What key of flute should beginners buy? And what price range of flutes should they consider? These have always been quite troublesome questions. I myself also went through the process of being a beginner and groping my way forward, so I'd like to share some of my personal opinions.
Many people say that beginners should buy a flute in the key of
F, orG, orE,D, etc. They all have their own reasons. In fact, there is only one fundamental reason. FromCtoD,E,F, andG, the later the key, the smaller the flute, the higher the pitch, and the easier it is to play. That's why almost everyone suggests that beginners buy a small flute. But actually, whether it takes one day or three days to be able to play the flute is just a minor issue.However, it is a recognized principle that "large flutes are for practicing breath control, while small flutes are for practicing mouth techniques". The first step in learning the flute is to develop the correct mouth shape and airflow. So, at the beginning, it must be a small flute. And "practicing long notes for breath control" is the first basic skill of playing the flute. Therefore, after getting the mouth shape right, practicing with a large flute for breath control should also follow.
So, instead of asking what kind of flute beginners should buy, it's better to ask what the first flute they should buy is. Based on the above analysis, we know that if you want to learn the flute well, one flute is definitely not enough. You should have at least one large and one small flute. Although the flute in the key of
Gis smaller and the one in the key ofAis larger, considering the number of pieces that can be played, in the end, I suggest buying a flute in the key ofFas the first one. Then, after you are sure that you want to continue learning, buy a flute in the key ofCas the second one. However, the concept of large and small is also relative. Since children have less lung capacity, the standard can be appropriately lowered, such as choosing flutes in the keys ofGandD. Of course, if the conditions permit, buying a whole set will eliminate this kind of hesitation.As for what price range of flutes to buy? First of all, I want to say that, of course, the more expensive the better. But a friend of mine who makes flutes told me that nowadays, flutes are mostly made on machine assembly lines with high precision. Even a flute that costs only
9.9yuan including shipping has a basic guarantee of pitch accuracy. The problem is that the material may not be that good, the range may not be that wide, the timbre may not be that clear, and it may be difficult to play the high notes or you may not be able to play them at all. But for beginners, these are not problems. If you can't play the flute or the pitch is not right, don't doubt the flute. It's very likely that the problem lies with the player rather than the instrument.But we can't be beginners forever. So, we can't completely ignore some aspects other than pitch accuracy, such as the range, timbre, ease of playing, and even the feel of the flute. Therefore, I think a flute priced between
100and200yuan is a very good one. For more expensive flutes, the added value may be greater than the value of the flute itself, such as the lacquer craftsmanship and the tuning by a master. You can buy them according to your own judgment. But don't forget that, after all, it's just a piece of bamboo!Finally, to sum up, if you want to learn the flute well, one flute is not enough. You should have at least one large and one small flute. You can first buy a small flute in the key of
Fand then a large flute in the key ofC, and both can be priced around100to200yuan. These two flutes can definitely support you to practice to a very high level. If you want to play pieces in other keys, such asE,G, etc., you can achieve this through transposition or changing the fingering. You can refer to the two articles The Chromatic Scale Table of the Twelve Major Keys and The Commonly Used Fingering Table for Flute Transposition.
Comments0
There aren't any comments yet