Hello everybody.

First of all I must say that I don't play the flute but I do play a lot of different instruments like guitar, bass, ukulele, charango, mandoline and others so I think I have a trained ear for music

My twelve year old kid is the real musician in this family. He plays the flute for the local youth symphonic orchestra and he's improving so fast that the instructor in charge of the flute section for the National Youth Symphonic Orchestra (first youth orchestra founded in Latin America), who's also the National Symphonic Orchestra second flute player, wants him to audition next year for a place in the youth orchestra.

In our country, music instruments are almost twice the US retail price, so it was a big family effort to buy a new instrument for him just a few days ago, it is a Jupiter Dimedici 1011.

This instructor plays a very expensive Emanuel flute, but when he played on my kid's flute I really couldn't hear any significant differences.


I'm reading a lot of different opinions regarding flutes quality issues and I'm not sure if my kid's flute has enough quality for the new orchestra.

I'll really apreciate any opinions.

(sorry for my bad english)

If your kid isn't complaining about leaks or poor responsiveness, and it sounds good, then I think its a great flute!

To quote an old commercial, you could pay more, but why?

It seems you are in Mexico, or maybe Venezuela? ;-)

I'll agree that if the flute is in good condition, unless your kid is being hold by the instrument, no need to replace it. But keep an eye on the durability of the instrument. It can happen that as the level of playing grows, also the stress over the instrument does. So that's a point where you must pay attention to the condition and necessity of revisions that are needed for the flute.
Essencially it's a machine that needs care just like any other. I use to tell my students to think about their flutes as cars. They need fresh oil and being properly regulated once a year to work well.
More expensive flutes (generally constructed with better or more durable materials) tend to last much more time than a cheap instrument. That's the reason there is a huge market for expensive flutes out there.
You need to balance the demanding new conditions your kid will have in that new post (more rehearsals, more difficult repertoire, more practice...) and decide if the current flute will help accomplish this. If you receive any sign of difficulty because of the instrument, start looking at something more durable.

By the way, your English is not worse than mine. I also have English as a second language and I understood every bit of what you said :-)

Actually I'm in Costa Rica.

The instrument is new so I think we'll have no trouble now, but I was considering sending it to general maintenance every six months with the technician that does the maintenance for the woodwinds of National Symphonic Orchestra.

Thank you all for your kind answers.

Hi, if I had thought more about what you said of the flutist that has an Emanuel flute, I'd have come to the conclusion that I actually know him (and that you live in Costa Rica consequently :-). He comes once in a while to Brasil (where I live) to our National Flutists Festival, and, if I'm not mistaken, his name is Gabriel Goñi, isn't it? :-)
He might not remember me, I'm a principal flutist at the National Theater Simphony Orchestra, in Brasilia, our capital city.

I think your solution by now will work fine. A good technician does the job and also may help you when the time for buying a new flute comes.

All the best for you and family

You're absolutely right, that's him. Now he's one of my kids flute playing heroes, mostly because they share their passion for flutes and they're both named Gabriel.

For now I don't want to put more preasure on my son, just let him go as far as he wishes, after all he advanced from zero to the level of a four or five years student in just a year and a half. I only want to be sure that he has all the support he needs, that's why I'm asking for advise about this issues ,maybe if my children had chosen to play string instruments I'd be easier for me (my 16 year old daughter plays the clarinet but only as a hobby). The kid's dream is to play with The London Symphony Orchestra. Well, who knows? I always tell him that everything is possible if you put your heart and a lot of hard work on it.

Thank you, very much, and you can be sure that we'll be apreciate any further advise you can give us.

Blessings

Marco and Gabriel

Many professional players use basic flutes from time to time (especially when on tour with a band). So as long as it's working fine, what it's made out of is mostly marketing.

Thank you, your answers make me think that when I bought this new flute I was right after all.

As I told you before I also play some instruments (none of them winds, except for my beloved bagpipe)and it's incredible the different opinions you find when you research about flutes, that makes you feel completely lost and confused. I really thought things were a lot easier.

Now I know that, if I want to help my kid in trhe future I have a lot to learn.


blessings to you all

Hello everybody

My 12 year old son plays the flute and has just won an audition for the National Institute of Music of Costa Rica for level eight players, that allowed him to be included in the Intermediate Symphonic Band (sorry, I just had to say it because I’m sooooo proud!! .. haha).
When they realized that the kid also plays the piccolo they went crazy, since they had no piccolist even though they have seven flutists, including my son.
They weren’t expecting to have another piccolist in the Institute so all the available piccolos are now already taken and my son’s instrument is a very noisy “marching band” screamer, completely inappropriate for these level of playing.
Ok, I think you guess what’s next … Daddy comes to the rescue!!!
I want to buy a decent piccolo for him, but they’re really expensive for my actual budget, especially because I just bought him a new Jupiter 1011 flute.
Exploring different options I came into these Vento piccolos at a very low price. I tried to find any opinions or reviews on them but only found two, both of them very positive, but I’m still not sure.
I wonder if any of you knows something about these instruments, and could help me decide or can suggest another option.
Please tell me something because I’m in a real hurry.
Thank you very much

Marco

Sorry these last post is not supposed to be here!!!