How To Choose a Flute: Your Complete Guide
By David Leviston (Copyright) November 6, 2011

Which Flute Suits You?
There are three basic categories of flutes: Beginner/student flutes Intermediate flutes, and Fully professional flutes.

The student range of instruments is generally manufactured and assembled quickly and with least concern for final finish. The low price of this range of instruments is basically achieved by minimal labour time. Despite this, many student brands are now made so precisely that a very good result is achievable.

The basic student flute is made of a brass tube with silver plating. Silver plating gives a better sound over nickel, which can be too metallic sounding and slippery to hold. The next model up has a solid silver headjoint, which greatly improves tone quality. The third level up is a silver head, body and footjoint, which adds even more “body” to the tone. It is possible to substitute the headjoint that comes with the flute for a much better quality ‘handmade’ headjoint that can potentially improve the tonal quality and response even more. With all these models, variations such as split E mechanism, C or B foot, open or closed holes and offset G are usually available as
well.

The intermediate range drops back to solid silver lip plate with silver plated body then progressing to silver body, head and foot but still with silver plated keywork. Altus flutes also come in two grades of silver in this range. The difference from the student range however, is that the parts may be machine made but the flute is assembled and finally finished by hand.
This final ‘handfinishing’ results in an instrument that plays as well as possible with the maximum response and performance, but with less precious materials than a “professional” flute.

The fully professional quality instrument has been made almost completely by hand. Some parts are made with the assistance of machinery, however highly skilled artisans are involved in every step of the complete production process. This is the main reason the cost is so high, as it takes much skill and several months to make a whole flute.

Once again, many options exist in terms of Sterling silver silver (92.5%), Brittannia silver (95.8%), or Pure silvers (99.7%), various rare woods, Golds, Platinum, seamed or drawn tubing, soldered or drawn tone-holes, split E, C or B foot, C# trill key, open or closed holed keys, offset or inline G, different tubing thicknesses (more detailed explanation for all these options follows).

What Kind of Player are You?
What kind of player do you regard yourself as? If you are a beginner, then you will more than likely be choosing something in the beginner student range. A well adjusted, good quality, basic student flute is good for anyone playing up to about 6th grade.

You will achieve a better quality and more variation to your tone with a silver headjoint, however you will get to a point, if you progress your playing up to and beyond 8th grade, AMEB, where no matter how good the headjoint is, the body will not be good enough. By that stage, your playing skill will no doubt be developed to the point where you clearly notice the difference by yourself. In fact, you will probably notice it well before then if you are producing a good tone.

The difference in moving up to the handfinished range is that the instrument will be well designed and very precisely made, resulting in far superior sound, more even connection throughout the entire range, clean articulation, better dynamic range and a greater range of colour.

You may find that starting with an intermediate model is a good idea, because if you are reasonably serious about your development, you will save money by not having to upgrade after a year or so. Also, in the meantime, you will benefit from learning and playing on a superior quality instrument. Most people start with a student flute and move up when they clearly notice the difference, and consequently spend more money.

Which Specifications Do You Need?
There are several options when purchasing your first flute, but for most beginners the best choice is an all silver plated, covered holes, offset G, C foot model. Silver plated is best. Nickel plated flutes are slightly cheaper but not worth it because they are harder to hold if the player perspires, and in addition the tone is inferior because it is harder sounding.

Most student flutes in Australia are offset G which is preferable, as it means the player has less distance to stretch the left hand ring finger than on an inline model. Closed holes are usually preferable for beginners, although if the player can comfortably reach and cover all the holes, then the open hole flute is recommended. However, because it is slightly more complicated to make, the open hole flute is a little more expensive to purchase and service.

Most beginner flutes have a C foot. The B footjoint has one more key added to the bottom of the flute making it slightly longer and heavier. The tone is a little darker from about G down. For most beginners this addition is not at all necessary and once again will add to the price.
The curved head is of great benefit and highly recommended for children approximately under the age of 10. It causes the flute to be held much closer to the player’s body and significantly reduces the player’s spine being twisted. Stretching to reach the keys by little arms is undesirable from a postural and physical development point of view.

Probably the most difficult option to decide on, though, is that of the split E mechanism although these days it is almost universally adopted. This extra piece of keywork only affects the third register E and causes the proper opening of the keys for that note resulting in correct tuning and ease of sound production. This feature is now available on almost all student model flutes, however it adds significantly to the price. The issue becomes one of deciding whether playing top E with greater ease is worth the additional cost.
Almost all professionals now order or play with a split E, which is some indication of it’s usefulness and significance.

Advanced Assessment

1.Sound

The main quality that attracts us to the flute is the type of sound it produces or the type of sound we get when we play it and so the big question is “do you like the sound you are getting on the instrument you are playing or trying?”
You need to be a bit wary here, because if you have not played many flutes you will find a new one quite different, so you will be inclined to approach it in accordance with what you are used to. It may be that you get a good sound straight off, or, it may be that you don’t get a good sound at all.

However, if the flute is considered to be a good brand, then it is worthwhile giving it a reasonable trial because you need to allow yourself time to adapt to it so you can develop and start to take advantage of as much as possible of what the instrument can offer.

The first thing to do is check out the “core” or “centre” of the sound. To do this you need to slowly play as flat as you can and then as sharp as you can on one note. If you think about it you probably have a favourite note. This is the one to start on. By listening carefully as you move up and down on this one note you will eventually find the “core” or “centre”. Your aim then should be to find that “centre” on every note on the instrument. As you do this slowly, also listen to whether you are able to keep the volume even throughout the entire range.

You should be able to play evenly from top to bottom so that the top does not sound shrill and loud or the bottom weak and soft. Obviously you need to have the fluteplaying technique to do this, so if you do not, then ask an experienced player to do it for you.

Another concept of sound is that of openness and resistance. The difference here is where you will find that the sound is harder to get, or you have to blow hard to get your result and this we call resistance because you can feel the air pressure coming back at you. At the other end of the spectrum an “open” sound is by contrast one that is easy to get and is freer and happens more easily.

One is not better or worse but just different. The more “resistance” then the harder you have to blow and usually the stronger the sound. The more “open” then the less hard you have to blow and the sound is less forced and freer sounding.

2.Volume and Projection
Volume is to do with how loud or soft we play. The challenge on the flute is to be able to play as loudly and softly without tending sharp or flat. The design of the embouchure hole (the hole we blow into to produce the sound) and the placement of the tone holes will determine to a large extent whether we can play loud and soft to the same extent on all notes throughout the range of the instrument.

Projection is how well our sound ‘carries’ or projects in the room or hall we are playing in. Some flutes will sound loud up close and especially to us as players but the sound may not necessarily be carrying or heard at the back of the hall.

Other flutes will sound small up close and yet may carry clearly and resonantly to the back of the hall. We can obviously only know this from reliable feedback from someone whose opinion we trust listening at the back of the auditorium.

I once played two different brand flutes in the one concert in a large auditorium seating 2000 people and had an unsolicited reliable person give me such feedback. I’ve also deliberately had people listening to me in different parts of various halls and compared their feedback with my own perceptions. If you get the opportunity, it can be very useful listening to good players up close and from a distance and noticing both how they get the result they get, what sort of flute they are playing and the difference in the sound from being close and from a distance.

3.Tuning
Once you have found the “core” of the sound you need to check the tuning. The best way to do this if you do not have “perfect pitch”, is to use a tuning machine. (Perfect pitch is the ability to know the names of pitches very accurately in your mind without reference to anything else.) There are many of these machines available now for less than $100 that will indicate with LEDS (light emitting diodes) and/or a meter very accurately the pitch of a sound and how much variance there is.

Pitch is the high and low of sound and is our way of playing so that we can blend in a pleasing way or otherwise. Once again check each note on the instrument. First of course you will need to line the headjoint up so that you will be playing the flute at A=440 or 442 cycles per second or whatever you set the machine at, then you just work your way through every note and take notice of where the variations occur.

If you are not used to doing this don’t be surprised if you get some pretty wild readings and don’t take much notice of the results until you get fairly used to using the flute and the machine. Playing in tune is a lifelong challenge just like playing in time. The important thing is that you use the tuner as a feedback machine for you to find out what your tendencies are and to hone your skill to place the sounds where you intend.

4.Scale and Pitch
The next subject, which follows on from sound and tuning, is the scale of the instrument. This relates to the placement of the tone holes, the size of the tone holes, the diameter of the tubing, the shape of the headjoint (it has a parabolic taper descending toward the lip plate so that the top notes can be more accurately sounded).

The flute has undergone a number of major and significant changes in the last 30 years, with most manufacturers making fundamental changes to the basic positioning of the tone holes or scale. This has resulted in most new instruments being much better and easier to play in tune with much less need for the player to make adjustments while playing.

Despite all these changes, most makers have slightly different ideas about the scale they adopt or develop and unless you have a lot of experience in dealing with those very fine degrees of pitch variation you will probably not find this is such an issue of importance. Bear in mind that the only way to really check this out is to spend a lot of time systematically working with a tuning machine unless you have perfect pitch.

Even if you are a very skilled player, what you have been used to may be “out of tune” and you may have become used to it, which is quite natural. We generally seek results so much that we start to adapt instantly to playing better in tune and accordingly will accept and adjust to whatever the instrument offers us, so we can more predictably produce the result we want next time we do it.

5.Sound Colour
This concept can best be approached with the idea of “dark” and “light” sound that we achieve by blowing more into the flute and with faster or more forceful velocity for a dark sound and more across the embouchure hole for a lighter sound. By deft manipulation of the lips, jaw, opening in the throat cavity, angle of blow and air speed we can create a big range of “colours” meaning variations in the quality of the sound. So, experiment with getting your favourite “sound colours” from all over the instrument on at least some top notes, middle notes and bottom notes.

6.Dynamics
Basically how loud and soft we play. Once again try playing on some bottom, middle and top notes how loudly and how softly you can play. Can you keep the “core” of the sound when you play at the extremes of loud and soft or does it break up or get lost? Can you make the sound be heard just as clearly at the back of the hall when playing loud and soft? You’ll have to enlist the help of someone who has the same ideas about sound as you and who is willing to listen to you close up, in the middle and the back of the hall and who will then tell you the truth.

7.Homogeneity
Is the sound even from top to bottom, or are there pitches that do not connect well with each other? Evenness and connection are the two key qualities here. Can you play scales slowly and arpeggios with the connection between the sounds occurring smoothly. Listen closely to what is between the sounds.

8.Articulation
Can you articulate clearly and throughout the whole range? Does the flute respond slowly or fast and can you get the beginnings of your sounds to happen clearly? Different metals respond at different rates. For example the Altus 958 seamed tubing has very fast and fine response for articulation.

9.Feel
Does the flute feel physically comfortable in your hands? Does it have any sharp bits like the edges of keys or do the pins stick out and catch your skin or clothes? Do your fingers reach comfortably and is it easy to hold? Does it feel nicely balanced when you are holding it to play?

10. Appearance
Does the flute look attractive? Is the keywork nice to look at? Does the design appeal to you? Usually the more good looking a flute is, the better it has been made. If the designer has gone to the trouble of carefully creating something that is aesthetically pleasing which usually takes a lot of care and effort, more than likely it will play well also. The early French flutes made by Louis Lot and Godfrey are outstanding examples of this. They are still highly sought after and valued by many leading players around the world. Just a word of warning here though. As with anything, the appearance is by no means a true and reliable indication that the flute is good or has been made well. The true test is in how it plays.

11. Case
Does it come in a good case with a soft carrybag? Does the case have a handle? Does the case have a shoulder strap? Does it have a cleaning cloth? Does it have a cleaning rod?

12.Plateau (Closed Holes) or French (Open Holes) model
The plateau model has keys that are all covered. Most beginner flutes are of this design as it doesn’t matter where the player places their fingers on the keys, they will be able to cause the key to depress or release and still get the sound clearly because the key itself is covered and therefore completely covers the tone hole.

With the French model or Open Hole model however, five of the keys that we place our fingers on have holes in them, and the player has to therefore precisely cover exactly all of these holes otherwise a lot of sound loss will result from air leakage.
Until the last 10 or 15 years open hole flutes were only available in professional handmade models, but now the whole range of flutes are available as covered or open holes.

The advantages of the open hole flute are fourfold.

If undue tension or contracting of the fingers occurs, the fingers will come off the keys as they contract and curve in, so the player has to consciously keep relatively relaxed in the fingers and hands.

Playing the open hole flute is possible for most people, however I must add that if a person’s fingers and hands are too big or too small, I strongly suggest they do not play an open hole flute, as the negative effects of tension resulting from stretching or cramping far outweigh any benefits.

13.Drawn Tone Holes versus Soldered Tone Holes

Only the most expensive and fully handmade flutes are made with soldered tone holes. Most flutes, including all student range flutes, are made with drawn tone holes.

With a soldered tone holes flute each tone hole is cut out of the tube and the tone hole walls are individually soldered on to that hole. This requires extremely accurate soldering by the flute maker. This results in the body tubing thickness staying the same.

The other effect is that the tone hole wall can be made thicker and so a platform can be created on the top of the tone hole wall so the pad can have more flat surface area to come down onto and thus create a better seal. The effect of both these factors means that the flute will vibrate more evenly and fully because a regular thickness is maintained throughout the length of the tube.

With a drawn tone holes flute the metal becomes thinner as it is drawn out of the tube during manufacture and then rolled over at the top. This results in less surface area for the pad to do it’s job of sealing, however most drawn tone holes flutes these days are made very precisely and there is minimal alteration to the thickness of the tubing. A drawn tone holes flute also has the advantage of not having solder which can potentially fracture.

14.Drawn tubing or seamed soldered tubing
The difference here is that almost all modern flute makers use tubing that is drawn out solid. That is to say there are no breaks in the tube. In the early days of flute manufacture, makers would take a flat piece of metal, roll it over to make a tube and solder up the join. This would not be as even because of the soldering involved, however some very good players, most conspicuously some of the leading English players of today, feel that there are qualities to the old flutes which had this seamed tubing which are unique and desirable. The Altus Models 1607 and 1807 are made using this technique respectively in high grade Brittannia 958 silver or the new Altus Metal, a unique alloy developed by Shuichi Tanaka to most closely emulate the renowned sound qualities of these early French flutes.

15.Double Skin versus Single Skin Pads
Some very cheap flutes only use a single skin pad which saves on manufacturing costs. The advantage of a double skin pad is that if one layer of skin breaks, there is still one more underneath which will mean the flute will keep working. With a single skin which breaks there is less likelihood of a satisfactory result being maintained.

16.Adjusting Screws or No Adjusting Screws
Most completely handmade flutes do not have adjusting screws for the simple reason that once a screw is moved once or twice, no matter how well it is made, it is likely to start moving of it’s own accord and come loose and then of course the flute will have a leak and have to be adjusted again. Many professional model flutes do have adjusting screws because a lot of players feel and like to be able to do quick adjustments if they have little time before having to play again, however in principle if a flute is very precisely made, then it is best to do any adjustments with felt, paper or leather.

17.Inline G versus Offset G
The majority of players these days are playing or moving towards playing offset G models probably for two reasons. The offset G is slightly, but significantly, easier to reach for the left hand and arm and therefore reduces tension both on the left shoulder and back. The other reason is that it is more difficult to build and maintain a split E mechanism on an inline G flute, whereas it is much easier and more satisfactory on an offset G flute. The inline G is more vulnerable mechanically as there are four keys on the one stretch of rod for the left hand and if the player pulls laterally at all on the G or A keys, binding or seizing up of the rod is most likely to result. This is virtually impossible with the offset G. One argument in favour of the inline flute is that the fingers of the left hand are all on the same angle or plane and therefore less range of movement is needed resulting in a more accurate and efficient finger technique. The proviso here has to be that the player can reach without discomfort.

18.Split E and Donuts
A flute without a split E mechanism has both G keys joined together so that when G is played the keys each side of the G# key (on a closed G sharp flute) go down together. With a split E mechanism, those two keys are not joined together. However when G is played they both close, but when top E is played the duplicate or second G key is made to close but without the first one (the one touched by the left hand ring finger). This hole should be closed for top E to give a better in-tune top E, that does not split down to the A below of which it is a harmonic. Some highly respected players argue very strongly that both the top E and F# are equally difficult and to make the top E easier makes the top F# relatively more difficult. Most players agree that the split E is a decided advantage.

The donut is an insert that fills in a portion of the duplicate G hole, thus having a similar effect to the Split E. This is a much more economical solution to the problem of the E being less stable because that hole should be closed. It does get close to achieving that result, however a disadvantage is that it causes A’s to be flat. This can be compensated in slow passages by opening the G# key. The other benefit of the donut is it involves less extra weight and mechanism than the split E.

19.Open G# and Closed G#
By far the majority of flute players in the world play Closed G# these days, however it was not always this way. Theobald Boehm, the inventor of the modern flute, developed the Open G# system. Boehm really knew what he was doing and created a key system which is inherently superior both acoustically and structurally. It can also be argued very strongly that it is more logical and technically superior from a playing point of view.

Having played both systems for many years, my view is that it is not worth changing if you are already familiar with one system. If you are used to one system and you do change it will mean almost completely reversing the use of the left hand little finger!

A comparison of crossed fingerings between the two systems which I made a few years ago revealed that the closed G# system has twice as many forked or cross fingerings compared to the open G# system. (Forked or crossed fingerings are where the player has to alternate, in contrary motion, the use of one or more fingers in the left hand with the right hand.)

20.Mechanism. Is it accurate and reliable?
This can be an important issue with a used flute. The modern Boehm system flute has quite a lot of mechanism, which, if not serviced regularly can wear and become sloppy or slack.

The tubing that the keys are attached to moves around steel rods which have oil which reduces or minimizes friction. Inevitably, dust and dirt gets in and the oil dries out. If this happens and the tubing is rubbing hard against the steel then it wears away very rapidly. You can usually tell because moving the keys will have a metallic sound associated with it. The solution is to have the instrument serviced regularly.

When inspecting a new or second-hand flute, take hold of each of the keys one by one and gently move them both sideways and lengthways and notice if there is any movement. Many cheap student flutes have some of this movement right from the factory. It’s not a good start. The movement can be removed by a competent woodwind repairer, but it should not be there in the first place if it’s a new instrument.

21. Gizmo
On most B foot model flutes there is usually a little knob sticking up from the low B touch. This is called a “Gizmo” and is for the right hand little finger to depress the low B key by itself when playing top C or C#. This results in improved clarity and tuning for these notes. Some student model flutes with B foots do not have this gizmo.

22. C# Trill Key
The C# trill key is an increasingly favoured extra key amongst professionals and is usually only found on fully hand made models. It is located opposite the small C key at the top end of the flute with the touch located near the right hand A# touch on top of the flute.

With this key one can trill using just the first finger of the right hand instead of the first and second fingers of the left hand for C to C# or B to C#. It is especially useful for achieving the otherwise very unsatisfactory top G to A trill. There are a number of other tremolos possible as well.

23. Materials
Most student flutes are made from brass tubing with a layer of silver plating. A slightly cheaper version (about 15% less cost) is plated with nickel silver ( which actually has no silver at all but is a mixture of brass and nickel). This tends to have a more metallic sound and is quite slippery.

I personally think it is much preferable to pay the extra for silver plating which has a far superior tone quality.
Next we have German silver which is an alloy of about 80% silver. Then Coin silver which is 90% silver. The most commonly preferred silver is Sterling which is 92.5%. There is also Britannia silver which is 95.8% silver and now also some manufacturers have taken the lead of Altus and are making flutes with 99% silver.

Other metals used are gold from 5 carat to 24 carat with combinations of solid Gold tubing and Gold or silver keys, Palladium (mixture of Platinum and silver) and Platinum. Gold and Platinum flutes can be very expensive as not only are the metals very costly to purchase, but they are less forgiving and if a mistake is made in the manufacturing process, then the whole piece may have to be discarded and a new start made. Silver, on the other hand is much more malleable and can be reworked.

Tests on the overtone composition of different metals have revealed silver to have the best distribution of harmonics with gold being strong in the fundamental and second harmonic and weaker above that. Silver on the other hand has an even distribution of all the harmonics which may be why it is so commonly preferred. Material composition is a very personal and subjective issue. What may suit one person may not suit another.

Wood has been the most commonly used material for making flutes until the middle of the last century when metals started to be used on a large scale. There is a significant resurgence of makers producing flutes from wood and some very fine players using them. It has long been felt that wood does not project as well as silver. This may well be true, however some of the world’s current leading fluteplayers who are choosing to play on wooden flutes are putting this view seriously to the test.

I believe from many recent observations that people playing wooden flutes are able to produce softer tones and yet still have the same projection as those playing metal flutes.

24.Headjoint Cork
If the flute is sealing well but still not playing as well as it probably could, it can sometimes be that the cork in the headjoint has shrunk. If you are going to take the cork out, always push it out the wider end that goes into the body of the flute. To do this you will need to unscrew the button and push against the thread. Do not try and take it out the lip plate end as the headjoint has been made with a parabolic taper which narrows down to the crown end of the tube and trying to take it out that end will result in it becoming stuck and stretching the tube.
The position of the cork can affect fine tuning in the top register. The proper position is usually indicated by the line on the bottom of the cleaning rod lining up in the middle of the embouchure hole or blow hole.

25.Rib Mounted or Direct Mounted Posts
Very cheaply made flutes may have the posts mounted directly onto the tubing. This is very undesirable because the posts can be easily pushed into the body of the flute and there is less support for the posts to be mounted.
It is far more preferable to have the posts mounted on ribbing or flat strips of metal which are soldered to the body of the flute. This is much more stable and secure and is how any good flute is made.

26.Y Arms, Pressed Arms or Pointed French Arms
The best design is where the keys have an arm that extends from the tubing across the key. This is the traditional design of the early French makers and looks much more elegant. This has been the indicator of most completely handmade flutes. Another design is where the key and the arm is all made out of the one solid piece from a mould or pressing. This is the next strongest and then the third method is where the arm is shaped to be soldered onto the side of the key and is designed to fit on its side. This is the style of most student and commercial models and is less strong, but nevertheless quite adequate in most flutes.

Modern solders are so strong that it is quite probable that the Y arm soldered key is as strong as a French arm. French arm flutes still have to have Y arms on some keys if you choose an open hole flute.

27.Springing. Check that the spring tension is even
The D# and G# keys, being closed, may be slightly tighter or more resistant, however on a really well made flute, there should be almost no difference, between the tension on these keys and the other “open” keys. The length of the springs can make a difference, however, as a shorter spring is going to have a different tension than a longer spring.

28. Pads
The pads should all be the same thickness and height. The best type of padding is where they are held in place with metal resonators and screws. Some cheaper brands, especially from the US, use oversize pads and hold them in with plastic push ins. These are usually unstable and don’t even start to compare with padding using shims and resonators.

29. Value