Hampshire Flute Day - more a plastic bottle day!!

[FLickflute]

Hampshire Flute Day Romsey - My friend and I had great hopes - a whole day playing our flutes in the company of experienced mentors, new tunes, new ideas. Great! We had to travel quite a long way but did not mind. The first suggestion we might not be too happy was when the music arrived - AFTER we had paid of course. It was mainly for bottles! I did not understand and took a wooden spoon to hit it with! The only flute part was simple and repetitive. Ditto the parts for the bottles - most parts were repeated 4 times.

The first session was OK - not exciting but acceptable. However, the next two sessions were dire. We had to blow across the tops of the bottles, not for a few minutes but for 1.5 hours!! My lip was sore, I was bored rigid and had missed a days practice for this!! Just in case there might be something else we stayed for lunch and the group session afterwards which was again, OK but not exciting. The next rehearsal we could not take - more bottles - OH NO! - so we went home.

Afterwards I wrote to the organiser and asked for my money back. After all, she had promised a FLUTE day, not a plastic bottle day. I was refused on the grounds that I should have asked to play a flute part instead. The only interesting flute part was being played by the organiser's flute group. The other parts were one or two notes endlessly repeated. Further I was told that if I wanted make a claim using Paypal I couldn't because she had provided a service, not a product. SO double BEWARE all you flute players.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone else who went on Saturday 22nd March or from people who have had similar disappointments. I have to say that most of my group flute experiences have been very positive. This is the first time I have been so badly let down.

I would be interested

[Classitar]

Thats a sad story Flickflute.
Sorry you had to put up with that.

[FLickflute]

Thank you Classitar. It seems I was not alone. There seems to be nothing that one can do.

[Sheer Flute]

I also attended the Hampshire Flute Day (UK) and am equally disappointed.

I think I played a total of 20 or 30 notes on my flute, a 'toot' on a wooden 'Thumpy' flute (an introductory design with one hole to blow across and open ends - thumbs for the use of, sold by the 'director')! and then much very boring bottle blowing in a very crowded room.

At no point were we offered the news that there might be an extra piece to learn for the 'end of day' concert. I also left shortly after the demo of Ethnic Flutes. I emailed the organiser and have asked for my payment to be returned. An immediate 'no' and no reply to my second email. As I am returning to flute playing after a long 'rest' I had such high hopes of inspirational teaching and some ideas and technical exercises for improvement of tone, articulation and technique. I shall not be trying this particular day again next year.