Physical Description

Step-Up Flutes

Flutists who progress beyond the basics are usually excited to discover the benefits step-up flutes offer them.   Among them are a fuller and richer sound, quicker and more sure response, extended range, and a sense of increased control — all of which creates more enjoyment in playing and increased encouragement to practice.

Step-up flutes are available in three levels: intermediate, performer, and top-line.  While most beginner flutes are made of nickel silver, step-up flutes are made of increasing amounts of solid silver.  Solid silver vibrates more freely, creating a fuller, more pleasing tone with more harmonics.

 An intermediate flute typically has a solid silver head joint.  This step makes a dramatic difference in tone and response that often surprises and thrills a flutist playing one for the first time.  Band directors, fellow musicians, and those with a musical ear notice the improvement in tone immediately. 

The next step up, performer flutes, have solid silver head joints, bodies and foot joints.  They offer additional improvements in tone and response. This level is appropriate for young musicians who take their music seriously.

Music majors or professionals most often play top-line flutes, although others sometimes choose them too.  Top-line flutes have solid silver head joints, bodies, foot joints, and keys.  They provide the best response and tone, and the special attention they get in manufacturing is meant to make them the ultimate instruments.  

A low-B foot is an option that is included with most step-up flutes from intermediate to top-line.  The "low B" is actually an additional key at the end of the flute; to accommodate it, the foot joint is slightly longer.  As well as giving the flutist the additional note, it improves the overall tone of the flute.  

"Open hole" refers to holes in the middle of the keys; the flutist covers them with the fingers when playing.  Open hole/closed hole can be a matter of player preference, although most fine flutists play open hole.  Flutists often say open-hole gives them better flexibility and control of the sound.  An open-hole flute is a safe choice because it can be played as a closed-hole flute by inserting plugs.  Plugs are also helpful in giving a flutist time to adapt to open holes.  

A good model for junior high students likely to continue on flute into high school is an intermediate open-hole flute with a low-B foot.   This model will keep up with their developing abilities and should not have to be replaced unless the student decides to pursue music after high school.   For students who are serious about their music or who might play past high school, a performer open-hole flute with low B foot is a good choice. 

Some schools with strong music programs like their players to play similar brands and models of instruments so the sound blends well and the instruments are in perfect tune with each other.  

A step-up flute, whether intermediate, performer, or top-line, should last— with regular maintenance step-up instruments shouldn't have to be replaced.

A flautist (or flutist, flute player) is a musician who plays any instrument in the flute family.

"Flautist" versus "flutist"

The choice of "flautist" (adopted during the eighteenth century from the Italian word flautista, itself from flauto) versus "flutist" is a source of dispute among players of the instrument. "Flutist" is the earlier term in the English language, dating from at least 1603 while "flautist" is not recorded before 1860, when it was used by Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Marble Faun. Richard Rockstro, in his three-volume treatise The Flute written in England in 1890, uses "flute-player."

The first edition of the OED lists "fluter" as dating from circa 1400 and Fowler's Modern English Usagestates that "there seems no good reason" why "flautist" should have prevailed over "fluter" or "flutist." According to Webster's Dictionary of English Usagehowever, flautist is the preferred term in British English; and, in American English, while both terms are used, "flutist" is "by far the more common."

Also seen from around the mid seventeenth century was "flutenist," but this fell out of use by the end of the eighteenth century.

While the term "flautist" is not found in print before 1860, there is no doubt, considering the influence of the Italian and French schools of flute playing, that the Italian term flautista and French term flûtiste would have been well known in England long before this date. Because many significant composers during the Renaissance and Baroque periods were Italian or trained in Italy, most commonly used musical terms in English speaking countries are Italian in origin.

Today, most players use the term which is dominant in their country of origin, or simply use the neutral "flute player." Famous flute players have frequently entered the debate expressing their own personal views; for instance, Nancy Toff, an American, devotes more than a page of her book The Flute Book to the subject, commenting that she is asked "Are you a flutist or a flautist?" on a weekly basis. She prefers "flutist": "Ascribe my insistence either to a modest lack of pretension or to etymological evidence; the result is the same." Toff, who is also an editor for Oxford University Press, describes in some detail the etymology of words for the flute, comparing the OED, Fowler's Modern English Usage,Evans' Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage, and Copperud's American Usage and Style: The Consensus before arriving at her conclusion: "I play the flute, not the flaut; therefore, I am a flutist not a flautist."

Echoing the Toff quote above, James Galway summed up the way he feels about "flautist," saying: "I am a flute player not a flautist. I don't have a flaut and I've never flauted."

                                 CARE OF YOUR FLUTE

This simple maintenance routine will keep your flute playing and looking its best for many years.

Assembly

·         Pick up the middle joint of your flute and grasp it with your left hand where the name is engraved (so you're not putting pressure on the keys).  Pick up the head joint with your right hand and slide it into the middle joint with a gentle twisting motion.  Turn the head joint until the center of the embouchure hole lines up with the center of the main row of keys.

·         While still holding the middle joint at the engraved name, slide the foot joint on in the same way without putting pressure on the keys.  Line up the foot joint so the rod connected to the Eb key is in line with the keys on the middle joint (as in the picture above).

When you finish playing

·         Disassemble your flute in the reverse order above.

·         Use your swab to remove moisture from inside your flute’s head, middle, and foot joints.  (The cream-colored pads under each key seal the air flow when you play.  Moisture causes the pads to get stiff and leak, making your flute harder to play.)

·         Use your polish cloth to wipe the fingerprints off your flute.  (Fingerprints contain acid and will eat into the finish of your flute, making it look dull.)

·         Put your flute in its case and fasten both latches.  (Most flute damage occurs when it's left out on a music stand, a table, a chair, a bed, or on the floor.  If you'd like to leave it out, use a flute stand.)

·         Don't store anything (music, paper, a cloth, etc.) on top of your flute in its case as it will push on the keys and bend them out of adjustment, making your flute hard to play.

Periodically

·         Clean the finish of your flute thoroughly with a flute polish cloth.  (The flute polish cloth contains a small amount of polish; liquid polish isn't recommended because it can damage the flute pads.)

·         Use a small key brush to clean between the keys.

·         Apply a very small amount of key oil to the pivot points of your keys.  To apply the right amount, put a drip of oil on a saucer; then dip a toothpick into it and touch it to the pivot points on your flute.

·         Wash out your swab or replace it with a new one.

·         Don't tighten the tiny adjustment screws on the keys.  (They're not supposed to be tightened all the way down; instead they're used by the technician to adjust your flute’s keys so they work together properly.) 

·         Bring your flute to the repair shop at least once a year or whenever you feel it's not playing its best.  

Beginner Flute

Beginner Flutes

A beginner flutist struggles to make the first sounds and find the initial notes.  The first few months are the most difficult and are critical for a young flutist.  A flute that won't perform properly is too much of a discouragement for most beginning musicians. A beginner doesn't need the finest or most expensive flute, but s/he does need a flute that responds freely (doesn't require an excessive amount of air), plays the correct notes when the right keys are pressed, plays in tune with the other instruments in the band, and can be repaired and adjusted as it (inevitably) needs it.  (Flutes are sensitive instruments with lots of adjustment screws.)

Appropriate beginner flutes are available from many sources:

·         Buying outright.  If you're sure your child will like playing music and will want to stay with the flute, you could purchase a flute outright. 

·       Renting gives the child (and parents) time to see how s/he likes playing music, consider whether flute is the correct instrument, and consider what type of flute is right for the longer term.  The band director knows and usually advises beginners' parents where they can rent the right kind of flute, considering not just the cost and quality of the flutes rented, but also the condition they are kept in and the support the company provides to keep the instruments playing properly.  A portion of the rent paid can be applied to the later purchase of an instrument. 

·         Buy (or borrow) a used one.  When a good used flute can be gotten at a low enough price, it might make sense to take a chance on the student and buy it outright.  But always check first to assure the flute you're considering is the appropriate quality and will play in tune with the band.  Then take it to a flute repair shop to see what it will take to put it in playing condition.  (Flutes that have been sitting up for a year or more virtually always need some or all of the pads replaced to play properly)

·         Internet.  The Internet is considered a dangerous place to buy a musical instrument, but someone who knows flutes and is careful can sometimes find a bargain.  By some estimates 90-95% of the flutes sold on the Internet are foreign off-brands and inappropriate for school band use; indeed many directors say they are the students' and director's worst nightmare.   Once again, confirm that it is a appropriate brand and model and either check its condition carefully or anticipate repair costs.