Can You Hear the Difference Between a Cheap and Expensive Flute?
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- čas přidán 3. 11. 2017
- We're excited to be at Twigg Musique in Montreal to play some flute music and try out four flutes for you in this flute vs flute SHOWDOWN! Cheap VS Expensive!
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This was super fun to do and the people at Twigg Musique were so nice to let us try these great flutes. Be sure if you're buying a flute to check out flutes4sale.com (USA and Worldwide) SPECIAL CODE AT CHECK OUT "TFC" and Twigg Musique (Canada) From beginner flutes all the way to the most professional flutes you can find in the world today!
Watch our Piccolo version the ultimate test for band geeks: • Can You Hear the Diffe...
Look down below for more details!
Be sure to like and comment if you want us to review other flutes or piccolos!
Yamaha 222
Yamaha 381
Brannen Flutes
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My flute is $550 but I make it sound like $20
Spoonface McGee Mega Oof
Hehehe and I make my flute sound like a $1,99 one....snif snif
I can almost relate.
You and me both, pal!
I nearly spat out my drink reading this. Big mood
My flute was 1,400$ 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
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 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.
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 😂
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
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
I can definitely hear how clean the sounds are as the flute gets more expensive...
definitely
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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....
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
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
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.
You are playing the one thing i want to learn to play. The flute solo for peter and the wolf. Love it!
0:26 $300 Selmer
1:16 $700 Yamaha
2:10 $2000 Yamaha
3:45 $20,000 Brannen
It's only preceived by the player, and it's all about the player to get different colors out of it.
Give me all of those, and they will all sound like 20$ 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
The sound of the high end flute is gorgeous. This makes me want to have my flute adjusted and play it once again.
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.
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!"
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🎼🎶
Peter and the Wolf - Bird Theme:
Selmer Prelude: 00:31
Yamaha 222: 1:27
Yamaha 381: 2:33
Brannen: 4:01
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. czcams.com/video/G-Ox53zfLjk/video.html
Not always
Liad Bar-EL preach
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 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! 👍
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.
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
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
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.
I liked the sound of the 221 the best. I also felt the Brannen and 221 sound very similar. So if I picked one to buy, I would pick the 221.
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.
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
("Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev) it says it in the subtitles
The Yamaha 221 was the nicest I thought too! I also guessed this was the Brannen at the end!! Selmer was clearly the worst sounding one. Good to know that the entry-level flute still sounds amazing!
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.
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!!
Definitely the Brannen for 20k+ such an amazing clear sound . Worth it! 🎶💓
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....
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 $10,000 flute, I could feel the difference in my playing. I didn't have to work as hard to hit the high notes and I was in heaven
i honestly can't hear the difference between the 700 and the 20 000$ 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
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.
I'm not a flute player, I'm a bass clarinet so my eyes were glued to those beautiful clarinets in the back on the left
That 20k one really does sound better. I hate to say it. I thought I wasn't going to be able to tell a difference but you can really hear it on the pitch bends and when you hold out notes.
Yeah, it was like honey to the ears after the cheapest one!
Though obviously nobody's going to spend $20,000 on a flute unless they are a flutist for a living - and only if they are in an orchestra/similar high paying/high quality flute playing career!
It's harder to tell when they seem brand new too. I begged for a flute until I was given a really cheap one - AU$200ish including shipping, think the brand was Simba? It was nickel plated, so over time it started to become tarnished and even a little rusty. Plus nobody even bothers to sell replacement pads etc. So after a few years it sounded awful, I couldn't even get some notes to play!
I would hope if I paid someone $20,000 to make me a custom flute, that would include 10 years, if not lifetime, warranty/servicing/replacement pads etc.
Cee Kay, you should get a harmonica or a ukulele, the ukulele is easy to play. Cost around £20. The harmonica cost around £6 - £12. On Amazon
Personally i prefer the ukulele *VERY* easy to play. And if you have troubles playing download a app (free app on play/app store) its called Yousician,
Hopefully you find the music in you. Goodbye! Hope i helped.
RawBert Karlson
The $300 definitely was off.
But after that, we heard her. They were as good as the musician.
RawBert Karlson you sure can
RawBert Karlson Agreed. The Yamahas sounded alike to me but the Brennan was dramatically smoother. I was shocked that she didn’t get it correctly on playback.
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.
My flute was like 75 or 100, it was used. I loved it, still do, one can always find solace in music.
That is from Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf". I remember it from my childhood from about 40+ years ago. Very interesting video. 👍🏼
Cool, thanks Carlo!
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.
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
ITS CALLED PETER AND THE WOLF! IM SO GLAD I LISTENED IN MUSIC CLASS
BAHAHAHHAHAHA SO AM I. EXACT SAME SITUATION WITH ME
@@mistyreed271 YISSSSS
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.
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 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
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.
She makes the $20,000 flute sound like a million bucks…. Very sweet 👍
mighty kind of you!
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. :)
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
I started on a muramatsu flute about 4k I had no idea either my parents simply got it for me since that thought it was a normal flute. I loved it dearly played it for 12 years through middle school high school orchestra, marching band, and college orchestra and marching band. I got it engraved and framed when I decided to retire it. I wanted to ay professionally but my life took me other directions
I liked the TRUE no nonsense test. So many stop short of doing an unbiased test! Great Job!!!
Glad you liked it!
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 more expensive flutes seem to have a deeper, richer sound.
What I've noticed is that the sound in the high-end flutes is “cleaner”, while the low-end flutes have a “dirtier” sound, especially for the higher notes.
the main difference i heard was that as you went up in price those high (altissimo?) notes sounded less shrill and weren't so hard on the ears
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?
The bird in Peter & the Wolf
yay! thats right!
Creative Harmony By Sonia yeah your right
aww i was about to comment that dang it
Rachmaninov yup
Wow nicely done
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.
Peter and the wolf? I remember going to the theatre to watch it, I was so happy when the flute part came in because I played flute too, it was beautiful
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.
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!
I love Peter and the Wolf so much.
It holds a special place in my heart.
As a saxophone player, I find it funny what you call "pinky action" lol. They had to add rollers to my instrument because our pinkies can't move fast enough lol
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 $300 and the $20K sound the same on my $30 computer speaker and untrained ear.
Well to be honest even she didn't make the difference between the flutes, 1/4 correct response is what you would expect by chance
They sound almost the same. Only in pianos you can actually hear a difference.
They sound ENTIRELY different on my 200 euros earphones, not much difference between the Yamaha for 2000 and Lafin 20000 though
i have the yamaha 222 she played, and i like it a lot! i think it sounds great and is a good beginner flute.
That's great!
The song is “ Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev ❤
I think all of them were flutes.
Psshh blasphemy, i myself think that one of them is something called a "fluté"
I think you are correct
Sportsquirrel great answer
😂😂 Hmmmm. You sure???
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.
That's song is Peter and the Wolf, one of my favorite stories as a kid! I used to listen to it on cassette tape over and over!
Oh my Goooooosh!!! That piece!!! I love it! It's Peter and the Wolf, more specifically, the part of Sasha (if I don't misremember), the bird.
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.
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!
She plays the 300 flute so well... that the $300 sounds like the $20,000 to me-
My flute is 4$, from electrical casing tube, my great grandpa used to make local type of flute, contrabass flute "koncovka", here mostly called fujara, so he gave me a few tips, and it sound much better than I thought it ever could! I think it got me to continue in his craft, woodworking just is too hard, but I'm not giving up
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
“Peter and the wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev
She's such a beautiful flautist that you can barely tell the difference but she did have more control with the most expensive flute. Was it mind over matter? Who knows but it did seem to be easier for her to control the volume. Beautiful video.
that piece of peter and the wolf takes me right back to being a very small boy listening to my favorite record, yes record, over and over.
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.
I think it is not the price but the soul that makes the difference.
Touching and true in many ways!
The Flute Channel when I was young I brought a 400 dollars instrument, which was 30 years ago and my soul was connected to the sound since then. I brought many different instruments afterwards and the most expensive one cost 22500 USD but my soul never get connected. I still found that 400 dollars instrument sounds best.
+The Flute Channel Its the birds song from peter and the wolf!
The piece being played is Peter and the Wolf. I loved watching it in grade school :)
The end result of this video aligns with my experience, and a decent intermediate flute can be virtually indiscernible from a high end flute. I’ve been playing my intermediate Gemeinhardt open hole flute with silver head since 1974, when my parents purchased it for me as an eleven year old. At my pinnacle of flute playing I was doing offertory solos for a mega church around 2013 where attendance was around 12,000 on a weekend. At that point I thought I should upgrade my flute to a professional level one. But then one weekend where I played a solo for the offertory a mom and her daughter came down to the front after service to ask me what I was playing. Her daughter was about to enter conservatory and they were shopping for a pro level flute. They asked me if I was playing a Mirimatsu or a Powell. You should have seen the look on their faces when I told them it was a student Gemeinhardt. After that I stopped looking for a better flute.
I believe it! What a story!
You know, I think you’re making an assumption that, I’m having difficulty phrasing the action/valuation/method of it, but, you’re reducing/confining your play to the mean. Those two heard your playing as clearly and certainly professional, while you played an intermediate flute, and then, said ok, that’s fine. My question, how would you sound on a Powell,
Mirimatsu, or Brannen? Instead of thinking “How much better can I sound?” you are thinking “I’m fine enough.” How would you sound with a $2000 head, a finer flute? Maybe worth a try. Your skill must be great. Yes, I can push my Camaro to limits that most people can’t conceive, but what could I do in a Ferrari? What doors would open if I did?
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!
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!
It's the bird from Peter and the Wolf !!
I love that one,:)