# Any Flutists here?



## Huilunsoittaja

Can anyone here play flute? Are any of you professional?

Who agrees that the flute is the coolest and hardest woodwind instrument?


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## Weston

I don't play flute (though I would love to), I just wanted to thank you for not using the pretentious spelling "flautist."


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## Huilunsoittaja

Weston said:


> I don't play flute (though I would love to), I just wanted to thank you for not using the pretentious spelling "flautist."


Indeed! I've been told by people "It's flautist, not flutist!" but they don't even play flute themselves. I looked up the history on the word "flutist," and it turns out to be an older word than "flautist," and more familiar to the English language. Also, I like to imagine that I'm closer the flute school of the French, whose word for it is _Flûtiste. _


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## Head_case

I never noticed this thread till now!

Looks like you're the only flautist here 

What's wrong with the word 'flautist'? I see both spellings - depends on context I guess. Many flutists are glass makers .... there is no confusion with the word 'flautist'. I suspect that 'flautist' has a more Germanic or northern European root, than the original Boehm derivation 



> Who agrees that the flute is the coolest and hardest woodwind instrument?


Yes I do. That'll be because of the sterling silver, platinum or gold - they conduct heat away, making it the coolest instrument...and the hardest to warm up! 

What repertoire are you playing btw?

I've discovered some interesting flute repertoire of late. Isang Yun's Salomo, Alain Louvier's Premande; 
André Jolivet's Incantation 'Pour que 'image devienne symbole' and Rob Goorhuis's 'Canto per flautonne'. I'm sorely out of practice though its not like you can find such repertoire on CD so that's one advantage of playing it. Sheet music is friggin' expensive though! Sariaaho's solo flute score alone costs around £20....Jindrich Feld's solo flute sonatas cost around £55!!!

I do like picking it up again to play (when I can), although I'm no longer performing so it's kind of a sore spot to be reminded that *I used* to be able to play concert flute, but can no longer tell the difference between my embouchure and my uh...um .... heh


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## Huilunsoittaja

*Flute*



Head_case said:


> Yes I do. That'll be because of the sterling silver, platinum or gold - they conduct heat away, making it the coolest instrument...and the hardest to warm up!
> 
> What repertoire are you playing btw?


HA! I hadn't thought of it that way... My vagueness got me again (it's happened before) 

I would argue that the flute is coolest and hardest *to play* (I'm sure you knew that's what I meant).  First, the flute is a very virtuosic instrument that can do highly technical things: double tonguing, flutter tonguing, notes in the stratosphere, etc. Second, we have the 60/40 proportion with our air (which is ideal actually), that 60% of air gets into the instrument, and 40% blows across.  So we probably have the hardest time with air, even more than brass. Third, we get the most awesome solos, the only rival being clarinet. 

Altogether, the flutist always has some pretty big expectations.

I want to be a performance major (I'm a senior in high school), so right now I'm working on my college audition repertoire:

Bach: Sonata no.1
Mozart: Concerto no. 1
Griffes: Poem <3
5 Orchestral excerpts: Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Hindemith, Mendelssohn.
Hoover: Kokopeli (solo flute)
2 Etudes, for a State school

My ideal place is Eastman, so I'm gonna work really really hard to play that music well.

By the way "Huilunsoittaja" is "Flutist" in Finnish (I'm of Finnish descent).


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## Head_case

That's true you know .... most people can make a sound, terrible or not, from any musical instrument. A flute takes some skill to produce an even sound, before you can even progress to control the sound during the flow of music. 

My friends tell me that playing the piano is hard (because of the left and right hand multi-tasking requirement for chord playing whilst reading bass clef for the left hand, and treble clef for the right hand). I remember struggling with this for a month or two before growing into it. I guess there is a parallel for drummers, who have to beat one rhythm with one hand, and a syncopated rhythm with the other. 

Totally agree about the control of the character of the pitch of the music played by the flute: on the piano, there is no equivalent of double tonguing, flutter tonguing (whereas on proper stringed instruments, like the guitar, violin, cello - the character of the pitch can be controlled through technique). I'm not sure I've ever been impressed by any attempt at vibrato on piano either. Just the echo pedal and the fabric softener pedal to control the 'thunk' 'thunk' 'plonk!' of the piano pitches. 

Yeah - we do have a hard time with air. I'm not a huge fan of the B flat instruments like the clarinet. The oboe maybe sounds ... too mellow? for my taste. It's too smooth ... too homogenous. ... a bit like the piano as an instrument. That quality alone would make it very desirable for many though. Reed instruments don't appeal to me - I dislike changing reeds! The clarinet keying is also weird lol. 

Your repertoire is different from ours in the UK: I know the Bach & Mozart pieces *and Concerto No.2). In school we mostly learnt baroque pieces and majored on the conventional stuff - like Haydn's Serenade, Handel's Sonatas. I haven't seen the score for Hoover's Kokopeli before although we have some fabulous specialist music stores here which can unearth just about any score (at a price  ) 

When are we going to see you perform on You tubes then?!  

You must be of a great standard if you're heading in for college auditioning. I never kept my instrument up by the time I was 17, all I wanted to do was study philosophy in a quiet library, rather than blow hot air at the flute lol 

Well thanks for your post - it's reminded me of how much I used to love it.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Head_case said:


> Your repertoire is different from ours in the UK: I know the Bach & Mozart pieces *and Concerto No.2). In school we mostly learnt baroque pieces and majored on the conventional stuff - like Haydn's Serenade, Handel's Sonatas. I haven't seen the score for Hoover's Kokopeli before although we have some fabulous specialist music stores here which can unearth just about any score (at a price  )
> 
> When are we going to see you perform on You tubes then?!


Long time ago, I learned the Hayden's Serenade, and several Handel Sonatas (I did those for some local adjudications). But I've increased the level of difficulty of the solos I do now. Kokopeli is by a contemporary American composer, so I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. Its inspiration comes from Native American legend, of the great flute player Kokopeli, whose flute could be heard echoing in the canyons. I chose this _a capella_ solo over Syrinx by Debussy because it's more contrasting to the other works I'm doing now.

I _have _actually posted one video of myself on youtube 
This is not to show off. Personally I think this one of the greatest flute solos ever written, and there are plenty other better recordings on youtube of it.





And I guess you'll find out my name too there, but I'll trust you with it


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## Head_case

Oooh! 

That's a lovely piece! You really project the flute so well into the orchestra!

I like the anxiety driven lyricism in the flute's colourful lines. 

Yes - I'm sure the Haydn Serenade and Handel Sonatas are more suited to flutists around 4ft nothing 

Do you have the score for the Kokopeli piece? Who is the publisher? 

Debussy's Syrinx is rather boring to play, especially if like me you keep messing it up after 1 minute of the 2 minute and 2 second wake up call 

Lovely to hear your work - no wonder you're trying to get into a musical establishment - I want an autographed CD of your flute solos when it comes out 



PS - which flute brand are you using?


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## Huilunsoittaja

Head_case said:


> I like the anxiety driven lyricism in the flute's colourful lines.
> 
> Do you have the score for the Kokopeli piece? Who is the publisher?
> 
> Lovely to hear your work - no wonder you're trying to get into a musical establishment - I want an autographed CD of your flute solos when it comes out
> 
> PS - which flute brand are you using?


Yes, I agree the Poem has many times where it's very anxious, sad, even angry. I love it so much, that's why I'm gonna do it for college. That performance was a reward I got for winning a particular competition with that solo.

The publisher is _Papagena Press_. It can be found on fluteworld.com

I will keep you in mind, sir... honestly. I don't know where I'll end up in the next 10 years... but who knows 

The flute I use is an Altus 807. Altus is a Japanese company that makes hand-made flutes. The 807 is a semi-professional level flute, but soon I may get an upgrade headjoint so it would be professional level.


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## mdm

hello everybody,

i know i'm out of topic but i'm a flute player and you too...so you can help me...does anyone of you know a pianist?

thanks, m


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## handlebar

I play the native American flute,most especially Anasazi,Mojave and Hopi rim blown versions.

Jim


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## Head_case

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Yes, I agree the Poem has many times where it's very anxious, sad, even angry. I love it so much, that's why I'm gonna do it for college. That performance was a reward I got for winning a particular competition with that solo.
> 
> The publisher is _Papagena Press_. It can be found on fluteworld.com
> 
> I will keep you in mind, sir... honestly. I don't know where I'll end up in the next 10 years... but who knows
> 
> The flute I use is an Altus 807. Altus is a Japanese company that makes hand-made flutes. The 807 is a semi-professional level flute, but soon I may get an upgrade headjoint so it would be professional level.


Thanks for that. It's a very rich piece - even more stunning to hear you play so beautifully!

I'll look into my local stores for scores. They are fairly expensive over here. Like your Altus lol.

I'm happy with the TJ Virtuoso. I don't think I'll sound significantly better with a more expensive flute!


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## AmateurComposer

Huilunsoittaja said:


> First, the flute is a very virtuosic instrument that can do highly technical things: double tonguing, flutter tonguing, ...


Since I do not play the flute, I hope that you will excuse my ignorance. Watching fl[a]utists play, it seems to me that the player blows onto the edge of the hole in the instrument from some distance. If this impression of mine is correct, how does tonguing come into the picture?


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## Huilunsoittaja

AmateurComposer said:


> Since I do not play the flute, I hope that you will excuse my ignorance. Watching fl[a]utists play, it seems to me that the player blows onto the edge of the hole in the instrument from some distance. If this impression of mine is correct, how does tonguing come into the picture?


Woah! really? No, the mouth piece rests right on the chin below the lips. It may be an optical illusion if the flutist plays with the mouth piece rolled in a lot, which I do now.

Air is blown into the mouth piece from an angle so that it hits the back of the inside of the head joint, which vibrates through the tube as a result. I think.   It makes tonguing very easy, because there's no reed or huge amount of pressure put directly on the lips.


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## AmateurComposer

Huilunsoittaja said:


> AmateurComposer said:
> 
> 
> 
> Since I do not play the flute, I hope that you will excuse my ignorance. Watching fl[a]utists play, it seems to me that the player blows onto the edge of the hole in the instrument from some distance. If this impression of mine is correct, how does tonguing come into the picture?
> 
> 
> 
> Woah! really? No, the mouth piece rests right on the chin below the lips. It may be an optical illusion if the flutist plays with the mouth piece rolled in a lot, which I do now.
> 
> Air is blown into the mouth piece from an angle so that it hits the back of the inside of the head joint, which vibrates through the tube as a result. I think.   It makes tonguing very easy, because there's no reed or huge amount of pressure put directly on the lips.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your response, but you did not answer my question, maybe because you take for granted as obvious exactly what I do not understand. So, please, let me further elaborate on my question.

If I correctly understand, tonguing in the case of a reed instrument means that the tongue touches the reed in order to to block the air flow. In the case of the flute, since the lips do not touch the opening in the mouth piece, what is the action of the tongue during tonguing?


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## GraemeG

Hu, my wife's a teacher of flute. She played an Altus 1007 as her main flute for many years, but always felt that you need a top (professional) flute to take the next step. A couple of years ago we dropped big money on an Abell grenadilla flute which she's very taken with.

I suspect the sheer air pressure required by the oboe makes it technically the hardest woodwind instrument to play, but as a violinist I can't really comment.

And, Amateur, of course the player's lips touch the mouthpiece of the flute. I don't think any woodwind players touch the reed with their tongue while playing. Tonguing is done against the hard palate, not the reed.
cheers,
GG


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## Sanctus Petrus

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Can anyone here play flute? Are any of you professional?
> 
> Who agrees that the flute is the coolest and hardest woodwind instrument?


Yes
Yes
No
No


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## Huilunsoittaja

Sanctus Petrus said:


> Yes
> Yes
> No
> No


Nice! Where do you perform?


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## Sanctus Petrus

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Nice! Where do you perform?


I'd rather keep my privacy on the internet, so I will not go into details.
I play in a big orchestra, and performed in Europe and the States + Canada.
But I never visited the East or Africa. Not private, nor professionally.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Sanctus Petrus said:


> I'd rather keep my privacy on the internet, so I will not go into details.
> I play in a big orchestra, and performed in Europe and the States + Canada.
> But I never visited the East or Africa. Not private, nor professionally.


I see what you mean. After all, there's only like 3 possibilities of who you are if you were to say "such and such" orchestra.

I want a job in a symphony too! It's my dream, and I'm still holding onto it. I've already done one college audition, I have 2 more to go.


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## Sanctus Petrus

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I see what you mean. After all, there's only like 3 possibilities of who you are if you were to say "such and such" orchestra.
> 
> I want a job in a symphony too! It's my dream, and I'm still holding onto it. I've already done one college audition, I have 2 more to go.


In general, if you aim at a job in an orchestra, it helps if they know you in advance. Take lessons with the guys who are already in, try to get on the list of the stand-ins, etc. If you just wait until an exam, you hardly stand a chance.

Look carefully at the repertoire of the orchestra you want to join. Study it in advance, so that if you are asked to help them out, you make a good impression.

Work your *** off, it is much harder to get there than 30 years ago, but if you succeed, it is worth the while: I never regretted my choice.


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## Polednice

I'm mainly a pianist (but not in the sense that I want a performance career - that's just my instrument of choice), but, because I don't like performing solo or doing concertos, I've been playing the flute for a number of years so that I always have a way to be involved more easily with orchestras.


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## myaskovsky2002

*I prefer*



PHP:


Who agrees that the flute is the coolest and hardest woodwind instrument?

Hardest I don't know. As far as I know you have different flutes: Piccolo, medium and bass (?). I love the Prokofiev's sonata also the Khachaturian's concerto with a transcription for violin. Flute is very nice.

I.M.O. Nevertheless, I love Oboe more that every other woods. The sound is "rounder"...

Of course I am an amateur, another guy said that....Not a musician....Just an amateur.

take a look:






Sincerely,

Martin


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## Huilunsoittaja

I've learned this, but I can't quite play it as fast, or cleanly... (back to practicing 4 hours a day...  )


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## arun

I am an Indian Classical music Flautist . Although design of flute appears to be every simple, it offers a vast scope for producing music which is very close to human voice. everything depends on how person modulates air during blowing and how the person closes / partially opens holes


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## arun

I am an Indian Classical music Flautist . Although design of flute appears to be every simple, it offers a vast scope for producing music which is very close to human voice. everything depends on how person modulates air during blowing and how the person closes / partially opens holes. Bamboo flute are the best in my opinion.


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## presto

I don’t play the flute but it’s surprising how much of it's earlier repertory was actually originally composed for the Treble Recorder, 
It makes you realise how good these Recorder players must have been!


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## Nix

My boyfriend of over a year is a flutist, so I feel pretty involved in the flute community for someone who doesn't play the instrument. Definitely have been to more flute recitals then I ever thought I would. And I've learned that flutists are probably the most interactive musicians, in that they all seem know each other (or know someone who knows them), and love competitions, seminars, masterclasses, and flute retreats.


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## Head_case

Well done boyfriend! 

However flute retreats....errr....how geeky is that!

I want to go on one 



presto said:


> I don't play the flute but it's surprising how much of it's earlier repertory was actually originally composed for the Treble Recorder,
> It makes you realise how good these Recorder players must have been!


Recorder players like John Turner (professor of composition in Liverpool or somewhere?) 
still do virtuoso recorder playing!

Mollenhauer also have a 3 1/2 octave recorder, matching the octaving range of the baroque traverso.

Personally I like music written for treble recorder. None of that high pitched squealing stuff.


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## Head_case

arun said:


> I am an Indian Classical music Flautist . Although design of flute appears to be every simple, it offers a vast scope for producing music which is very close to human voice. everything depends on how person modulates air during blowing and how the person closes / partially opens holes. Bamboo flute are the best in my opinion.


You mean a bansuri?

These are diatonic instruments.

Bamboo flutes like dizi flutes and xiao flutes have a particular sound.

I like playing the flute, because it sounds like a flute lol. If I wanted to hear a voice, I'd listen to a singer 

At the minute, I quite like romantic era flutes, as well as baroque traversos at lower pitch (A= 415Hz). They're just so expensive though. Bamboo is great value, but they always crack with the amount of playing I do now.


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## Head_case

Huilunsoittaja said:


> I've learned this, but I can't quite play it as fast, or cleanly... (back to practicing 4 hours a day...  )


Hmmm. She's clearly been practising all night and day at it ...look at the bags under her eyes :/

I'm not sure I like this kind of virtuoso glissandi stuff. It's technically brilliant, but emotionally it doesn't quite do it for me.

Guess I'm a solo flute purist.


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## omega

Head_case said:


> Oooh!
> 
> Debussy's Syrinx is rather boring to play, especially if like me you keep messing it up after 1 minute of the 2 minute and 2 second wake up call


That is quite surprising... it is actually one of the most beautiful pieces I was given to play. Along with Roussel's _Joueurs de Flûte_, I assume.


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## Piwikiwi

I'm not a flutist but I'm going to murder someone if I hear Poulenc's flute sonata one more time.


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## Whistler Fred

Piwikiwi said:


> I'm not a flutist but I'm going to murder someone if I hear Poulenc's flute sonata one more time.


Just caught up with this thead!

I've played the Poulenc Sonata more than once, but it nows falls into the "don't really want to hear again for a while longer" category. So I guess I'm safe...for now...


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## SecondNorn

Hi, I only joined the forum today and this is my first comment! I'm a flautist too. Wanted to go to music college as a teenager but at that age I didn't practise hard enough and had too many other things I wanted to do to commit myself to it. So I went to university instead but continued playing. I now play with a couple of orchestras in London and do bits and pieces of other stuff. I'm doing a recital next week, in which I'm including a couple of pieces which fell into the category of 'didn't want to hear that for a long time', like your Poulenc Whistler Fred; the Arrieu Sonatine (did the first movement in grade 5...the third movement has it's tougher challenges though!) and the Hindemith Sonata (did the first movement in grade 8!). Loving revisiting things as an adult when I'm hopefully a more mature musician


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## Huilunsoittaja

Hah! I haven't looked at this thread in over 3 years. I should have kept up with the fellow flutists and flute fans here. Back when I posted this, I was a pretty decent flutist. But now 3 years later of college, I've really matured, and getting a new flute recently has done wonders for me. I'm doing all sorts of extra-musical things nowadays outside my school, applying to many competitions and summer festivals. This summer proved fruitful, and I'm doing 2 competitions, one of them occurring at a summer festival.  Grad school applications are just over the hill too...


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## Guest

Flautists? A necessary evil.


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## Whistler Fred

TalkingHead said:


> Flautists? A necessary evil.


And we LIKE IT that way!


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## Guest

Diabolo! [You're a fiend, Whistler, my friend!]


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## TheLastGreatComposer

I've been playing for 9 years now, and I'm currently attending a college for music ed. I absolutely love the flute, but its always come naturally to me so i can't really say its the hardest. I am HORRIBLE at reed instruments, they always give me the most trouble.

And to answer the question above, tonguing is achieve by cutting off the air with the tongue. A lot of teachers will tell younger players to act like they are spitting out a tiny piece of rice. This usually achieves the sound. More complicated forms of tonguing such as double or triple use multiple syllables witch engages the front and back of the tongue. Double is usually taught by pronouncing the syllables "Du-Ga-Du-Ga", "Tuh-Kuh-Tuh-Kuh", or "Te-Kuh-Te-Kuh". Triple would be taught using "Te-Kuh-Da-Te-Kuh-Da" or a variation of other syllables.

Hope that was helpful!


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## Jermaine

Someone at my church gave me two flutes today. I am interested in learning how to play. I'll be a complete beginner. Does anyone have any recommendation for beginner's flute pieces and any other materials?​


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## Huilunsoittaja

Jermaine said:


> Someone at my church gave me two flutes today. I am interested in learning how to play. I'll be a complete beginner. Does anyone have any recommendation for beginner's flute pieces and any other materials?​


The rubank studies books. I used almost all of them. Good place to start!




























etc.


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## fluteman

Rubank was a good way to go when I was 10 years old. But there are many more (and I think in some cases better) books out there now. One very good place to buy flute music online, including student materials (now that most of the sheet music stores are gone), is www.fluteworld.com. Courteous service over the phone, too (no affiliation).


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## jurianbai

Yap, that is also the book I'm using right now, along with Suzuki vol.1. I bought flute in last October (I've posted a thread here) and now I am on the track. I have learn several popular tunes, Air in G (Bach) , Canon in D for my basic repertoire and enjoyment.

At first I plan to look for a flute teacher, but my current activity made me to self taught most of time.


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