I began playing the flute at the age of 9 years. I am now 78 and play every day. I am not - and never could be - as good as the Flute Master, Sir James Galway! However, I was a good enough flutist in high school that my parents gifted me with a Haynes flute/piccolo set that I auditioned with to earn a small music scholarship to college and that I played in symphonies and symphonic/jazz bands then. Throughout my life I have continued to play in municipal bands in every city where I have lived for over sixty-nine years. I had a UHAUL moving van stolen a few years ago in Seattle. All of my instruments and music (and everything else I owned) was in the van. My household insurance did not cover the theft - I was covered for fire, water, and collision damage - but not for 'theft of contents' of the moving van. (It was a terrible way to learn a hard lesson! I had not read the fine print of my policy - and never could have dreamed that a moving van I was renting would be stolen.) I am a retiree on a limited income and will never be able to replace my good flute set - now worth more than $10k - but I inherited an Armstrong 90 flute from a Great Aunt upon her death. It isn't my Haynes, but it is priceless to me. I love to play and am thankful that I still can move my fingers somewhat! I could tell the difference between the flutes in this demonstration, but I would have enjoyed listening to ANY of them as they were played herein. Thank you. My name is Jane.
Thanks Jane for watching! Also I really enjoyed the story you shared with me and the community. I hope your musical journey continues and I'm happy to have met you here in the community!
What a devestating experience! How awful. Yes, keep playing that Armstrong ~~ a very good flute. My life has been kind of like yours. I have my flutes insured through a Valuable Items policy that is tacked on to our House Insurance. After reading what your wrote, I’m going to check whether it covers theft. Also you might contact the Haynes Flute Co. to learn if your flute and piccolo serial number was “registered” when they were sold to them for you. I read recently about a young woman whose Haynes was stolen. It took ten years for her to get it back. Someone wanted to pawn it. The owner of the pawn shop contacted Haynes, he learned that it was on the “stolen” list, and then he contacted police (not sure if that was the order of it), then this young woman got her flute back. I practive every day to keep to keep my flute embouchure and fingers moving, too. I’m 67. Used Haynes are in the $5,000-10,000 range. In 2019, I tried out a Brannen Cooper flute at the New York Flute Fair. I know they’re all the rage, but IMOHO not superior to my silver open hole 1975 Haynes. Then I went over to the Haynes table and tried out a $55,00 new gold (not sure which K) Haynes. Now that flute was, as they say in NY, “like butta” ~~ so flexible, full round sound. It was wonderful just to have the chance to play it. I think the days of everyone just swiping of the mouthpiece and trying different flutes is going to gone, for a while...
Jane sorry to hear about your loss. As a music person myself. Omgoodness that would have been a blow. But all was not lost, your Aunt left you 1 how lucky it turned out. Not only that you have played for all those years in bands. You are rich in experience. Thank you for sharing . All the best.🎼
You can get used Haynes flutes from Flute Specialists and other good shops from the classic 40s/50s era (Haynes commercial model) for under $3K. They go for such low prices because the focus back then was on clarity and tone versus projection and volume. And everyone wants the loudest flute possible currently, B footjoints, and all the other shiny things. Yet the sound from a Haynes from then is still stunning.
What I learned between my beginner flute and professional student flute was that the instrument and the instrumentalist both have an effect on the sound. My beginner flute held me back a lot, and the professional student flute helped my sound. But, conversely, after I had learned more things that I could do on the professional student flute, I could go back to my beginner flute and make it sound better. It's a very interesting subject, in my opinion.
the sound was much less focused on the Prelude. The note resolution sounded less as well. There was more low end but it was messy. Overall it was a bit sloppy, but that may have been her playing a less-than-inspiring flute. The difference between the prelude and the 221 was very noticeable. the 221 to the 381was not quite as noticeable. To my ears, not much difference at all between the yamaha 381to the $2000 flute was negligible. I don't feel that the Brannen was 10x the flute that the Yamaha 381 was. This shows that, like most other instruments, it may come down to feel, balance, weight, playability and just whether or not it moves you, more than sound. A low end instrument is always going to be a low end instrument, though. I'd be comfortable concerting with 381 or even the 221 in a pinch. $20k is a luxury if you're not a high-end professional.
It's only preceived by the player, and it's all about the player to get different colors out of it. Give me all of those, and they will all sound like 20$ broken instruments :)
Lo sborone sotto i video americani hahahaha. Comunque concordo. Esiste un range in tutti i prodotti in cui il prezzo segue un andamento esponenziale ma la qualità rimane prossochè stazionaria. Come regola generale possiamo dire che prendendo il più costoso e il meno costoso ... A circa 2/3 di questo range hai raggiunto bene o male il top, tanto che molte cose costosissime hanno poi qualità inferiori rispetto ad altre con prezzi minori
My first one was the Yamaha 221 they used, and I was lucky to buy mine "used" for $300 😂 but it was in basically brand new shape so I really lucked out. Its a really nice flute actually, I've had it for years
More expensive flutes generally can hit higher notes without bursting your ear drums- you can still hit higher notes on a cheaper ones, but they're going to sound whiny and screech basically
I can say you don't have to play a flute over 200 dollars to make it to second flute. I played a 80 dollar one for a year and a half when I began. Really just depends on how you care for the flute. Mine is quite tarnished now. It was made from I think brass. So not the best sound but great to start on. Cheaper flutes are harder to use in most cases so when you can afford a better one it'll feel like a big skill increase.
I can’t imagine the connection between a cello player and his instrument when he played the same for several years. I don’t think any instrument can vibrates more Ith your body already. Hope you got your own cello, it s certainly worth some sacrifices.
The thing is purity of sound. There is so much extra air in the sound. A rasp sort of sound. The expensive was extremely clear and pure with little to no extra air or lack of clarity. It's the east equivalent of running mercury vs a rusty pipe.
Thanks for wording exactly what I was hearing! I could really hear a difference but couldn't quite pinpoint how to word it. The only word I could think of is everything sounds "warmer" the more expensive you get. She is super talented though so she can make a bad flute sound pretty good, I'm not surprised that a lot of people cant tell too much of a difference. But you hit the nail on the head.
DaemonisOpus exactly, however she is so amazing playing it that I would not be able to tell the difference in a live latin band context with drums, percussion piano etc
I have a $700 Andreas Eastman flute that has lasted me close to 10 years and it has amazing tone. But as soon as I went to a shop and tried the $10,000 flute, I could feel the difference in my playing. I didn't have to work as hard to hit the high notes and I was in heaven
Being a flutist for 56 yrs, i can tell the difference. The difference in the tonal quality. My dream flute is a muramatsu! Gold, off set G with engraving in the lip plate! Beautiful playing!
Waste of money. She couldn't tell the difference in her own playing. Thought the student model Yamaha 221 was a Brannen! It's all about the player. Material makes some difference, but a good player will make anything sound good and on the flip side a $50k Flute can sound like garbage in the wrong hands. I sold off my Yamah 600 series and Haynes and now play a used student model Gemeinhardt. It is a tad airy, but not by a lot. And when I flip between it and my very round cut embrouchure wooden Irish flute, I can get an even clearer tone on the Gemeinhardt. I'm over 40yrs playing and pretty proficient. I decided not to get hung up on brand names after a college audition where the Prof was more concerned about her Powell vs my 600 series Yamaha. Very pretentious. After that I decided that line of thinking wasn't for me and started using student flutes to prove my point....
the 20k was better, smooth sounds, lowest key was great, bass great too, i can feel that you dont have to blow strong on that flute, anothers are hard on this case
The ease of dynamics and tuning was the giveaway. Brannen flutes use a scale similar to Cooper (Powell) , later copied by Haynes and most of the newer semi-pro makes. Yamaha is the older traditional tuning (until their handmade models), though a nice headjoint as a rule. You can hear it on the upper end how the harmonics in the third octave sound very consistent, with nothing punching out. Note that you can get this tuning and nearly similar ease of play in the upper end Yamahas, Pearls, and of course Powell flutes for $3-$8K.
The tone is so much richer with the $20,000 one. That mouthpiece really directs the breaths to the perfect areas. Honestly, even with the $70 flute from the other video, each one gives a great performance. The higher quality, the clearer sound. Beautiful playing!
I can tell the Brannen has a beautiful mellow tone. I can tell the difference as I’ve played for 56 yrs. Yamaha is most definitely a great starter flute. I bought my daughter the 700 model as I did not want the cheapest beginner flute. But she was good at taking care of her flute. The Selmer is a definite no no. I could hear the difficulty in the higher register. But if u play as long and often like I do and u have the money, I’d go for the Brannen. Another favorite of mine which wasn’t mentioned is a muramatsu..
Totally agree. I think the difference is mostly for the player. A well made (expensive) instrument lends itself more easily to a better player. Like she says, the key is evolving with your instrument.
I do agree to an extent absolutely but you can certainly tell a difference in equipment in how well it performs and feels from cheap to expensive. When I was in a pool league and got good and the more I played I could tell the difference between the cheap pool cues and more expensive ones. I will say if you're not very good at whatever it is, good equipment won't make the slightest difference.
Jon Homrich I think, but that's just my opinion and personal background, that better instruments grant you more facility. It'll change something for you, it'll ease and help what you do, so yes, indirectly, it'll render a better performance. But I also think that really good player can have a really good sound even with a cheap and less good instrument, thanks to their technique.
Aurora Obsidian well I mean if your instruments got leaks or the values are super slow due to it being a school rental then it may put a damper in your playing
The Flute Channel the difference by who is hearing live is totally different like I thought. I couldn't hear a huge difference by hear. That's a huge problem for me because I want a wooden recorder and is so hard to decide without test lol.
but the 20k is also open holed. i find open holed flutes give a more pure polished sound. it’s a beautiful quality and the foot joint itself was exquisite. beautiful flute all around
NipItInTheBud100 You sound like the kid's parent that has to make the payments!! "Chiiillld, for $20,000? That flute better play itself AND transform into any other instrument you wanna play if you change your mind! Optimus Prime better have made that sucker!"
I thought the differences between the flutes were subtle but noticeable at first, but the dynamics changes made the differences VERY noticeable. Suddenly the cheap ones sound super raspy at high dynamics while the expensive ones have incredible richness. And the cheap ones lose their richer overtones at quiet dynamics while the more expensive ones maintain them.
This is exactly the same with singing. :) The better trained people have dynamics and control when you need it. All of them can sing (play) loud, of course.
That's exactly what I thought. The most expensive one sounds fuller. But it simply was not that big of a difference for me to put out that must money for it. I guess if I were a professional flutist, and that was my "bread and butter", I'll go ahead and get the expensive one. But then if I were going to be a for real musician of any kind, I'd rather be a cellist.
The first on had an almost sharp metallic sound, the second one had an earthy rich tone, the third one had an almost royal sound to it, the fourth one almost sounded like a graceful angelic tone but almost sounded under water
Yamaha headjoints are designed more for solo playing and jazz, as a rule, since the mid 90s, so they are more forward as a rule. If you want easy dynamics, a lot of that raw projection is lost.
@@indianangel6774 The interesting thing is that it comes down to two factors: 1: Headjoint quality and cut. You can absolutely put a $1500 headjoint on a $1500 flute and get 95% of the $10K flute's sound. This is 80-90% of a flute's "sound". 2: Tuning scale. Yamaha and many others are tuned to A=440 Bohem tuning scale.. It works acceptably well, but was designed almost 150 years ago for marching bands as a quick and reasonable tuning scheme without too many alternate fingerings. The higher end ones use modern computer-designed scales such as Cooper, Brannen, and so on. Their third octave is clean and pure, and typically they are tuned to A=442 which most orchestras now use. Myself, I have an old Powell. One of the first 20 or so made with the modern Cooper scale back in the late 80s. Lovely sound and zero issues. These are IMO, better than the new stuff since 2000 and at $3-$5K used, are a tremendous value for the serious student.
@@indianangel6774 It's tricky as the core instrument is mechanically the same - a tube that has to be in tune and have keys to operate. Materials hardly matter unless it's something odd like glass or wood. So the makers make you spend enormous amounts of money marketing the special features well as the idea that silver and gold as being "superior". In reality, 80-90% of the sound is that headjoint. How they make it all work for them is they give the basic models to newer workers or have them machine made and if you spend $10K, you are really getting the master machinist spending an hour or two fine-tuning it and the body it's attached to. So the "hack" is a cheap body and an expensive headjoint. There are numerous videos online about this, of course. And a whole sub-industry of people who only make headjoints. :)
Wow! I play clarinet. The dynamics, verbratto & tone are simply amazing on that last flute! The staccato actually resonates more so than any other. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
@@flutechannel Amazing to hear back from such a brilliant artist. Please, please keep sharing your talent with the world! You've got a gift. Where it came from will be debatable, so I'll just leave it that you're so talented that the world deserves to hear! 👂🏻👂👂🏽👂🏽👂🏾💫💯🌟💥
@@NullSchmid true there's a difference in the sound but the crux of the matter is what's behind the sound, not the instrument. The majority believe that it's the instrument that's most important.
@@NullSchmid there's an animal horn from the family of the Ram which smells rotten, gets "eaten up" by your saliva every time it's being played thus creating cavities inside the horn making the sound stuffy, hard to center the notes and extremely hard to play. Most people get one or two notes out of it but look what pro can do. ua-cam.com/video/G-Ox53zfLjk/v-deo.html
I wonder why people are saying that they cannot tell any difference when the difference is so big when it came to the dynamics control and resonance. The cheaper flutes sounded like it took great effort to blow the notes out and sounded less smooth.
Now that makes sense. I'm a musician, and all these details make a huge difference to me in musical performances. These nuances in performances show up very clearly in recorded audio productions on a clear CD recording, especially when the instrument is a solo voice or line.
The fact that she's a good player and we are listening through a recording makes it difficult for most people to tell the difference, musicians being that were trained can tell but in all honesty although I can tell the difference (I have a really sensitive ear) the biggest leap is REALLY noticeable in the 20,000 one
For a beginner to start they purposely make it that way so you have that control and air flow but she’s a professional so she can naturally adjust and make any instrument sound amazing
That's amazing how it was clear to me when she was testing the flutes, and I saw her playing. It was obviously increasing in quality, we could see how the sound was more robust. However, when she started playing all the instruments back to test for dynamics, I realized the difference was not that obvious, with exception of the first two flutes, which produced an intermitent sound. Not surprisingly, at the end, without seeing the performer, it was incredibly hard to distinguish the qualit of the sounds! What a mind trick music is!
Joel, I believe what you are hearing, for the most part is the amazing player. She can make almost any flute sound amazing. So you hear HER tone. What you don't hear is things like how long the flute will last, and how much extra tightness in her muscles she needs to achieve HER tone. If she played each of them for an hour each.. then she may be able to tell you which one killed her embouchure. Of course some flutes will be made with not such a precise measurements, or poorer quality pads, or a poorly cut embouchure hole.. and that could make a flute sound bad in anybodies hand. but on the whole, a flautist will sound the same, no matter which flute they play.
it is quite obvious between those flutes, but I was a bit surprised with the 700 dollars flute. Good for the value. And I got all the flute right in the sound testing.
Amelie is soooo talented that she can make a crappy flute sound great. I think that is the main problem. ;-) When I started playing flute I played a $300 Gemeinhardt flute and I had a difficult time playing certain notes and making it sound good. After some time I bought a much better intermediate flute (around $3000) and not only did it sound so much better, it was easier to play. In fact, when I then tried to play my Gemeinhardt flute later as a comparison, I struggled to get a good sound. So the thing that I came away from this was that it's so much easier to play and sound better on a better flute. Why struggle and get turned off by sticking with a cheap flute. I realize it's one thing if you are in grammar school and you don't know if you are going to stick with it and you are unable to take the proper care of a precision instrument, but I've found that if you are committed, buy the better instrument. It will make you sound better, it will be easier to play and learn, this will keep you committed, and you will get so much more out of it. BTW, I started playing classical guitar as a young teenager, and I found the same thing. Buy the better instrument. And if you later decide that you are no longer interested, sell it. If it has any value then you will get most of your money back. Great job guys. I just subscribed and am looking forward to seeing more of your videos!
Gemeinhardt flutes play like a lump of lead, at least mine did. I had one in high school through college, and my flute teacher had me switch with her one day when I was getting really frustrated. I don't remember what brand hers was (It was from Japan), but it was light and even throughout all registers. She even had problems getting a good sound out of mine. The instrument isn't always the problem, but it can be!
Thank you so much for detailing your experience. I haven't had proper instruction in over a decade and didn't take it seriously when I did. I was just comparing some (crappy) recordings of myself to some videos and was appalled by how hollow and screechy I sound. I'm sure a good part of it's me, but you've made an excellent point about the study/practice being more fun and easier to commit to when it's easier to produce some semblance of quality. I've had the same beginner flute for two decades and it's definitely not been well cared for in portions of that time. I've been hesitant to consider purchasing a new one, partially because I still consider myself a beginner by and large (though that's probably not quite fair), partially because I don't dedicate tons of time to it still, and this was really helpful in easing my worry about whether I was "worthy" of a newer/better instrument. Thanks! ^_^
The difference I heard was the cheapest one sound thin and you also hear the notes cut off sharply, lastly the mechanical movements can be heard on the cheapest. The most expensive one has a thicker richer tone. Each note sounds fuller. Also you don't hear any of the slaps and pops of the mechanical movements like the cheaper ones.
I never got rid of my beginner Gemienhardt flute that I got in 6th grade and through all state competitions got A ratings.. Through out my life, I have played duets with many, including professional flutists who played in symphonies, and the tone it gave me was always really fine and even better than some of those with pricey flutes.
Im a Woodwind Player. For my Ears there is a huge difference. I dont hear air pockets in between notes on the $20K Flute. Its so fluid. And the cheap flute sounds gappy and a tad clunky almost. A classical player will always go for quality.
I could hear a difference but only in the lower notes. The section they tested you with was all high notes and all sounded the same to me but in the lower notes there was a smoother, richer sound with the more expensive models.
In my trumpet book it says “raise your eyebrows to sharpen the pitch.” So your answer is: she was raising her eyebrows to correct the natural flattening tendency when she backed off on the dynamics!
The cheapest ones have several other sounds screeching quietly in the background with each note. With every step up in value, the sound becomes purer and clearer :-)
The Brannen masks the sound of each puff of air, there's no breathy echo that's very apparent in the $300 flute and less obvious in the two Yamaha. Even in the recording you can hear the escaped air very loudly on the Selmer. All you hear with the $20,000 flute is pure music.
That was from Peter & The Wolf one of my childhood favorites! Love it, very inspiring. I’m a pianist & wanted to play the flute starting in grade school but they were all out. I chose the clarinet. I joined school bands up until Highschool at Texas A&M Consolidated. I moved states & had 2 children …raised on my own. Fast forward they’re grown now & I’m ready to get back to music, including learning the flute! Thank you for this info🎼🎶
I appreciate that you played the same piece for all testing. That was such a fancy flute. I have my Gemeinhardt open holed flute from high school =) I did a step up then from a student model. I still love it
It all depends. My piano was $12,000 because it's grand piano and a great model. However, before I had an antique piano and was permanently out of tune yet I still was able to make amazing music. It wasn't much, but my grandma had bought it for me even in times of financial struggles, which made it even more remarkable. Once it got worn out and started falling apart was when I decided to buy one that was an intimidating amount, and even though the difference is so obvious, there are some things that can't replace what others made you felt.
As you go up in price the sound seems to become more mellow and has less bite to the sound. Also it seems it’s less airy and breathy. The 300 one make a breathy sound similar to when you blow a bottle and the air leaks without all of it turning into vibrating sound
@@moniquedhooghe hi.sorry I know nothing about flute. so, you have to regulate/tune your flute? How regular you have to do it? If you dont regulate it , will it be out of tune? So, it basically works just like a piano? which you have to " tune " regularly?
This video was a real eye-opener! When the different flutes were tested in the music shop, I was able to hear the differences between flutes--most especially the high-end $20K flute, which sounded pretty smooth. Afterwards in the studio listening-test, it was more difficult to hear the nuances between flutes. I couldn't tell the low-end from the high-end flutes. In the end, it made the most sense to purchase the $700 flute. Especially when a professional Flautist had difficulty determining the difference in sound between a $700 and the $20K flute! Thank you for this lesson on not allowing the hype determine how much damage one may do to their bank-account! :)
My experience as a flute player is that cheaper flutes are more difficult to play. But any decent flute in the hands of a good player will sound good. And you won't know if it's a $700 flute or a $20,000 flute if they don't tell you.
Peter and the wolf. Sounds beautiful. Can’t beat a Yamaha. I’ve been playing for 30 years but would love to start lessons again. Edit: 142 likes? Thank you lovely people in Fluteland. 😊
i feel like i can hear the difference, but i also think im just convincing myself because i know which ones are more expensive. a blind test, or at least blind for us, would have been better but still cool video.
Exactly. There really isn't $17,700 worth of difference in the tone of these. It would also be interesting if the musician doesn't know beforehand which instrument is which. I know if I were handed a $30k Friedrich classical guitar I'd probably play it a little differently from a $300 factory-made.
I can hear the difference 100%. However it is important to note that your training is at a high level. Your talent and training allows you to do fabulous things...;0 ) thx for the demo!
I've been learning the flute for three years now. I still get so much from watching your videos. Thank you. Question: is a more expensive flute easier to play? Best wishes, from London, England.
I started on the Yamaha 222, but it was rickety, so now I use a Jupiter open hole flute, but the the Yamaha ones usually sound good. Gemeinhardt is good too
I have a gemeinhardt open holed student model- weird ik- its the afl 310 with a c foot joint. I out grew the flute, power wise, and now I have yo get a new one. The gemeinhardts will crack too easily also.
I have a Gemeinhardt 22SP-never played another flute, and I’m a beginner on flute, but to be honest it’s given me the least trouble of any musical instrument I’ve ever owned. Well, unless another flute would never give me a split tone on second octave E...
This video is pure proof of the benefit. Sure, the player's ability plays a great role, but tone quality becomes richer and fuller with brand and cost.
I played my mom’s student/beginner flute. Had new pads and corks put in before I started in 4th grade. Always thought it had better sound than most of my fellow flutists.
Hi! I'm not at all into instruments but I have been building loudspeakers and audio systems for over 25 years. This video will be my future reference video for comparing systems, when listening to a single flute. Thank you so much for making this awesome video! =)
The more expensive flutes sound much more rich than than the less expensive ones. Same story with the instrument I play - the cheaper harps sound fine, but the more expensive ones sound so.... so rich. So much better
I know nothing of flutes and really only ended up here after showing my son, starting 6th grade band, some various videos on instruments. I have to say, even over a smartphone speaker, that last flute sounded amazing compared to the others! I am not a musician, but it sounded so smooth. It seemed like it was playing in a studio with sound deadening foam, the sound just seemed pure! I don't know if that really makes sense, but I was so impressed I just felt compelled to comment on it. I'm basically poor but could see how one would spend the money should they have it and this was their desire. I'd love to hear the difference in person. Anyway, back down the rabbit hole I go....
Yes indeed you can tell the difference in sound specially in the one that cost $10,000 the notes come cristal clear, distinguishable and highly fluid beautiful notes indeed. In a case like this the price in the instrument do make a difference.
20k one really has a smooth sound. It has a continuous sound not broken or jarring. 20k is really good sounding. Seems to have a soul. Like a person and personality
I don't know anything about the flute although I am a musician of multiple decades with a good ear. That said this lady's excellent technique and ability to adjust to the physical challenges of the lesser models made it hard to point out tonal differences and flaws in the individual instruments. In fact the only things that stood out for me was the rather unpleasant sounding higher notes of the Selmer and the full warm and balanced sound of the $20,000 Brannen. (although I have to say that comparatively speaking the Yamaha 222 at 2 Grand seems like an excellent deal!)
I don't play flute, but I play the clarinet. I can tell the difference. The quality and residence get better with the make and model as well for efficient air flow to create that beauitful flute tone. Also the music is from Peter and the Wolf.
I really can't tell the difference. My question is did you feel a difference playing them. Did you have to work harder to produce a good tone and dynamics on the less expensive flutes. I own three flutes. One is an Accent student flute that is as cheap as they come, $12.00 off Ebay. A Selmer with a silver head and an Amadeus AF900 that is all silver. The cheapest flute plays the easiest.
$12 off eBay for Selmer?? Dang hook me up because I need a cheap flute for Marching Band and I used a Yamaha 381 this year because I didn't have any other flutes and it was for a solo but it got like scratched up lol.. Rip
@James Lin The Accent flute was $12.00, The Selmer was $150 and then another $150 with a tech to get it playable. I spent about $3,000 for the Amadeus. Beware cheap flutes off Ebay. I got a few that were beyond repair and returned one and kept one to make a lamp.
The $12 flute was from a Goodwill store. I got another flute from another Goodwill store that claimed it was "tested" and it must have been tested as a paperweight because it sure didn't play.
I got them all right, but not because of the sounds of the flute -- I just remembered, "Oh, she blew that one note a little whispery on the Brannen," or "She held that other note a little longer on the 221," etc. I couldn't tell the flutes apart, but I could tell the performances apart. I don't think that counts.
No clue why you have an attitude about this. As a musician, I'm incapable of playing anything exactly the same way every time -- no musician does. It's not that hard to tell apart different performances if you're used to listening for detail. No "golden ears" needed, just patience and training.
I wouldn't worry to much Janis, everyone has a different path towards there journey in music. Keep it up and don't let Jakob confuse you. Its all a matter of taste and this "Idea" of perfection or near too. Just a different opinion. But I share yours as well.
Yes, the Brannen sounds wonderful. I’m glad you tried dynamics, high register with the other flutes, too. Great post. The beginner flutes are easier for a beginner to play.
The buttoms get significently quiter each time until they were almost silent, but I can still hear the metallic air flow in the most expensive one, which surprised me... I thought the diffrences would be much more noticeable like with guitars, where you literally only hear the pure tone on high end instruments played by a skilled musician. On cheap ones you can hear everything slightly wrong with the build, you even have multiple dead-spot which doesn't produce the right note and resonance-katastrophy-points (rkp) which causes the whole body to vibrate violently. We once wrote a song around my base-guitars' rkp which made our drummers snare go crazy and actually picked up the frequency of the lead guitar, unfortunately it only worked well in small rooms - still a lot of fun.
I can certainly can hear the big difference dramatically between the first two flutes, and then the jump to the $20k was quite easy to hear. The one with the gold mouth rest sounded lovely and (very surprising to me) the one with the channeled air flow sounded the nicest to me.
The more expensive flutes sound clearer and more resonant, especially at the softer Dynamics. The cheaper models almost sound unsupported at soft Dynamics
I think it is the basic ones... because mine is a Yamaha basic ones and it was around 500, so... and the place you put your fingers, if there is holes, those are for higher level players
In vietnam( where I'm living), the cost for an instrument people would buy would be around $20 - $200 on average. I actually play vietnamese bamboo flute and dizi, which costs like $15 for each one of those. I'd still really love to have a flute around $500 though, but ya know, it's money we're talking about lol.
John Douglas yes, I agree. She's very accomplished. She can make a cheap instrument sound wonderful. I admire her skill, regardless of the expense of the instrument she's playing.
In your test at end of video, I liked the sound of first flute over all the others. You can tell immediately with the tone of the high notes. They are smooth, not harsh.
Yay!! I've never taken music before but I got the listening test right! The way I could tell is that the more economic flutes where a bit more shrill and the sound waves seemed to "scratch" or "trip over" the air a bit. Also the higher end ones had better volume control and a warmer sort of sound.
I can definitely hear the difference between the two. One sounds deeper and richer while the other sounds like a normal sound. May I ask what songs you are playing?? I would love to try those exercises. Beautiful. Love your intonation!
You make them all sound good and I wouldn’t have been able to tell which flute was which during the test. As long as the flute is functioning properly it’s much more about the player than the instrument.
Amazing playing I was only sure about seller. I listened three times without looking and guessed the same as her. I think second may have been faster and sounded, "better". I really couldn't tell any difference besides the selmer. I am not a good player, and just double sometimes from sax. Flute is so much more difficult than a saxophones. Saxophones altisimo overtones are very difficult; however.
WOW- when I was like 7 or something I found this video, it seemed cool to me and I wanted to play the flute when I grew up because it sounded so beautiful. Now that I’m like 11, I first joined middle school weeks ago and I got a little elective and I chose band. When I chose my instrument I chose flute without knowing I wanted it back then because I completely forgot this existed and I still thought it sounded beautiful. I just found this video again and I think it was destined because there was no other way I chose flute. Thank you The Flute Channel for making my childhood a lot better. I know probably no one cares but I just randomly got a lot of energy and wanted to post this comment.
![Glory Flute Unboxing & Review [Cheapest Amazon Flute (2020) Tested by Pro Flutist]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eN2AcSeLx5o/mqdefault.jpg)
My flute was 1,400$ and when I play it sounds like a dollar tree recorder .
The musician makes a difference.
Lol
My flute was €3, it's fantastic
that's your technique issue
My flute was about $1400 from Yamaha and when I play, it sounds like a 2 year old playing it like crap
Same but I’m getting better
My flute is $550 but I make it sound like $20
Spoonface McGee Mega Oof
Hehehe and I make my flute sound like a $1,99 one....snif snif
I can almost relate.
You and me both, pal!
I nearly spat out my drink reading this. Big mood
I began playing the flute at the age of 9 years. I am now 78 and play every day. I am not - and never could be - as good as the Flute Master, Sir James Galway! However, I was a good enough flutist in high school that my parents gifted me with a Haynes flute/piccolo set that I auditioned with to earn a small music scholarship to college and that I played in symphonies and symphonic/jazz bands then. Throughout my life I have continued to play in municipal bands in every city where I have lived for over sixty-nine years. I had a UHAUL moving van stolen a few years ago in Seattle. All of my instruments and music (and everything else I owned) was in the van. My household insurance did not cover the theft - I was covered for fire, water, and collision damage - but not for 'theft of contents' of the moving van. (It was a terrible way to learn a hard lesson! I had not read the fine print of my policy - and never could have dreamed that a moving van I was renting would be stolen.) I am a retiree on a limited income and will never be able to replace my good flute set - now worth more than $10k - but I inherited an Armstrong 90 flute from a Great Aunt upon her death. It isn't my Haynes, but it is priceless to me. I love to play and am thankful that I still can move my fingers somewhat! I could tell the difference between the flutes in this demonstration, but I would have enjoyed listening to ANY of them as they were played herein. Thank you. My name is Jane.
Thanks Jane for watching! Also I really enjoyed the story you shared with me and the community. I hope your musical journey continues and I'm happy to have met you here in the community!
Awww lovely life and story!
What a devestating experience! How awful. Yes, keep playing that Armstrong ~~ a very good flute. My life has been kind of like yours. I have my flutes insured through a Valuable Items policy that is tacked on to our House Insurance. After reading what your wrote, I’m going to check whether it covers theft. Also you might contact the Haynes Flute Co. to learn if your flute and piccolo serial number was “registered” when they were sold to them for you. I read recently about a young woman whose Haynes was stolen. It took ten years for her to get it back. Someone wanted to pawn it. The owner of the pawn shop contacted Haynes, he learned that it was on the “stolen” list, and then he contacted police (not sure if that was the order of it), then this young woman got her flute back.
I practive every day to keep to keep my flute embouchure and fingers moving, too. I’m 67.
Used Haynes are in the $5,000-10,000 range. In 2019, I tried out a Brannen Cooper flute at the New York Flute Fair. I know they’re all the rage, but IMOHO not superior to my silver open hole 1975 Haynes. Then I went over to the Haynes table and tried out a $55,00 new gold (not sure which K) Haynes. Now that flute was, as they say in NY, “like butta” ~~ so flexible, full round sound. It was wonderful just to have the chance to play it. I think the days of everyone just swiping of the mouthpiece and trying different flutes is going to gone, for a while...
Jane sorry to hear about your loss. As a music person myself. Omgoodness that would have been a blow.
But all was not lost, your Aunt left you 1 how lucky it turned out. Not only that you have played for all those years in bands. You are rich in experience. Thank you for sharing . All the best.🎼
You can get used Haynes flutes from Flute Specialists and other good shops from the classic 40s/50s era (Haynes commercial model) for under $3K. They go for such low prices because the focus back then was on clarity and tone versus projection and volume. And everyone wants the loudest flute possible currently, B footjoints, and all the other shiny things. Yet the sound from a Haynes from then is still stunning.
What I learned between my beginner flute and professional student flute was that the instrument and the instrumentalist both have an effect on the sound. My beginner flute held me back a lot, and the professional student flute helped my sound. But, conversely, after I had learned more things that I could do on the professional student flute, I could go back to my beginner flute and make it sound better. It's a very interesting subject, in my opinion.
You can really hear the difference on the low and high end with the expensive flute. Great playing.
the sound was much less focused on the Prelude. The note resolution sounded less as well. There was more low end but it was messy. Overall it was a bit sloppy, but that may have been her playing a less-than-inspiring flute. The difference between the prelude and the 221 was very noticeable. the 221 to the 381was not quite as noticeable. To my ears, not much difference at all between the yamaha 381to the $2000 flute was negligible. I don't feel that the Brannen was 10x the flute that the Yamaha 381 was. This shows that, like most other instruments, it may come down to feel, balance, weight, playability and just whether or not it moves you, more than sound. A low end instrument is always going to be a low end instrument, though. I'd be comfortable concerting with 381 or even the 221 in a pinch. $20k is a luxury if you're not a high-end professional.
The yamaha $2000 sounded quite nice on the high pitch.
There was a difference. Just no twenty grands worth of difference.
It's only preceived by the player, and it's all about the player to get different colors out of it.
Give me all of those, and they will all sound like 20$ broken instruments :)
ChristianIce same hahahaaha
Wha ha ha ha
Proprio quel Christianice???
Lo sborone sotto i video americani hahahaha. Comunque concordo. Esiste un range in tutti i prodotti in cui il prezzo segue un andamento esponenziale ma la qualità rimane prossochè stazionaria. Come regola generale possiamo dire che prendendo il più costoso e il meno costoso ... A circa 2/3 di questo range hai raggiunto bene o male il top, tanto che molte cose costosissime hanno poi qualità inferiori rispetto ad altre con prezzi minori
I make mine sound around from $100 - $500 lolol
Me: Nah $700 is way too expensive
Her: This flute is $20,000
Me: HOLY CRAP
exactly
My flute was 80 bucks and i thought that was expensive!!!
My first one was the Yamaha 221 they used, and I was lucky to buy mine "used" for $300 😂 but it was in basically brand new shape so I really lucked out. Its a really nice flute actually, I've had it for years
It's a business investment at that point. I think most musicians trade up their instruments over time. Or get someone to sponsor.
@Paradise Gaming Rhoden now 667
More expensive flutes generally can hit higher notes without bursting your ear drums- you can still hit higher notes on a cheaper ones, but they're going to sound whiny and screech basically
Thanks for the info, now I know why my band teacher hates me :)
Tao Li LOL!!!!!
Ohhhhh that’s the difference
It mostly depends on what position your mouth is in, but that's true too😊
Yes, I felt the Selmer wanted to be "blasty", if that term makes sense.
Well, “cheap flute” is expensive to me
EverBrin I play saxophone but I FELT that
ichimatsu yes
the more expensive the more flutes you gonna buy
I can say you don't have to play a flute over 200 dollars to make it to second flute. I played a 80 dollar one for a year and a half when I began. Really just depends on how you care for the flute. Mine is quite tarnished now. It was made from I think brass. So not the best sound but great to start on. Cheaper flutes are harder to use in most cases so when you can afford a better one it'll feel like a big skill increase.
LMAO SAME 😂
I have homework to do. I don’t play the flute. I have no interest in buying a flute. And yet, here I am.
but you have a great name melody. I also appreciate you giving the video a chance. But you should also do you homework!
lmao omg so true same here ahahah
Me too
melody adams I started flute today lool
melody adams sanmmmmme
Everyone: oh wow 400 dollars to buy a flute expensive
Me who plays cello: 👁👄👁
I’ve been playing for 7 years and I still can only rent it
I can’t imagine the connection between a cello player and his instrument when he played the same for several years. I don’t think any instrument can vibrates more Ith your body already. Hope you got your own cello, it s certainly worth some sacrifices.
@Rozza Top a cheaper cello can be around 2000 dollars and a more professional cello can start from 10,000
Me who got my flute for 100 dollars with a music stand and a flute stand-
cello's cost alot
90% of comments: why am I here I play another instrument?!
me: why am I here I play flute but I suck
Sythe omg same
same
And I am the 1% who don’t play an instrument but wants to see how big of an impact it will do if I do instruments
Sythe Same
same
The thing is purity of sound. There is so much extra air in the sound. A rasp sort of sound. The expensive was extremely clear and pure with little to no extra air or lack of clarity. It's the east equivalent of running mercury vs a rusty pipe.
Thanks for wording exactly what I was hearing! I could really hear a difference but couldn't quite pinpoint how to word it. The only word I could think of is everything sounds "warmer" the more expensive you get.
She is super talented though so she can make a bad flute sound pretty good, I'm not surprised that a lot of people cant tell too much of a difference. But you hit the nail on the head.
DaemonisOpus exactly, however she is so amazing playing it that I would not be able to tell the difference in a live latin band context with drums, percussion piano etc
@@Sam-cn8xw I could tell the second one had a more robust sound like it's thicker from having heavier or thicker or more dense materials.
I wonder if it's possible to modify a cheap flute so that it can sound more clear and pure
I have a $700 Andreas Eastman flute that has lasted me close to 10 years and it has amazing tone. But as soon as I went to a shop and tried the $10,000 flute, I could feel the difference in my playing. I didn't have to work as hard to hit the high notes and I was in heaven
Being a flutist for 56 yrs, i can tell the difference. The difference in the tonal quality. My dream flute is a muramatsu!
Gold, off set G with engraving in the lip plate! Beautiful playing!
And how much would that cost???
@@Keyboardman88 Looks to be about 10k to 30k
For that price you could buy over 20 flutes. We just heard they all sound the same pretty much
Waste of money. She couldn't tell the difference in her own playing. Thought the student model Yamaha 221 was a Brannen! It's all about the player. Material makes some difference, but a good player will make anything sound good and on the flip side a $50k Flute can sound like garbage in the wrong hands. I sold off my Yamah 600 series and Haynes and now play a used student model Gemeinhardt. It is a tad airy, but not by a lot. And when I flip between it and my very round cut embrouchure wooden Irish flute, I can get an even clearer tone on the Gemeinhardt. I'm over 40yrs playing and pretty proficient. I decided not to get hung up on brand names after a college audition where the Prof was more concerned about her Powell vs my 600 series Yamaha. Very pretentious. After that I decided that line of thinking wasn't for me and started using student flutes to prove my point....
the 20k was better, smooth sounds, lowest key was great, bass great too, i can feel that you dont have to blow strong on that flute, anothers are hard on this case
The ease of dynamics and tuning was the giveaway. Brannen flutes use a scale similar to Cooper (Powell) , later copied by Haynes and most of the newer semi-pro makes. Yamaha is the older traditional tuning (until their handmade models), though a nice headjoint as a rule. You can hear it on the upper end how the harmonics in the third octave sound very consistent, with nothing punching out.
Note that you can get this tuning and nearly similar ease of play in the upper end Yamahas, Pearls, and of course Powell flutes for $3-$8K.
The tone is so much richer with the $20,000 one. That mouthpiece really directs the breaths to the perfect areas. Honestly, even with the $70 flute from the other video, each one gives a great performance. The higher quality, the clearer sound. Beautiful playing!
Your smart
0:26 $300 Selmer
1:16 $700 Yamaha
2:10 $2000 Yamaha
3:45 $20,000 Brannen
I can tell the Brannen has a beautiful mellow tone. I can tell the difference as I’ve played for 56 yrs. Yamaha is most definitely a great starter flute. I bought my daughter the 700 model as I did not want the cheapest beginner flute. But she was good at taking care of her flute. The Selmer is a definite no no. I could hear the difficulty in the higher register. But if u play as long and often like I do and u have the money, I’d go for the Brannen. Another favorite of mine which wasn’t mentioned is a muramatsu..
Before I got my brannen I had a muramatsu ex :) served me well for many years and I love it
i'm in high school, i've been using an Azumi w/ Altus headjoint for a while now and it's been great. i love the tone in the upper registers
I attended a masterclass with James Galway. He played several people's flutes. You could tell the difference, but he made them all souls like magic.
Omg I love James Galway!!
why not get a 10 cent kazoo and poke another hole in it?
Thats not how it works
Yeah but that IS how jokes work.
This made me laugh
Brendan Burnham I bought a $3 kazoo, and it still sounded like a $3 kazoo... I think it was in my embouchure...
You on kazoo
This is how you recognise good players : they can have a great sound even with less good and cheaper instruments...
mighty kind of you. thanks for watching!
Totally agree. I think the difference is mostly for the player. A well made (expensive) instrument lends itself more easily to a better player. Like she says, the key is evolving with your instrument.
I do agree to an extent absolutely but you can certainly tell a difference in equipment in how well it performs and feels from cheap to expensive. When I was in a pool league and got good and the more I played I could tell the difference between the cheap pool cues and more expensive ones. I will say if you're not very good at whatever it is, good equipment won't make the slightest difference.
Jon Homrich I think, but that's just my opinion and personal background, that better instruments grant you more facility. It'll change something for you, it'll ease and help what you do, so yes, indirectly, it'll render a better performance.
But I also think that really good player can have a really good sound even with a cheap and less good instrument, thanks to their technique.
Aurora Obsidian well I mean if your instruments got leaks or the values are super slow due to it being a school rental then it may put a damper in your playing
I can definitely hear how clean the sounds are as the flute gets more expensive...
definitely
I'd go with the $5 kazoo.
200 tickets at Dave and Busters ma dude, that's the way to go.
dry5555 lol
I got my for a dollar at the dollar store
dry5555 too pricy man, gotta get that $2.50 kazoo from a hobo outside of walmart
dry5555 5 u can get a play toy kazzoka at Dollar Tree
I can definitely hear a difference, but it's not very significant between the low end and high end flutes. The $20k flute sounds more pure, less airy.
a great observation! the difference are subtle, but in person you can feel a BIG difference!
The Flute Channel the difference by who is hearing live is totally different like I thought. I couldn't hear a huge difference by hear. That's a huge problem for me because I want a wooden recorder and is so hard to decide without test lol.
That's the point. :)
but the 20k is also open holed. i find open holed flutes give a more pure polished sound. it’s a beautiful quality and the foot joint itself was exquisite. beautiful flute all around
For $20,000 that flute should play itself.....lol
lol!!!
I wish! lol
😂
NipItInTheBud100 and drive me somewhere while playing itself lol, that’s Car money right there
NipItInTheBud100 You sound like the kid's parent that has to make the payments!! "Chiiillld, for $20,000? That flute better play itself AND transform into any other instrument you wanna play if you change your mind! Optimus Prime better have made that sucker!"
I thought the differences between the flutes were subtle but noticeable at first, but the dynamics changes made the differences VERY noticeable. Suddenly the cheap ones sound super raspy at high dynamics while the expensive ones have incredible richness. And the cheap ones lose their richer overtones at quiet dynamics while the more expensive ones maintain them.
This is exactly the same with singing. :) The better trained people have dynamics and control when you need it. All of them can sing (play) loud, of course.
the expensive one has a clear crisp sound without bristling and rustles and whisping air
Doc Hollowood it’d better with a cost that many don’t see in a year. Some countries, not in a lifetime.
With the cheapest one I can hear almost a rattling is if the parts aren't well together, as you go up the clarity in sounds goes up.
The more expensive flute sounds more full bodied and less squeaky. They all sound good overall though!
That's exactly what I thought. The most expensive one sounds fuller. But it simply was not that big of a difference for me to put out that must money for it. I guess if I were a professional flutist, and that was my "bread and butter", I'll go ahead and get the expensive one. But then if I were going to be a for real musician of any kind, I'd rather be a cellist.
The Brannen sound made me smile. The price made me cry. If I were a professional, I would gladly pay that or more for the sound quality.
Why am I watching this at 3AM
I hope because you curious, but you should get some rest!
OwnSideOfParadise o my why!?!? 3AM tho
OwnSideOfParadise Same
me at midnight rn 😂
I'm watching at 3:00 P.M.
The first on had an almost sharp metallic sound, the second one had an earthy rich tone, the third one had an almost royal sound to it, the fourth one almost sounded like a graceful angelic tone but almost sounded under water
Yamaha headjoints are designed more for solo playing and jazz, as a rule, since the mid 90s, so they are more forward as a rule. If you want easy dynamics, a lot of that raw projection is lost.
So it became more and refined as price tag increases. Metallic > Earthy >Royal> Angelic
@@indianangel6774 The interesting thing is that it comes down to two factors:
1: Headjoint quality and cut. You can absolutely put a $1500 headjoint on a $1500 flute and get 95% of the $10K flute's sound.
This is 80-90% of a flute's "sound".
2: Tuning scale. Yamaha and many others are tuned to A=440 Bohem tuning scale.. It works acceptably well, but was designed almost 150 years ago for marching bands as a quick and reasonable tuning scheme without too many alternate fingerings. The higher end ones use modern computer-designed scales such as Cooper, Brannen, and so on. Their third octave is clean and pure, and typically they are tuned to A=442 which most orchestras now use.
Myself, I have an old Powell. One of the first 20 or so made with the modern Cooper scale back in the late 80s. Lovely sound and zero issues. These are IMO, better than the new stuff since 2000 and at $3-$5K used, are a tremendous value for the serious student.
@@indianangel6774 It's tricky as the core instrument is mechanically the same - a tube that has to be in tune and have keys to operate. Materials hardly matter unless it's something odd like glass or wood. So the makers make you spend enormous amounts of money marketing the special features well as the idea that silver and gold as being "superior".
In reality, 80-90% of the sound is that headjoint.
How they make it all work for them is they give the basic models to newer workers or have them machine made and if you spend $10K, you are really getting the master machinist spending an hour or two fine-tuning it and the body it's attached to.
So the "hack" is a cheap body and an expensive headjoint. There are numerous videos online about this, of course. And a whole sub-industry of people who only make headjoints. :)
Wow! I play clarinet. The dynamics, verbratto & tone are simply amazing on that last flute! The staccato actually resonates more so than any other. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
pleasure!
Same
@@flutechannel Amazing to hear back from such a brilliant artist. Please, please keep sharing your talent with the world! You've got a gift. Where it came from will be debatable, so I'll just leave it that you're so talented that the world deserves to hear! 👂🏻👂👂🏽👂🏽👂🏾💫💯🌟💥
You are playing the one thing i want to learn to play. The flute solo for peter and the wolf. Love it!
A pro musician can make a $20.00 instrument sound like a $20,000.00 instrument.
But there is a difference with most instruments
@@NullSchmid true there's a difference in the sound but the crux of the matter is what's behind the sound, not the instrument. The majority believe that it's the instrument that's most important.
@@NullSchmid there's an animal horn from the family of the Ram which smells rotten, gets "eaten up" by your saliva every time it's being played thus creating cavities inside the horn making the sound stuffy, hard to center the notes and extremely hard to play. Most people get one or two notes out of it but look what pro can do. ua-cam.com/video/G-Ox53zfLjk/v-deo.html
Not always
Liad Bar-EL preach
I wonder why people are saying that they cannot tell any difference when the difference is so big when it came to the dynamics control and resonance. The cheaper flutes sounded like it took great effort to blow the notes out and sounded less smooth.
Aikawa Miken I cant tell the difference because I don’t play instruments
Now that makes sense. I'm a musician, and all these details make a huge difference to me in musical performances. These nuances in performances show up very clearly in recorded audio productions on a clear CD recording, especially when the instrument is a solo voice or line.
The fact that she's a good player and we are listening through a recording makes it difficult for most people to tell the difference, musicians being that were trained can tell but in all honesty although I can tell the difference (I have a really sensitive ear) the biggest leap is REALLY noticeable in the 20,000 one
For a beginner to start they purposely make it that way so you have that control and air flow but she’s a professional so she can naturally adjust and make any instrument sound amazing
That's amazing how it was clear to me when she was testing the flutes, and I saw her playing. It was obviously increasing in quality, we could see how the sound was more robust. However, when she started playing all the instruments back to test for dynamics, I realized the difference was not that obvious, with exception of the first two flutes, which produced an intermitent sound. Not surprisingly, at the end, without seeing the performer, it was incredibly hard to distinguish the qualit of the sounds! What a mind trick music is!
thanks for sharing your comment!
The sound of the high end flute is gorgeous. This makes me want to have my flute adjusted and play it once again.
i honestly can't hear the difference between the 700 and the 20 000$ flute. but i hear a difference with the 300$
so many in the comments think the same! thanks so much for watching Joel!
Joel, I believe what you are hearing, for the most part is the amazing player. She can make almost any flute sound amazing. So you hear HER tone. What you don't hear is things like how long the flute will last, and how much extra tightness in her muscles she needs to achieve HER tone. If she played each of them for an hour each.. then she may be able to tell you which one killed her embouchure.
Of course some flutes will be made with not such a precise measurements, or poorer quality pads, or a poorly cut embouchure hole.. and that could make a flute sound bad in anybodies hand. but on the whole, a flautist will sound the same, no matter which flute they play.
it is quite obvious between those flutes, but I was a bit surprised with the 700 dollars flute. Good for the value. And I got all the flute right in the sound testing.
So do I !
cloth ears m'lad. go listen to some 2018's music
Amelie is soooo talented that she can make a crappy flute sound great. I think that is the main problem. ;-)
When I started playing flute I played a $300 Gemeinhardt flute and I had a difficult time playing certain notes and making it sound good. After some time I bought a much better intermediate flute (around $3000) and not only did it sound so much better, it was easier to play. In fact, when I then tried to play my Gemeinhardt flute later as a comparison, I struggled to get a good sound.
So the thing that I came away from this was that it's so much easier to play and sound better on a better flute. Why struggle and get turned off by sticking with a cheap flute. I realize it's one thing if you are in grammar school and you don't know if you are going to stick with it and you are unable to take the proper care of a precision instrument, but I've found that if you are committed, buy the better instrument. It will make you sound better, it will be easier to play and learn, this will keep you committed, and you will get so much more out of it.
BTW, I started playing classical guitar as a young teenager, and I found the same thing. Buy the better instrument. And if you later decide that you are no longer interested, sell it. If it has any value then you will get most of your money back.
Great job guys. I just subscribed and am looking forward to seeing more of your videos!
100% agree!
"Why struggle and get turned off by sticking with a cheap flute." Ummmm... maybe because some of us can't afford to spend $3000 on a flute?
Gemeinhardt flutes play like a lump of lead, at least mine did. I had one in high school through college, and my flute teacher had me switch with her one day when I was getting really frustrated. I don't remember what brand hers was (It was from Japan), but it was light and even throughout all registers. She even had problems getting a good sound out of mine. The instrument isn't always the problem, but it can be!
@@greggreed5409 I was like wtf 3000 for a flute
Thank you so much for detailing your experience. I haven't had proper instruction in over a decade and didn't take it seriously when I did. I was just comparing some (crappy) recordings of myself to some videos and was appalled by how hollow and screechy I sound. I'm sure a good part of it's me, but you've made an excellent point about the study/practice being more fun and easier to commit to when it's easier to produce some semblance of quality. I've had the same beginner flute for two decades and it's definitely not been well cared for in portions of that time. I've been hesitant to consider purchasing a new one, partially because I still consider myself a beginner by and large (though that's probably not quite fair), partially because I don't dedicate tons of time to it still, and this was really helpful in easing my worry about whether I was "worthy" of a newer/better instrument. Thanks! ^_^
The difference I heard was the cheapest one sound thin and you also hear the notes cut off sharply, lastly the mechanical movements can be heard on the cheapest. The most expensive one has a thicker richer tone. Each note sounds fuller. Also you don't hear any of the slaps and pops of the mechanical movements like the cheaper ones.
I never got rid of my beginner Gemienhardt flute that I got in 6th grade and through all state competitions got A ratings.. Through out my life, I have played duets with many, including professional flutists who played in symphonies, and the tone it gave me was always really fine and even better than some of those with pricey flutes.
Im a Woodwind Player. For my Ears there is a huge difference. I dont hear air pockets in between notes on the $20K Flute. Its so fluid. And the cheap flute sounds gappy and a tad clunky almost. A classical player will always go for quality.
thanks for watching Adam!
For $20,000 that flute better summon a magic Genie when played that grants me 3 wishes.
frrr lol
For $20,000 it better at least get me from point A to point B
I could hear a difference but only in the lower notes. The section they tested you with was all high notes and all sounded the same to me but in the lower notes there was a smoother, richer sound with the more expensive models.
Very nice analysis! Are you flutists or an avid listener, musician?
Also the pitch is warped less when she gets louder on the nicer flutes. You also hear less air on the nicer ones
Sorry for the late reply! For some reason I didn't see it... I'm simply an audiophile with an audio recording degree LOL.
Can you hear the difference between an expensive flute and an even more expensive flute*
Lol this made me literally laugh out loud... I'm right there with ya.
The $300 one is pretty low priced when it comes to instruments.
300 is hella cheap and I don’t even play flue. My tuba in middle school was like 16k dollars counting the case
For an instrument that is cheap, a begining level clarinet is $850
My broke college student $14 bank account says a kazoo from the dollar store might be pushing it
Peter and the Wolf - Bird Theme:
Selmer Prelude: 00:31
Yamaha 222: 1:27
Yamaha 381: 2:33
Brannen: 4:01
Wow I haven't played the flute in ages, it made me want to go back to playing even if mine's the cheapest type lol
I didn't know you play dynamics with your eyebrows on the flute
its all about the eyebrows, flutists insider secret. ;)
Haha. No wonder I was terrible at it, I ended up playing violin because the flute was too complicated.
In my trumpet book it says “raise your eyebrows to sharpen the pitch.” So your answer is: she was raising her eyebrows to correct the natural flattening tendency when she backed off on the dynamics!
Measure By Measure Whoo, I'm a violinist!! 👍👍😉😉
I do too
The cheapest ones have several other sounds screeching quietly in the background with each note. With every step up in value, the sound becomes purer and clearer :-)
Thanks for the comment, loved reading it! What are other things that you can definitely tell the difference with?
The Brannen masks the sound of each puff of air, there's no breathy echo that's very apparent in the $300 flute and less obvious in the two Yamaha. Even in the recording you can hear the escaped air very loudly on the Selmer. All you hear with the $20,000 flute is pure music.
That was from Peter & The Wolf one of my childhood favorites! Love it, very inspiring.
I’m a pianist & wanted to play the flute starting in grade school but they were all out. I chose the clarinet. I joined school bands up until Highschool at Texas A&M Consolidated. I moved states & had 2 children …raised on my own. Fast forward they’re grown now & I’m ready to get back to music, including learning the flute! Thank you for this info🎼🎶
I appreciate that you played the same piece for all testing. That was such a fancy flute. I have my Gemeinhardt open holed flute from high school =) I did a step up then from a student model. I still love it
Tbh $300 is still a lot for me haha. Also, the more expensive we went, I think it's more the fact that you're a good player ;)
StrawberryHero yeah i agree lmao
Yeah
I don't even have $300 dollars
lol 😂
I feel the same when people talk about guitar models. I bought mine for $35 used and I'm really happy with it
It all depends. My piano was $12,000 because it's grand piano and a great model. However, before I had an antique piano and was permanently out of tune yet I still was able to make amazing music. It wasn't much, but my grandma had bought it for me even in times of financial struggles, which made it even more remarkable. Once it got worn out and started falling apart was when I decided to buy one that was an intimidating amount, and even though the difference is so obvious, there are some things that can't replace what others made you felt.
Sounds as if the more expensive flute have fuller tone and better response and dynamics.
you would be right!
As you go up in price the sound seems to become more mellow and has less bite to the sound. Also it seems it’s less airy and breathy. The 300 one make a breathy sound similar to when you blow a bottle and the air leaks without all of it turning into vibrating sound
can you regulate my flute pls? (it's in the 50 range and needs refurbishing, lol)
lol, 500. as in what it cost 20 years ago
@@moniquedhooghe hi.sorry I know nothing about flute. so, you have to regulate/tune your flute?
How regular you have to do it?
If you dont regulate it , will it be out of tune? So, it basically works just like a piano? which you have to " tune " regularly?
This video was a real eye-opener! When the different flutes were tested in the music shop, I was able to hear the differences between flutes--most especially the high-end $20K flute, which sounded pretty smooth. Afterwards in the studio listening-test, it was more difficult to hear the nuances between flutes. I couldn't tell the low-end from the high-end flutes. In the end, it made the most sense to purchase the $700 flute. Especially when a professional Flautist had difficulty determining the difference in sound between a $700 and the $20K flute! Thank you for this lesson on not allowing the hype determine how much damage one may do to their bank-account! :)
My experience as a flute player is that cheaper flutes are more difficult to play. But any decent flute in the hands of a good player will sound good. And you won't know if it's a $700 flute or a $20,000 flute if they don't tell you.
Peter and the wolf. Sounds beautiful. Can’t beat a Yamaha. I’ve been playing for 30 years but would love to start lessons again.
Edit: 142 likes? Thank you lovely people in Fluteland. 😊
if you ever want lessons we offer online ones. let me know also thanks so much for watching
I started lessons again two years ago after 30 years of playing with no instruction. It's been amazing! Encourage you to go for it.
so happy to hear so many people starting back up! Thanks sharon for sharing! If you ever have questions or comments let me know!
☀️ Ｓｕｎｎｙ Ｄａｙｓ ☀️ I don't like Yamaha trombones.
I love Peter and the wolf. Specifically, the song she played is the bird's theme
i feel like i can hear the difference, but i also think im just convincing myself because i know which ones are more expensive. a blind test, or at least blind for us, would have been better
but still cool video.
thanks, will work that in on a future video just for all our viewers!
Exactly. There really isn't $17,700 worth of difference in the tone of these. It would also be interesting if the musician doesn't know beforehand which instrument is which. I know if I were handed a $30k Friedrich classical guitar I'd probably play it a little differently from a $300 factory-made.
You should throw in one of those cheap Mendini flutes for giggles.
I can hear the difference 100%. However it is important to note that your training is at a high level. Your talent and training allows you to do fabulous things...;0 ) thx for the demo!
I've been learning the flute for three years now. I still get so much from watching your videos. Thank you. Question: is a more expensive flute easier to play? Best wishes, from London, England.
I started on the Yamaha 222, but it was rickety, so now I use a Jupiter open hole flute, but the the Yamaha ones usually sound good. Gemeinhardt is good too
Jupiters and Gemmys are great!
Alyson Traylor I have a Gemeinhardt! I love it. I want to upgrade though.
I have a gemeinhardt open holed student model- weird ik- its the afl 310 with a c foot joint. I out grew the flute, power wise, and now I have yo get a new one. The gemeinhardts will crack too easily also.
I have a Gemeinhardt 22SP-never played another flute, and I’m a beginner on flute, but to be honest it’s given me the least trouble of any musical instrument I’ve ever owned.
Well, unless another flute would never give me a split tone on second octave E...
My Gemeinhardt lasted 10 years.
It's not the price it's the player
This video is pure proof of the benefit. Sure, the player's ability plays a great role, but tone quality becomes richer and fuller with brand and cost.
it's a little bit the price
To some extent. I play much better on my mid priced intermediate flute than my cheaper student flute
True....
If yoy cant play well it doesnt matter but once the player is good it makes a difference
Her flute playing is actually so beautiful. She is one of my biggest inspirations as a flute player!
I played my mom’s student/beginner flute. Had new pads and corks put in before I started in 4th grade. Always thought it had better sound than most of my fellow flutists.
Hi! I'm not at all into instruments but I have been building loudspeakers and audio systems for over 25 years. This video will be my future reference video for comparing systems, when listening to a single flute. Thank you so much for making this awesome video! =)
aww thanks! Im really glad you got a chance to watch it!
The more expensive flutes sound much more rich than than the less expensive ones. Same story with the instrument I play - the cheaper harps sound fine, but the more expensive ones sound so.... so rich. So much better
Lynz C cool that you play harp. I hear finding a tutor is really dependent on where you live, like where I am there aren’t any
i thought you meant expensive when you said rich instead of like a fuller sound and i was like hell yeah it sounds rich
Oh my harp? The cheapest harps cost as much as a car! I don't want to know what an expensive harp costs!
@@boomfyah395 The fuck? It's not my job to explain this to you xD
AS an unbiased non-musical person i gotta say all sounds same!
Ahh! Peter and the wolf! I remember my teachers playing the songs for us during violin class.
Yes thats right! thats great! Thanks for watching!
Ur_Mom's Soul yeeeeeeessss
I know nothing of flutes and really only ended up here after showing my son, starting 6th grade band, some various videos on instruments. I have to say, even over a smartphone speaker, that last flute sounded amazing compared to the others! I am not a musician, but it sounded so smooth. It seemed like it was playing in a studio with sound deadening foam, the sound just seemed pure! I don't know if that really makes sense, but I was so impressed I just felt compelled to comment on it. I'm basically poor but could see how one would spend the money should they have it and this was their desire. I'd love to hear the difference in person. Anyway, back down the rabbit hole I go....
The more expensive flutes seem to have a deeper, richer sound.
Yes indeed you can tell the difference in sound specially in the one that cost $10,000 the notes come cristal clear, distinguishable and highly fluid beautiful notes indeed. In a case like this the price in the instrument do make a difference.
Thanks for watching!
I suspect the best value is the 2,000 Yamaha.
Nice tattoo
if you say so
20k one really has a smooth sound. It has a continuous sound not broken or jarring. 20k is really good sounding. Seems to have a soul. Like a person and personality
The 20k flute just blew the other ones out of the water. The sound resonates so well and the tones are so crisp and clean. Definitely my favorite.
💯
The most expensive flute sounded both mellow, and clean & crisp.
Most expensive one definitely sounded richer - the others seemed very sharp at times. Flute 4 also nice?
@@Cricket2731 yes! Mellow is a great way to describe the sound as well. Just mesmerizing
@@rocmcg yes I agree! 👍
I don't know anything about the flute although I am a musician of multiple decades with a good ear. That said this lady's excellent technique and ability to adjust to the physical challenges of the lesser models made it hard to point out tonal differences and flaws in the individual instruments. In fact the only things that stood out for me was the rather unpleasant sounding higher notes of the Selmer and the full warm and balanced sound of the $20,000 Brannen. (although I have to say that comparatively speaking the Yamaha 222 at 2 Grand seems like an excellent deal!)
I don't play flute, but I play the clarinet. I can tell the difference. The quality and residence get better with the make and model as well for efficient air flow to create that beauitful flute tone. Also the music is from Peter and the Wolf.
I really can't tell the difference. My question is did you feel a difference playing them. Did you have to work harder to produce a good tone and dynamics on the less expensive flutes. I own three flutes. One is an Accent student flute that is as cheap as they come, $12.00 off Ebay. A Selmer with a silver head and an Amadeus AF900 that is all silver. The cheapest flute plays the easiest.
satinbarbi not rly to me. My cheap flute is extremelyyyyy resistant that my friend can’t get Eb out of it at all.
$12 off eBay for Selmer?? Dang hook me up because I need a cheap flute for Marching Band and I used a Yamaha 381 this year because I didn't have any other flutes and it was for a solo but it got like scratched up lol.. Rip
@James Lin The Accent flute was $12.00, The Selmer was $150 and then another $150 with a tech to get it playable. I spent about $3,000 for the Amadeus. Beware cheap flutes off Ebay. I got a few that were beyond repair and returned one and kept one to make a lamp.
The $12 flute was from a Goodwill store. I got another flute from another Goodwill store that claimed it was "tested" and it must have been tested as a paperweight because it sure didn't play.
The first song is Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev.
Duh it says in captions lol
@@random-vl1vy it does?
I got them all right, but not because of the sounds of the flute -- I just remembered, "Oh, she blew that one note a little whispery on the Brannen," or "She held that other note a little longer on the 221," etc. I couldn't tell the flutes apart, but I could tell the performances apart. I don't think that counts.
its okay! glad you got to listen thru all of it! Thanks again for watching!
No clue why you have an attitude about this. As a musician, I'm incapable of playing anything exactly the same way every time -- no musician does. It's not that hard to tell apart different performances if you're used to listening for detail. No "golden ears" needed, just patience and training.
Child, I have no clue what your problem is.
Thanks jakob for making such a concise and interesting opinion.
I wouldn't worry to much Janis, everyone has a different path towards there journey in music. Keep it up and don't let Jakob confuse you. Its all a matter of taste and this "Idea" of perfection or near too. Just a different opinion. But I share yours as well.
Well she has such nice tone and articulation any of those sounds would be fine for me speaking as a composer.
aww thanks for saying that! :)
20k one sounds full with a deep end howl. Sounds great
Yes, the Brannen sounds wonderful. I’m glad you tried dynamics, high register with the other flutes, too.
Great post. The beginner flutes are easier for a beginner to play.
“Peter and the wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev
The buttoms get significently quiter each time until they were almost silent, but I can still hear the metallic air flow in the most expensive one, which surprised me... I thought the diffrences would be much more noticeable like with guitars, where you literally only hear the pure tone on high end instruments played by a skilled musician. On cheap ones you can hear everything slightly wrong with the build, you even have multiple dead-spot which doesn't produce the right note and resonance-katastrophy-points (rkp) which causes the whole body to vibrate violently. We once wrote a song around my base-guitars' rkp which made our drummers snare go crazy and actually picked up the frequency of the lead guitar, unfortunately it only worked well in small rooms - still a lot of fun.
It's the bird from peter and the wolf, I've tried to play it but I found it very difficult! Interesting video!
thanks for watching!
I can certainly can hear the big difference dramatically between the first two flutes, and then the jump to the $20k was quite easy to hear. The one with the gold mouth rest sounded lovely and (very surprising to me) the one with the channeled air flow sounded the nicest to me.
The more expensive flutes sound clearer and more resonant, especially at the softer Dynamics. The cheaper models almost sound unsupported at soft Dynamics
interesting perspective Cassandra! Thanks for taking the time to watch!
I don't know much about flutes but $300 surely doesn't sound like any cheap at all where I live.
Son Hoang it is I just bought a new flute Yamaha allargo for 2150
I think it is the basic ones... because mine is a Yamaha basic ones and it was around 500, so... and the place you put your fingers, if there is holes, those are for higher level players
In vietnam( where I'm living), the cost for an instrument people would buy would be around $20 - $200 on average. I actually play vietnamese bamboo flute and dizi, which costs like $15 for each one of those. I'd still really love to have a flute around $500 though, but ya know, it's money we're talking about lol.
She makes them all sound very good. The more expensive ones sounded effortless, but even the $300 one sounds full with the right air and embouchure.
John Douglas yes, I agree. She's very accomplished. She can make a cheap instrument sound wonderful. I admire her skill, regardless of the expense of the instrument she's playing.
awww Dan and John thanks for the comments! Are both of you musicians?
In your test at end of video, I liked the sound of first flute over all the others. You can tell immediately with the tone of the high notes. They are smooth, not harsh.
Yay!! I've never taken music before but I got the listening test right! The way I could tell is that the more economic flutes where a bit more shrill and the sound waves seemed to "scratch" or "trip over" the air a bit. Also the higher end ones had better volume control and a warmer sort of sound.
Thats awesome Daniel! Thanks so much for watching!
:) No prob!
Yes! Exactly!
I can definitely hear the difference between the two. One sounds deeper and richer while the other sounds like a normal sound.
May I ask what songs you are playing?? I would love to try those exercises. Beautiful.
Love your intonation!
I was just playing peter and the wolf by prokofiev. Thanks for watching Jennifer.
In the Prokofiev's song Peter and wolf, the birds are represented by the sound of Flute.
Thanks so much!!!!
You make them all sound good and I wouldn’t have been able to tell which flute was which during the test. As long as the flute is functioning properly it’s much more about the player than the instrument.
aww thanks! but your right as long as the flute is working at its best, then you can better chance for success.
I recommend the Trevor James 10X flute. This flute is very good for beginners. Well made.
Why am I here....... I'm a percussionist and I need to finish my summer homework.....
get cracking on that homework then ;)
I'm a biologist and I have an essay due in 2 days... I should be asking why
Watching this at 1 am and I don’t even play the flute, I play the piano😂😂
i play piano too, what are you learning? Also thanks for watching!
Your playing is amazing! 👏
aww Thanks so much Lisa! Are you a musician? if you know someone who is you should share this video if you can!
Lisa Amaro it would be interesting to hear the flutes and not knowing the prices.
Amazing playing I was only sure about seller. I listened three times without looking and guessed the same as her. I think second may have been faster and sounded, "better". I really couldn't tell any difference besides the selmer. I am not a good player, and just double sometimes from sax. Flute is so much more difficult than a saxophones. Saxophones altisimo overtones are very difficult; however.
WOW- when I was like 7 or something I found this video, it seemed cool to me and I wanted to play the flute when I grew up because it sounded so beautiful. Now that I’m like 11, I first joined middle school weeks ago and I got a little elective and I chose band. When I chose my instrument I chose flute without knowing I wanted it back then because I completely forgot this existed and I still thought it sounded beautiful. I just found this video again and I think it was destined because there was no other way I chose flute. Thank you The Flute Channel for making my childhood a lot better. I know probably no one cares but I just randomly got a lot of energy and wanted to post this comment.
Very interesting video. All flutes sounded well. The Yamaha 222 sounded best to me, but the difference was very subtle.
great observation, thanks for watching!
Mmm those smexy bass clarinets in the background
i know right!?
EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING 😂
IKR so bootiful
Was thinking the same. Looks like a Selmer rosewood contra alto.
GAWD HOW I WANT A BASS CLARINET!!!
They all sounded good to me, probably because the player is great!