Hi! I'm a newbie, both to this forum and to flute playing, which I've only done for a year.
But I have a problem. In my school band, we have ranking tests, and I consistently get 'second chair' to this flute girl who has a "darker sound" than I do, and my tone supposedly has "an edge to it" that professional flutes don't have. What am I doing wrong, and how do I get this "darker, more professional sound"? I'm using a relatively cheap Sonaire flute ($400) and she has a Jupiter ($600). Should I invest in a Jupiter flute or is it just me?
Hi. Unless your flute has mechanical problems or needs adjustments, there is no such thing as you migrating to other flute to have "that flutist's tone". The tone is something strictly particular to the player. There may be differences here and there concerning the style of playing, also the physiology of each one, posture adopted, etc.
You just have to be pacient with your own evolution as a flutist and work hard on your practice to achieve that.
Try to develop your own style of tone, regardless of the others. This is the richness of playing the flute, because each one can produce a unique sound.
What differs the tone is 90% the player, but only 10% the flute (from this, 99,99% is the headjoint).
Of course I don't put exact numbers here, nor there is a scientific method to get them, but it's just for you to have an idea of how it goes in terms of the influence of the instrument. BTW, Sonare and Jupiter are, in my opinion, very near in quality.
