Dr. Little’s Favorites Vol. 2!
Back in the Spring, I started a series that covered my recommendations for beginner and intermediate flute music. If you want to go back and read that article, please click right HERE! Today I’m continuing the series with my recommendations for Beginner and Intermediate flutes! These recommendations are based on my personal experience with the instruments either with flute students who have purchased and used them or I have played on them myself. You may have a very different opinion than me about some of these instruments and that’s OK! Everyone has a different experience with an instrument, but the ones I’m going to describe below, are ones that I think are generally well-made and can work for a young flute player for a pretty long time provided that they are well-cared for.
So let’s talk FLUTES!
Here are some things to note about beginner flutes; they are usually made of silver plated nickel, have closed holes, and should come with an offset G key in order to make them more ergonomically comfortable for the left hand. They are built for durability. (Students are just learning to take care of an instrument, so they are built to withstand a couple accidents..)
Here are some of my recommendations for Beginners:
This is probably one of the most economical beginner instruments on the market. It is durable and reliable. You want an instrument that can take a bit of a beating, because you know its going to get dropped at some point or the case will be opened upside down! (This happened in front of my eyes at one of the band camps I worked this summer! The instrument survived it’s tumble and still played ok.) This instrument will allow your young flutist to make a few mistakes while learning to take care of their flute. This was my first instrument in the 5th grade. It works just fine! This instrument starts at around $470.
If you have a really young student wanting to try flute, an instrument like this Jupiter can work really well. The curved head joint allows for the arms and hands to stay closer to the body so that young or smaller bodies can be more comfortable while playing the instrument. I have had a few students start at age 7-8, which I don’t usually recommend, and this Jupiter model has really been able to help them learn basics of flute tone and technique while not being quite so heavy or cumbersome for smaller bodies. A C flute that comes with both a curved and straight headjoint can allow a very petite student to grow into the instrument. This instrument is priced around $1,000.
This instrument is another fantastic option for beginning players. This brand is relatively new on the market, but they have been making some amazing instruments that sound great and have that durability quality needed for a beginner instrument. These instruments have a wonderful scale which allows the student to not have to work as hard to get that middle C# in tune. (C# is a notoriously awful note on the flute. It is tremendously sharp and we always have to adjust it.) You can find this model for sale for around $800.
This silver-plated instrument is very similar to the Gemeinhardt and Di Zhao but has pointed key arms. This particular feature makes it look beautiful, but doesn’t have a large effect on the production of sound or the durability. This is another very popular model among band directors who teach beginners. It sounds pretty good and can serve young flutists for a fairly long time. I’ve seen this instrument last into college for students that take great care of it!
Nuvo Student Flute
This may surprise some people, but the Nuvo Student Flute sounds pretty darn good! It’s also made of plastic, completely washable, super easy to repair, and far more affordable than these other instruments. There is also a smaller option for really young students. You can also use key extensions for hand comfort! Personally, I think all flutes in a marching band should be Nuvo flutes because they are waterproof and economical. Marching band beats up woodwind instruments SO BADLY. If a beginner student buys this flute, it can easily be kept as their marching band flute when the student or parent decides to upgrade to a flute that is a larger investment.
Intermediate Flutes
This is where this list gets tricky. So many flute makers have expanded into this intermediate market because this is where the majority of instruments are now sold. The type of flute that you buy in this category is dependent on what you want to do with the instrument. If you intend to go on to major in music, I would highly recommend finding an instrument that is more pre-professional or professional quality, probably something that has solid silver head, body, and foot and is partially handmade. In general, the higher the silver quantity, the better the sound and, of course, the higher the price. If you’re more interested in an instrument that you will play on in college bands, community bands/orchestras, community flute ensembles, etc, you can find some really great options that might have a solid silver headjoint and silver plated body that are really lovely, well-made instruments that can last a lifetime if well-cared for.
Here are some flutes that I have really liked that have worked really well for my students.
This is the Haynes intermediate flute model. It has multiple options for materials from silver-plated to full solid silver. You can add some of the bells and whistles like a split E, C# trill key, and a 14K gold riser with some of their models. The more items you add, the more expensive the instrument. Prices for these models can range from $1,300 to $3,500.
Azumi flutes use the same headjoint cut as the Altus professional models use. There are three options for Azumi models, the AZ1, AZ2, and AZ3 with many different options available on each model. The AZ3 has the most amount of silver in the instrument. The price range is similar to the Amadeus, somewhere in the $1,300-$3,700 range. I have two students that currently play on Azumi instruments (an AZ2 and an AZ3) and they love them! They don’t experience many issues requiring repair or maintenance and have really sweet, lovely sound. Both students adore their instruments!
This brand is relatively new on the Beginner/Intermediate flute scene. I began hearing about them around 2014/2015 as being a very well made and affordable brand for that first flute upgrade. Since then, I have had 4 or maybe 5 students buy Di Zhao flutes and love them! Their 501 and 601 series are economical with a solid silver, HANDMADE headjoint and silver plated body and keys. This level of flute general costs between $1,300-$1,700. Their 701 and 801 series flutes are solid silver head, body, and foot with a HANDMADE headjoint and silver plated keys. These models are currently around $2,400-$3,700, which is fairly economical for a solid silver instrument with a handmade headjoint. Di Zhao also makes beginner flutes and professional level flutes.
Pearl intermediate flutes have all the same options as those previously discussed. Their PF-665 model has a solid silver headjoint and silver-plated body and starts around $2,400. Their PF-765 is an all silver instrument with silver plated keys and it starts at around $4,000. There are a variety of options available for Pearl instruments such as Split E, inline or offset G, and E facilitator. (I’ll have another post explaining what these things are later on.) Any added option can add to the price, but not always. I have a student who purchased a used, solid silver Pearl and it has been a great instrument for her! She adores it! I am also a huge fan of Rhonda Larson, who is a Pearl artist, and if she loves the instruments, they must be wonderful!
Powell is a BIG name in the flute-making community. (Powell, Haynes, and Brannen are probably some of the most well-known flute makers in the industry.) In order to get into the intermediate flute market, Powell created the Sonare brand. These instruments have a more economical body but still use the same handmade headjoints that are used in the professional level Powell flutes. The PS-501 starts around $2,400 and has that wonderful Powell headjoint and a silver plated body and keywork. The PS-705 is fully solid silver with silver plated keys and white gold springs and puts you in the $4,000-$5,000 range. There is even a new Sonare 905 model which has some 9k gold Aurumite (a gold/silver combo) in the lip plate and barrel of the instrument! This instrument is in the $5,000-$7,000 range which is still pretty good considering the quality of materials present!
This company has an extremely wide variety of products! They have excellent beginner and intermediate flutes, they make professional flutes, they make alto and bass flutes, and they make flutes out of wood and a copper alloy! Their Virtuoso model is an all silver head, body, and foot with silver plated keys. It offers options for inline or offset G, split E, and C# trill and costs around $3,000-$4,000. Their copper alloy flute, which is much lighter weight than a standard silver or silver-plated flute, starts around $2,000. I’ve not played on one yet, but I’ve heard great things about it!
The last company I want to talk about for this post is Yamaha. I really think Yamaha makes excellent instruments for the price. Since Yamaha makes MANY different musical instruments, they don’t need to get all their profit from one type. They sell brass instruments, pianos, percussion equipment, guitars, string instruments, marching instruments, and more! Their intermediate model 362 is a solid silver headjoint and silver plated body for around $1,700 to $2,000 and they do run sales periodically! The 462 model is fully silver with plated keys and a gold lip plate and starts around $2,500-$3,500 depending on the specifications.
In Conclusion
All of this information is pretty general. The prices were based on what I could find during July of 2023. Since most flutes are made with precious metals, the price fluctuates based on the price of silver. If you’re in the market for a beginner flute, or a step-up instrument, I highly recommend working with a private flute teacher! That extra set of professional ears can come in very handy and we may be able to spot an issue that you might not even know about before you spend that money on your new flute investment. Flutes and piccolos don’t tend to depreciate that much in value so long as they are well cared for, so your investment should hold its value pretty well. Remember that all of this is my personal opinion and may not be the opinion of your flute teacher, band director, orchestra director, etc. And that’s just fine!
I’ve tried to link to each of the flute makers so that you can go read more about these instruments if you’d like. If you have any other questions about beginner or intermediate flutes, please feel free to email me or leave a comment! If you live fairly close to Conway, AR and you’re interested in having me assist with play-testing some new flutes, I’d be happy to help! Feel free to contact me through the website here or through email and we can set something up!
Happy Flute Shopping!
Dr. Little