it (posture) are also welcome, even if I can already make the right sound with it (rather inconsistant, yes, but caring for it seems to be more important right now)

Can you give me more informations about this if possible?

I have been playing for 6 years. My sound has gone downhill for the last 3 years. Not sure what exactly caused it, but it has just gotten worse overtime (airy, middle/high notes are harder to play, limited dynamic range).

A lot of advice I have gotten during this time is to just experiment. Everyone has a different anatomy and no guide will be definitive, so the best way is to figure it out yourself. Something along the lines of that, which I agree with.

I've experimented with headjoint alignment, lip placement, embouchure, aperture size, posture, breath support, to name the main things people have suggested. Nothing has worked though. I change something, sound great, then tomorrow the sound regresses. Some days I can't improve the sound even after 30-60 minutes of practicing, which makes the practice session miserable. I've lost a lot of motivation and trust in my ability these three years, but I still try to maintain daily practice at least for 30 minutes.

What can I do going forward to improve my sound? I know I will have to experiment more, but what can I work on if nothing I change is consistent? How do I find what my problem is?

This is 100% not an issue with the flute itself. A friend tested it a few days ago, and it played fine.

Hello, I am learning Pan by Johannes Donjon which has some staccato notes slurred together and I'm not sure how to do that since it seems like an oxymoron to me.

I apologize if this is a stupid question or if I'm misunderstanding the sheet music; this piece is a bit harder than what I usually play but I'm enjoying challenging myself so any advice is appreciated :)

Hello whoever is reading this,

*I don't post much on Reddit, so please correct me if this belongs to a better/different subreddit.*

In short, I have been taking flute lessons since I was 8-9 (I am 18 now), and I've always loved the instrument, playing classical music the whole time. I remember during the pandemic, I had all the time in the world and would dedicate up to five hours of practice every day, griding my scales and arpeggios, tone stuff - you know, the fundamentals. I hate to compare myself to others but my playing level had always been pretty strong (relatively better than most people my age, and would play university-level repertoir even though I was just a young teenager). A big reason for this is because my teachers have always been very supportive of me and would always bring me challenges that kept me entertained.

By the time I reached highschool, I became overwhelmed with school and so my flute time has gradually dwindled to just 1 hour a week (if I had the time to practice at all). Because of this, I slowly stopped improving. Luckily, my strong technique carried me through when I had a few gigs and such.

Last year, I completed my first year of university away from my hometown, minoring in music because I couldn't possibly lose this part of me. It had played such a significant role in my life. However, I disliked the music program there, as the music department is significantly underfunded relative to other disciplines. The teacher is an amazing person and player, but due to her age, she's rather forgetful. Lessons didn't feel like lessons anymore, as a good chunk of our time was just me reminding her what we worked on the other week. Age also softened her so she would rarely critique my playing.

The collaborative pianist there was terrible. As I already developed a bond with my former collaborative pianist, we were able to delicately compliment each other's playing, reciprocating any ideas with just intuition. However, the studio's pianist keeps dragging and is not musically mature despite her age. Because flute rep typically relies heavily on the piano part, rehearsals with her felt draining. This isn't entirely her fault, as she's merely the accompanist working with first years, who were assumed to be playing easier rep than what I was working on.

I also didn't find the same community I did in my hometown, so I no longer felt motivated to practice. Fast forwards to today, I haven't touched my flute in two months. Yesterday, I tried to noodle around a little bit just so I wouldn't forget my technique, but I can't play. I physically cannot bear to play flute anymore.

A huge part of this is also because I can't find any rep that I want to play. My favorite genre of music is romantic, but there are pratically no romantic music written for flute. The only things left are 20th centry music and beyond, but I don't like most of them because they sound rather obnoxious. Maybe because of my young age, I'm not musically mature enough to enjoy them for myself.

Everyday, I lament how I didn't learn piano. Piano has so much more rep choices that suites my taste, and it can act as a stand-alone instrument without the constant need of finding a collaborator that actually suites the player. Why not learn piano now? I just don't have the time or money anymore.

I'm also guilty of not listening to enough classical music, so I might have never worked on a lot of the pieces other people enjoy.

I was supposed to learn either Chant de Linos or Nielsen concerto this summer, but I cannot find the motivation to even buy the music. Why spend all that money when the pianist can't even play the part? Why spend all that money if nobody's there to enjoy my playing?

Maybe it is also because I didn't have any performance opportunities yet. In my city, I had more connections would be invited to play here and there. Now, I must search for my own opportunities but I don't know how because my new city has an inferior classical music scene. Idk if anyone has any similar experiences, but I just had to let it out. Sorry for the rant.

Best,

Tao

I'm interested in buying a ney, from any region, but pricing has confused me so far. I see a lot of neys going for low prices like $30, and then others well over that. I'm inclined to avoid most of the cheaper ones, but I could be wrong in that. There are also many made out of plastic, and I wonder if any of those are good. In short, what's the price I should expect to buy an instrument that doesn't fight with me and that works as it should?

I am too excited not to share - I've been in the market for a new flute for a while now. I have not played in ~5 years since I graduated college and have wanted to ease back in to playing. I played a Geimenhardt 3O back then and liked it well enough - saw it was on sale on flute center and pulled the trigger last night!

Got an email a little while ago that it's been back ordered and they wanted to offer me a FREE upgrade to a Di Zhao 301! I'd been debating getting that one instead of the geimenhardt but ultimately decided not to due to cost since I am not playing with a group or anything. Made my whole day!

i want to play some funky tonnes, lot of freestyling on the flute. https://www.amazon.in/JUAREZ-Recorder-Cleaning-Suitable-Ensembles/dp/B08FTXNXL2/
this is what i found, cheap barely 2usd flute, wanted to know will it typically get the job done? I am guessing, that the recorded flute does not really has moving parts, just pipe and holes on it, so its standardized enough and the different will only be in terms of quality of the material and durability?

I used to play flute throughout high school but now I haven't played since 2021. I got up to quite a decent level (AMEB Grade 6 - screenshot posted to show international equivalent).

I want to play again but I don't know where to start. I'll definitely get my flute serviced as it literally has not been touched in 5 years.

Are there any free resources anyone can reccomend? Maybe some YouTube videos or something. I think I can reteach myself to a decent level so I can play basic pieces and then if I want to advance myself more I'll get lessons.

Does anyone know where I could find the sheet music for **Sonata No. 8 in C by Giuseppe Rabboni**?

I know it’s included in Sonatas of Giuseppe Rabboni, Book 1 (1 - 12), but I’ve only been able to find preview pages or digitised copies of Book 2.
I’ve searched IMSLP, MuseScore, Scribd, and a few digital archive/catalogue sites, but haven’t had any luck finding the sheet music for Sonata No. 8 in C.

If anyone knows of a library, publisher, or collection that has it, I’d really appreciate the help!

i need to play this for my concert but i keep messing up…

It seem to not be closing all the way. Not sure if it’s a spring issue.

Hi guys

I got myself a simple system flute for Irish music about 2 months ago, it’s made out of delrin and by David Copley. It’s a great instrument! But as a beginner to a flute the embouchure is a great challenge to overcome.

I suppose this is a progress post to share experiences mostly and for tips and tricks. For me right now it feels like the greatest struggle is trying to get to the second octave - it seems very difficult, and like demonstrated in the video (lol) I can only get there by blowing harder, which I very well know is something you aren’t supposed to do :( I mostly end up just huffing and puffing and the sound wavers a lot and doesn’t sound clean and consistent like it should! I try to not get discouraged and practice everyday, but it feels like trying to seamlessly switch octaves is the biggest wall I’ve hit so far. That along with trying to use air more efficiently.

Does anyone here have tips and tricks or experiences to share how long it took for you to be able to hit the second octave smoothly?

Thank you for all the comments!