Upgrades

Accessories/Gift Ideas

Flute Stand - A great stand for rehearsal or home. Students who keep their instrument out are more likely to practice.

Instrument

The correct time to purchase a step-up flute for a young flutist can be determined by a few criteria:

How long has the student been playing and how dedicated are they to improving? If the student is motivated, practicing and is seen to be interested in playing the flute through middle school and beyond, they may be ready for a new flute two or three years after beginning, sometimes sooner. If they enjoy the flute in a more casual way, perhaps as a social outlet, and practice sporadically they may not need a step-up flute till around the 8th or 9th grade.

As a flutist develops their finger technique they will need a faster, more responsive mechanism. Their rate of improvement will stagnate and they will become more and more frustrated with the instrument and its relatively poor response to the effort they are putting in. Consult Mr. Rafter (trafter@delranschools.org) if you are planning on purchasing a new instrument.

There is a very wide range in the quality of step up flute brands. A good one will have a mechanism greatly superior to the beginning flute.

In a few words. The more silver, the better the sound.

The density and hardness of sterling silver ( 92.5% pure silver ) is responsible for creating the most beautiful, flexible sound for the vast majority of flutists. As a flutists ability improves, they should have an instrument that has some silver content. Some step-up instruments will include only a sterling silver lip plate and riser. Some will include a head-joint made entirely from sterling silver and some will include sterling silver content on all three pieces of tubing (not the mechanism). Unfortunately, the more silver, the higher the price, but the difference in performance is clearly better. Also, don’t become nickel and dimed to death by purchasing more than one step-up flute over a period of 2 to 3 years. This is the biggest mistake I see parents make. Gold plating on the lip plate is for allergenic purposes and does not affect the sound.

Here are my 3 recommendations.

Good Yamaha 462 Flute (approx $2,300) - Features a sterling silver headjoint.

Better Yamaha 577H (approx. $3,000) - Features a sterling silver headjoint.

Best Yamaha 677H Flute (approx. $4,000) - Features a sterling silver headjoint and body.