Buying a Beginner Flute

Your student has made the exciting decision to play the flute! You may be feeling overwhelmed with all of the options – which student flute is best? How much will I have to pay? What brands should I consider? How will we care for the instrument? A great place to start is asking for advice from your student’s music educator – they can provide great guidance. And, read on for more information about student flutes.

What Family are Flutes In?

Flutes are woodwind instruments that have been around for a very long time. In fact, the flute is one of oldest instruments in the world, second only to the drum. The original flutes were made of bone or hollowed sticks. Ancient people cut holes in to add pitch variation. For a long time, the main body of the flute was made of wood (that why it’s part of the woodwind family).

It was not until the end of the 19th century that the metal flute was perfected. The modern flute we know today was developed by Theobald Boehm in the 1800s. We still use his name when referring to the Boehm fingering system.

There are a wide variety of flutes on the market today, including:

  • piccolo (sopranino)
  • concert flute (soprano or C flute)
  • alto flute (alto)
  • bass flute (tenor)
  • contrabass (bass)

The C flute is the main instrument in the flute family. Unlike other instrument families, a flute player usually does not specialize in another flute like the alto, bass or piccolo. Instead, a flutist masters the concert flute as his or her primary instrument and may eventually move on to study the others as secondary instruments.

Who Plays the Flute?

A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player, flutist, flautist (more common in British English) or, less commonly, fluter or flutenist. Almost anyone can learn to play the flute – kids as young as 7-8 years old can start on the instrument.

All orchestras have flute players and many pieces often feature flute solos, though this will often come a little later in a student’s music education. Many school music programs will have availability for several flute players.

What Does a Flute Look Like?

No matter the model or level, a modern flute looks like a thin tube or pipe with a hole on each end and holes on the body. The player’s fingers move over the holes while they blow into the flute to make music. As you can see in the image below, the flute has three main parts: the headjoint, the body, and the footjoint.

 

 

What are Student Flutes Made of?

These days, flutes are almost always made of metal, though you will find some beginner models that are made from plastic. You’ll find that many student flutes have bodies made out of a silver and nickel alloy, which makes them more durable than nickel and plastic flutes, but less expensive than silver flutes. You might also find student flutes that are made from other alloys and given a silver plating.

What Does a Beginner Flute Sound Like?

You could describe the flute’s sound as bright, ethereal, soft, brilliant, clear, or shrill. The sound a flute makes very much depends on the player’s ability. A flute player produces sound from the flute by blowing across the lip of the headjoint, which creates a vibrating column of air inside the instrument. The flutist then changes the pitch of notes by using the keys.

Good Flute Brands for Beginner Players

If you’re looking for a good student flute, there are many instrument makers that craft high-quality student flute models, including Yamaha, Gemeinhardt, Allora and Etude.

Best Student Flutes

If you’re looking to purchase a flute for your young musician, here are four models to get you started on your search:

Etude EFL 100 Student Flute: a student flute with great design and outstanding construction that will give your student years of musical enjoyment

Allora AFL 250 Student Flute: a quality beginner flute that will play in tune, withstand student treatment, and inspire pride of ownership

Giardinelli GFL 300 Silver Plated Flute: a solidly constructed student flute intended to give the learning musician an affordable instrument to develop his or her skills on

Jupiter Student Flute: an excellent choice for the beginning flutist

Beginner Flute Accessories

Maintenance is a critical part of owning a flute and young flutists should be taught early on about the importance of caring for their instrument. There are many woodwind care & cleaning accessories that will be needed throughout the life of your instrument to keep it performing at the highest level. Regular use of flute cleaning rods, flute swabs and cleaning mitts will keep your investment in top condition.

In addition to these maintenance related items, a good flute case can provide ample storage for all the player’s accessories and provide much-needed protection for your instrument.

Most flute players also benefit from practicing with metronomes, no matter what your playing level is. And a tuner is a must-have for any musician!

 

Buying a Student Flute at Woodwind & Brasswind

Purchasing a flute involves knowing what instrument best fits the needs, age, and skill level of the beginner flute player. Learn even more with our flute buying guide.

No matter what type or category of flute you are shopping for, Woodwind & Brasswind has been meeting the needs of flute players for decades. Each purchase is backed by Woodwind & Brasswind's 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, giving you 45 days to decide if the instrument is right for you. If it’s not everything you need it to be, you can return it for a full refund. *

While making sure you found the right instrument is important, making sure the price is right matters, too, and Woodwind & Brasswind’s 45-Day Price guarantee means that even if you find the same model flute for less elsewhere, we’ll make up the difference. As musicians of all levels have done for decades, you can buy from Woodwind & Brasswind with complete confidence that you received the best instrument for the very best price.

*All returned woodwind and brass instruments are assessed a $10.00 sterilization fee. Instruments priced over $3,000.00 are assessed a $20.00 fee. All mouthpieces are assessed a $4.00 fee.