Announcement, Tips for Testing a New Flute

Testing a new flute can seem like an overwhelming experience – what is the best way to test a new flute? Here, we’ve put together our top tips for testing an instrument to help you choose your perfect upgrade!

1.    Do some research

Doing some preliminary research into different brands, models and price points may help to narrow down your options. Our Flute Instrument Terminology list defines some of the features commonly found on flutes to further aid you in your choice.

2.    Bring your current instrument with you

It is a good idea to bring your existing instrument with you for a couple of reasons. Firstly, you need to warm up your embouchure on an instrument you know well before diving into testing an unfamiliar flute. Secondly, this gives you a frame of reference for what you are comparing new flutes to.

3.    Warm up

Start by playing some long tones on your current flute to warm up your embouchure and follow this with some slow scales across the range of the instrument (or the range you can currently play). Once you have done this, try the same thing on the new flute. This will give you an idea of how the flute sounds in low, mid, and top registers. It may also expose any weaknesses across the range of a particular instrument.

4.    Dynamics

This is something you can check whilst you are playing your scales. For example – can you play low notes with a strong and full sound, or high notes controlled and quietly?

5.    Articulation

Again, playing scales will help you to test this. How responsive and clear is the articulation? Simple scales played tongued will help you to judge this.

6.    Tone colours

Now you can play some tunes! Low, simple tunes are a good choice – remember you’re not testing your technique, you want to test the qualities of the instrument. You could also try playing the same melody an octave higher to see if you can achieve the same tone quality. It is important that the instrument is capable of producing the same quality of sound throughout its range.

7.    Ask someone to listen 

Instruments can vary in the way the sound is projected which can be deceiving. Instruments which sound loud close up can actually not project very well, and the opposite can also be true. Ask someone to listen outside the room with the door closed and play the same melody at the same volume - which sound is projected more effectively?

8.    And finally…

Prepare to be open-minded about the instruments you test and try to be realistic about what an up-grade is offering. A new instrument won’t fix any shortcomings in your playing – only careful practice will do that. But, what a new instrument will give you is the tools and potential to improve your sound across the whole instrument.

Good luck in finding the perfect upgrade for you! We hope you find something you will really love and play for years to come.