Need help with FLUTE purchase decision high school student and younger sibling

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I need help with advancing players and need advice on what to buy!! (sorry for long post)</p>

<p>I have 2 kids who play the flute. </p>

<p>Daughter # 1 is in 9th grade. She is in wind ensemble (few freshman historically make wind ensembleat our school). In 9th grade she made senior district (9th can try out for either junior or senior). lower end of the pack (not high enough for all state audition). She played in Junior district in 7th and 8th grade. So I would say she is above average for her age, but not a stand out. We are from MA. If I had to say right now, I would say she would be unlikely to aspire to be a performance major, unlikely to major in music. What I see to be most likely is for her to go somewhere that she can play in a wind ensemble or orchestra, and study science, where music is still valued by non-majors. We purchased an intermediate flute for her before 8th grade - an Azumi b foot, open holed, offset g, silver head, which she began playing without all plugs in less than a week.</p>

<p>Now daughter number 2 is nearing the end of 7th grade, is following in her sisters footsteps, similar level of playing at same age. Her flute is the one I used as a kid (Gemeinhardt student model - now in need of work). Her teacher felt she needed a different flute and so teacher has been loaning her an opened hole model we will need to give back. So we need to buy something!</p>

<p>We are in a position that we need to make a step up purchase to give to Daughter number 2, but don't whether we should buy another intermediate flute for daughter #2 or a better flute for first daughter, and hand down the Azumi? What level would a flute have to play at in MA public schools to play in a wind ensemble/orchestra as a non-major at a place like Rochester/Williams/Vassar/Weslyean CT. District/ State / Regional??? As a non-major in places like listed above, what type of flute would Daughter #1 need? Could she continue to play the flute she has? What features would be needed/models? </p>

<p>any insight is welcomed. I don't mean to imply she has any chance of those places listed above, but these are the places I see mentioned a lot when I tried to read about a kid who wants a decent band and science without it being a huge school. Thanks!!</p>

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<p>I would suggest passing the Azumi off to the younger sibling, and getting a more advanced flute for the 9th grader, assuming she would use this through college. I play on a Miyazawa and absolutely love it. I would also recommend trying Muramatsu, Powell, Sonare, and Haynes flutes. I suggest that she sticks with the b foot, open-holed, and possibly a split e mechanism if she likes it. If you have a flute dealer local to you, they will be able to explain this in much more detail and will suggest more specific models and headjoints for her to try!
PM me if you have any more questions, I’d be happy to answer :slight_smile: </p>

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<p>If your younger daughter is getting used to a B foot and the open holes definitely pass on the Azumi to her. Your older daughter and her teacher need to play what will be her next flute. First your daughter needs to like it, sometimes the embouchure plates and hole sizes are slightly different and that will affect her playing (happened to me!), She needs to feel comfortable playing the flute and holding the flute. The sound is so very important - she needs to play as many flutes as possible - and you need to listen and comment when she asks. I think you will know when you hear a ‘good’ one. Good is not always a brighter sound, the flute she will be happy with long term will have some depth to the tone - so she can ‘dig into’ the sound as she becomes a stronger player. It needs to grow with her. That is why the teacher’s perspective is valuable. They can tell which flutes/headjoints have ‘substance’.or ‘depth’ but there are surprises because each flute player has a different embouchure so what works for the teacher may not be the best for your daughter. Some of the Sonare flutes with Powell headjoints are excellent ( I played one that I loved and it was obvious) so don’t buy one unseen. Take your time and enjoy the process. </p>