Modern Modes

A crash course on the modern modes.
I like modes. They cause trouble. Melodies using modes don't and can't work exactly the same as major or minor tunes and have been known to throw experienced musicians for a loop. They are used in traditional tunes, troubadour music, Renaissance and older music and by many current composers. This post is the first in a series about the modes.

Modes are just scales with different patterns of half and whole steps. The names of the modern modes come from the Ancient Greek modes but be warned, the scales are completely unrelated to Ancient Greek music. Once you know the pattern of whole and half steps a mode uses, you can play a mode starting on any note.
The following is a cheat sheet for working out the modes based on major or minor scale patterns. I'm going to start on C and work my way up the keyboard. That is the traditional way to work through scales in the music world. Musicians are just odd that way.

Ionian is the same as the major scale or the same as playing all the white keys from C to C. (All major scales are Ionian scales, just starting on different notes than C.)
Dorian is the same as a minor scale with a raised 6th step or the same as playing the white keys from D to D. (The key for D minor has a B flat and since B is the 6th step of the scale, we play B natural)
Phrygian is the same as a minor scale with a lowered 2nd step or the white keys from E to E. (E minor has an F sharp but since F is the 2nd step of the scale we play F natural)
Lydian is the same as a major scale with a raised 4th step or the white keys from F to F. (F major has a B flat but B is the 4th step of the scale so we play B natural)
Mixolydian is the same as a major scale with a lowered 7th step or the white keys from G to G. (G major has an F sharp but since F is the 7th step of the scale we play F natural)
Aeolian is the same as a natural minor scale or the white keys from A to A. (A minor has no sharps or flats)
Locrian is the same as a minor scale with a lowered 2nd step and a lowered 5th step or the white keys from B to B. (B minor has a C sharp and an F sharp but since C is the 2nd step and F is the 5th, both are natural)

Just like major and minor, all the scale patterns can start on any note. The notes I gave are just examples that can be picked out on a keyboard easily so you can hear what they sound like. The trick to using modes is that you may have to lead up to the final cadence or start the melody differently to keep the tonic (first and last) note sounding final. So all that voice leading music majors study in music theory starts breaking down in places. But not completely which is why people get so confused. (Some people like using modes the same way they would use major and minor and just letting them sound "unfinished" when they stop on the tonic notes but I think that is missing the point of having a different scale at work.)
You may have noticed that our major and minor scales can be found within the modes. This is where those two scales came from but they are now considered a different system than the modes. Some music books say that musicians in the Renaissance and Middle Ages used something called musica ficta to adjust the modes to something more like a major or minor scale. While that did happen (it is part of how we got to using mostly major and minor) it is a serious oversimplification of both musica ficta and the modes. Sometimes music was written to take advantage of the different intervals in the modes and sometimes modes were used because instruments couldn't always play certain notes in tune so they just worked with the notes the instruments could play. And of course the modal sound was more accepted in general. People had been hearing it all their lives; composers knew how to handle the modes and they were used to them.

Each mode was generally considered to have a different mood or color but I find that there is a wide range of moods each mode can handle. The rhythms and melody patterns have just as much to do with the character of a song as the scale it is based on. Still, different modes are especially good at different things partly because they force you to use different melody patterns so as not to lose track of the tonic note. This is one of the things I like to explore with the modes. I'll be talking about each mode in more detail in later posts.
If you are wondering what moods Renaissance theorists gave the modes, the best I can give you is a possible reconstruction based on how the modes were linked to the planets (we're heading into astrology here but it was fairly common for Ren theorists to do just that.) Here's my best guess as to what that would give you;
Dorian for the Sun-bright and happy
Phrygian for Mars-aggressive or enthusiastic
Lydian for Jupiter-expansive and powerful
Mixolydian for Saturn-melancholy or authoritative
Aeolian for the Stars or the Moon-spiritual and joyful or emotional and introspective
Locrian for Mercury-energetic, tricky or unpredictable
Ionian for Venus-loving, seductive and gentle
I based this off of a Renaissance picture called "Music of the Spheres" that was published in 1496 in Francinus Gafurius's Practica musice (for more on this picture, click here.) Finding historically accurate moods for the modes is a daunting project so be prepared for a lot of research if that is what you want to know!

Have fun with these ideas but don't let them limit you. Our tuning system is not the same as the ones (yes, there were several, all confusing) used in the Renaissance so not only are we less used to the modes but they don't even sound the same today as they once did. And in my experience, anytime someone tries to say a scale represents only one mood, it means they are ignoring how much rhythm, meter, harmony and all the other details of music work together to create the piece.

All a Flutter

Ever heard a really bad imitation Scottish accent? With lots of RRR rolling? Ever done one? Then you can flutter tongue.
Flutter tonguing isn't used that often but it turns up more and more as time goes on. It can be found in Jazz, Classical and even Folk music. The rolling of the tongue creates a buzzy, surreal sound that mixes with the clear flute sound in interesting ways. The sound can't be imitated very well by any other technique. And its fun.
(A personal plea; Keep the jokes about this topic clean please! Trust me, we've all heard the dirty jokes before and they get old fast.)

There are two ways to flutter tongue and both relate to rolling Rs. Really, both are extremely fast and repeated tongue strikes that don't stop the note or air stream. This is not a muscle controlled action; the tongue is close enough to the roof of the mouth that the air stream causes it to vibrate like a reed on a clarinet and this creates the buzzing or rolled R sound.
The preferred technique (for flute) uses the tip of the tongue. Put the tongue behind your front teeth and let it "bounce" off the roof of your mouth as you exhale, like a rolled R without vocalizing. (This is the same spot you place your tongue for a regular single tongued note-the "ta" or "da" tongue.) It is sort of like turning your tongue into a mini jack-hammer. The trick is learning to maintain your embouchure while doing this.
The other method uses the back of the tongue or the uvula R roll, the way Rs are rolled in French. Its not that different from the other one, just further back in the mouth. This is the spot you use for the "ka" or "ga" sound when double tonguing. Just faster. For the record, flutter tonguing is "easiest" for flute and brass instruments but the reed instruments can flutter too (yes, even oboes though that may count as cruel and unusual punishment.) It is however much easier for reed players to use the second method of flutter tonguing!
If you can't do one, try the other. The first method tends to be more obvious sounding and the second one has a softer buzz but either one works. If you can do both, you end up with a choice of sounds for flutter tonguing. Always a plus.
Once you get the hang of it, its actually kind of entertaining to do although having to switch it on and off at just the right moment can take some practice. Often, flutter tonguing is used on one or two notes though they may be long held notes that make your mouth feel odd after awhile. Sometimes the flutter is meant to last over several notes or used with faster passages. With luck, it will be clearly marked when to start and stop.

So how is this marked in music? Unfortunately, its not very consistent. Part of the reason is that, just like all terms in music, different languages use different words. Flatterzunge, frullato, coupe de lange roule, tremolo dental, vibrata linguale are just some of the different names used for flutter tonguing.
Most flute players agree that it SHOULD be marked with a fl, flt, flz or fltz and sometimes frull. or flutter above the note followed by a squiggly line (a trill mark) to show how long to flutter.

This is clear, noticeable and informative so of course many composers don't use it.
The next most recognized marking is to write fl or flutter above the note with diagonal lines slashing the stem of the note (a string tremolo mark.) This works but it can be confused with subdivision markings especially since composers often leave out the the fl and only use the slashes or write flutter once and never again even when the fluttered notes are mixed with regular notes. I recently played a piece that used this mark for flutter tonguing right after using subdivision marks for actual subdivisions and then proceeded to switch back and forth from subdivisions to flutter tonguing for two lines. It took me 4 times through the piece to figure out what was happening where.
Some composers simply write FL or flutter above the note with no other marking and leave you to guess how long you have to keep your tongue buzzing. Quite frustrating.
And some composers switch between all these marks just to make sure the flute section is paying attention. These are the composers I want to track down and send to remedial composition classes!
Finally, other composers make up their own marking I guess because they couldn't be bothered to look it up. As long as they explain their invented mark clearly and they use the same mark for the whole piece, I don't mind this. Consistency makes up for a lot!

Muses, Modes and the Music of the Spheres

This will be a rather odd (and long-ish) post about a picture called "Music of the Spheres" that was published in 1496 in Francinus Gafurius's Practica musice. This picture gives us some interesting insights into how the people of the Renaissance super-imposed Greek myth onto music theory. My views on the musical elements, mythological ideas and metaphysical ideas that can be seen in this picture are influenced by (but not the same as) Joseph Campbell's essay "The Muses Nine" (can be found in The Mythic Dimension: Selected Essays 1959-1987) which I encourage you to read. (Even though he got the names of the two modes that are the same wrong-he was a mythology expert, not a musician.)

"Music of the Spheres" from Francinus Gafurius's Practica musice published in 1496-public domain.
(This picture uses a pre-Copernican order for the planets and is geocentric.) 

What is shown in this picure

-The Latin scroll at the top reads "The Apollonian mind moves the Muses everywhere." 
-Apollo is seated at the top playing a large lute. The little flying monkeys in the corners (I know they are supposed to be angels or cupids but they look like flying monkeys to me) are playing a smaller lute and a viola da gamba. Both lutes and viola da gambas were often used instead of lyres in the Renaissance pictures of mythological characters.

-Three Graces dance next to Apollo.
    1 Euphrosyne "Mirth, Good Cheer"
    2 Aglaia "Splendor, Beauty"
    3 Thalia "Blooming, Abundance"

-Nine Muses are matched up with the nine planetary spheres and the modes/scales. In between each planet is the word tonus (whole-step) or semitonium (half-step) to show the distance between each note. To hear the different modes/scales, you can follow the whole and half steps starting on any note. Or, on a piano, play only the white key between the notes in the parenthesis below.
    1 Urania “Heavenly one”---Stars---Hypermixolydian (A to A; Aeolian or minor) 
    2 Polyhymnia “Many hymns”---Saturn---Mixolydian (G to G)
    3 Euterpe “Giver of joy”---Jupiter---Lydian (F to F)
    4 Erato “Awakener of desire”---Mars---Phrygian (E to E)
    5 Melpomene “The singer”---Sun---Dorian (D to D)
    6 Terpsicore “Enjoys dance”---Venus---Hypolydian (C to C; Ionian or major) 
    7 Caliope “Beautiful voice”---Mercury---Hypophrygian (B to B; Locrian) 
    8 Clio “Giver of fame”---Moon---Hypodorian (A to A; Aeolian or minor) 
    9 Thalia “Festive, blooming”---Earth---no note or mode
    (Note: These are not the current standard spellings for the names of the Muses.)

-The Greek words next to each Muse (Mese, Lychanosme, Meson etc.) are names for notes that mostly indicate the order of notes in a scale. They basically mean 1st, 2nd, 3rd and so on.
-A Three Headed Serpent in the center connects the Grace Thalia (top) to the Muse Thalia (bottom.) There really was both a Grace and a Muse named Thalia in some of the less well known Greek myths. A number of names get reused in Greek myths.
-The Elements-Fire (ignis) Air (aer), and Water (aqua) surround the Earth (terra) and the Muse Thalia.

I have yet to find any explanation of the vase of plants next to Apollo. I say it represents the blossoming of the earth creating spirit. 

Musical Ideas I See in this Picture

As a group, the Graces create the movement and speed of the sound waves; pitch.

The Grace Thalia shapes the type of sound being heard; timbre. I would tentatively give volume and rhythm to the other two Graces.

The Muses are the organization of the different vibrations/pitches; the notes and scales.

Since Muse Thalia (within the Earth) is not given a note or scale, she becomes not only the substance used to create music (air, wood, reed, string, metal) but also the sounding board or the part of the instrument/voice that reverberates and amplifies the sounds just as she amplifies our connection to spirit.

The whole-steps (tonus) and half-steps (semitonium) between each planet form an ascending minor scale from bottom to top though different scales are formed by starting on different notes/planets. The name of a Greek scale or mode is assigned to each Muse and planet. Hypermixolydian and Hypodorian are functionally the same scale pattern according to the picture. (Not, as Campbell says, Hypermixolydian and Dorian.)

A bit of trivia; the picture itself does not actually use Ancient Greek scales. Renaissance authors didn’t know how the Greek scales really worked and assigned the Greek names to their own scales somewhat randomly. (The Greek scales started on different notes, used different intervals between scale steps and often placed the tonic in the middle of the scale.) However, these ARE the scale patterns and mode names as they are paired off today. They just have nothing to do with the older Greek scales, aside from their names.

More Detail and Mythological Ideas

Apollo as the God of harmony helps people live in harmony with the world and spirit. Harmony can be created between different tones, different beings and different realities. In Greek myth, he was sometimes considered the leader of the Muses (after ousting Artemis.) 
The Graces are the first divisions, reflections or reverberations of spirit. They expand the possible ways of perceiving the divine mask, making it easier to approach. In myth, the Graces lived and traveled with the Muses. The Graces were sometimes considered a triad version of Aphrodite, who had ties to the Muses as well. There are several different sets of names for the Graces so don't worry too much if you haven't heard of this set before. Euphrosyne "Mirth, Festivity, Good Cheer" faces away from Apollo representing spirit moving out into the world. Aglaia "Splendor, Beauty, Triumph, Adornment" faces Apollo representing how the world feeds and seeks spirit. Thalia "Blooming, Abundance" faces the viewer creating a full circle.

The serpent descends through the planetary spheres and four elements (Campbell compares it to the Kundalini spirit descending the spinal column) and its three heads are in the earth with the Muse Thalia, connecting spirit with the physical world by linking the two Thalias. Three headed beings turn up in myth a great deal and often represent balancing our right and left energies (creative and analytical, spirit and body). This serpent helps us connect with or wake the Muse spirit within the earth and ourselves. 

The elements, earth, water, air and fire not only make up the world but are different forms of spirit within the world. The more aware we become of the various forms of spirit in the world around us, the more we experience the inspiration of the Muses. 

The Muses and the planets are the expansion of consciousness through the planetary spheres and different harmonies. Getting to know the Muses and their planetary spheres can be seen as the growing awareness that spirit exists in everything. And since all art, music and learning has its Muse, any art, learning or inspiration is a possible path to spirit.

Chakras and the Tree of Life

Campbell links the Muses to the chakras in his essay although he assigns three Muses to the heart chakra to make the numbers work. He describes encountering the different Muses as moving awareness up through the chakras in the body continuing the Kundalini idea.
Crown chakra----Urania/Stars
Brow chakra------Polyhymnia/Saturn
Throat chakra----Euterpe/Jupiter

                             Erato/Mars---Upper Heart, closer to spirit

Heart chakra-----Melpomene/Sun---Center Heart, balances earth and spirit
                             Terpsicore/Venus---Lower Heart, closer to earth
3^rd chakra---------Caliope/Mercury

2^nd chakra---------Clio/Moon

Root chakra------Thalia/Earth

Here is an alternative method of linking the Muses to the chakras that I came up with and think is less confusing. It uses two external chakras that are only present in some chakra systems (there are many.) Again, this is to make the numbers work.

External chakra above our heads----Urania/Stars

Crown chakra----------------------------------Polyhymnia/Saturn

Brow chakra------------------------------------Euterpe/Jupiter

Throat chakra----------------------------------EratoMars

Heart chakra------------------------------------Melpomene/Sun

3^rd chakra----------------------------------------Terpsicore/Venus

2^nd chakra---------------------------------------Caliope/Mercury

Root chakra-------------------------------------Clio/Moon

External chakra below the ground---Thalia/Earth 

This picture can also be used to place the Muses in the Tree of Life pattern. I don't know why Campbell didn't discuss this since the numbers match up better than with the chakras.

1 Kefer Crown/Source------------Apollo 
2 Chokmah Wisdom---------------Urania/Ourania

3 Binah Understanding-----------Polyhymnia

4 Chesed Love------------------------Euterpe

5 Gebunrah Strength--------------Erato

6 Tiphareth Beauty-----------------Melpomene

7 Netzach Victory-------------------Terpsicore/Terpshicore

8 Hod Glory----------------------------Caliope/Kalliope

9 Yesod Foundation----------------Clio/Klieo

10 Malkuth World/Universe-----Thalia

I think Mnemosyne “memory” would works just as well for the first station as Apollo since she is the mother of the Muses.

With that in mind, Lethe “forgetfulness” is a good choice for the 11^th station, Daath, that is both there and not. 
If you would rather stick with images from the original picture, the serpent would be my next pick for the 11th station. It would also be possible to put the Graces here as a group. (For a short, clear and sane intro to the Tree of Life, I suggest Math for Mystic by Renna Shesso-she discusses it in one chapter.)

Qabalah Tree of Life and Muses

Keep in mind that this order of the Muses was created in the Renaissance and has no relation to anything in Greek mythology. You are in fact free to move them around anyway you want.

Summing Up

Connection to spirit comes from perceiving that the spirit is a part of the physical world and understanding that the physical itself creates the spirit. To deny the physical, the body, as holy in hopes of increasing spirit or connecting with divine is similar to looking at a water glass without drinking it when we are thirsty. Drinking the water is much simpler and far more effective. Not to mention more comfortable.
The Muses bring inspiration of all kinds into our lives and harmony to spirit and matter throughout the universe.

For More Muse Stories Click Here

Flute Shopping in the Deepest Darkest Midwest

The standard advice for trying out flutes is “go to as many stores as you can and play as many flutes as you can so you find the perfect flute for you.” Great advice. Unless the nearest store with anything other than junker flutes is a day and a half away. Of course, taking a “flute vacation” in which the trip is planned partly around good flute stores is an option. If you have time to travel and don’t mind planning your trip that way. You can also see if there are any flute conventions or gatherings in your area. My favorite repair person Judi of Judi's Woodwind Shop sells some very good flutes (student and high end) and hosts a flute party once a year. If something like this happens in your area, it may be the best way to go. But you will be limited to the flute dealers who show up. And the smaller the gathering, the fewer the choices. So for all the musicians living in extremely rural areas, I’m sharing my advice for long distance flute shopping.

First, do your research. This will be in two parts. One half of this research is to read up on the top flute brands, see what other people are saying about them, compare prices and features of different models within brands and from brand to brand. Don’t rule out a brand or model because of one person’s negative comment but do look at what they criticized about it; if they didn’t like the tone, that doesn’t tell you much since everyone sounds different on different flutes. But if they said the keywork clacked or was awkward, that is something to keep in mind. Although again, what is uncomfortable for a person with small hands and long fingers may not be the same for a person with wide hands and short fingers. Always remember that different models of the same brand may be quite different (or not) and that sometimes newer versions are constructed differently than older ones. Important: You won’t be making your final decision based on this information! You will be using it to pick which instruments you want to test out. What you are attempting to do is select several different kinds of flutes that are all likely to be very good and have those sent to you to try out. Then, you will be in a position of having nothing but good flute options.
Now the second part of your research; picking a company to send you flutes. Each store and manufacturer has a different trial policy (and some don’t allow trials) so you want to figure out which ones will work best for you. Look at cost (shipping to and from, insurance, trial fees etc.), available flutes, how long you get to test flutes, how returning the flutes works (return shipping is sometimes more expensive) and of course if they are a reputable company. If you haven’t heard of them, look them up and find out what people have to say about them. I personally recommend the Flute Center of New York for several reasons. They have a very good selection of new and used instruments, their trial policy is the most affordable of any company I’ve researched and if you speak to them, they are very willing to work with you and be flexible about the details of the trial. Example; their website states that you must be a member of the National Flute Association to try out flutes (possibly worth joining just to do this) but they were very cheerful about loaning me flutes in spite of my membership lapsing several years back. They simply make it easy to play-test their flutes even by mail which is a big plus. If you find a company with a trial policy that seems ok but you wonder if they would modify it some, get in touch and ask. Many companies are willing to be a little flexible as long as you talk with them but be understanding if they say no. It's also a good idea to compare the prices of different companies. Flute World is another good company to compare prices and descriptions of flutes, new and used, although their trial policy is pricier and more complicated than the Flute Center of NY.
A note here about shopping for used flutes; for experienced players this can be a pretty good option. If you are patient about it, you may have a chance to play or buy a better flute used than you could afford new. However, there are a couple of possible issues with shopping used. One is that you are at the mercy of what instruments are available. Two different used flutes I looked at on-line were out on trial when I first asked about them. One was returned and I got to try it, the other was purchased and I didn’t. That is just how it goes. The second issue is that used flutes may not be in top playing condition. Most places try to get even their consignment flutes into decent shape. But since they don’t actually own those flutes, they can’t force the current owners to spend money on repairs or adjustments. More experienced players can tell when a flute isn’t playing well because it needs work but it is well worth asking a repair person to check out a used flute before purchasing it. If the repairs aren't that pricey, it may still be a good idea to get the flute. One final thing to keep in mind when looking at used flutes is that the tuning (also called scale) of flutes has changed over the years. I’ll let you look up the details of the Cooper, Deveau and other "modern" scales/tunings but basically, you want to make sure a used flute will play at A=440 without pulling the headjoint out insane amounts. Most flutes made today are set at A=442 which usually works fine. A short session with a tuner will tell you if a flute is too high or low.

So which brands are good? The trouble with this question is that new flute makers pop up, brand names are bought and changed and flute making techniques change so any list you find will be limited to the time it was made as well as the knowledge of the person making the list. Of course when a brand turns up on a “best” list year after year, there is a good chance they are worth considering. Again, I suggest looking up what people are saying about different kinds of flutes on-line. But remember that there will be a wide range of opinions on every flute out there. Example; some hate the “bright” Sankyo sound while others say it has the most beautiful soaring sound out there. Both groups are making subjective personal statements about how THEY sound on these instruments and your sound on that brand may not match either statement.
Here are a few brands that have good reputations. This list is mostly geared to high end flutes. If you're shopping for student flutes, you may want to look at this site too. Buying Flutes (Parents Guide)
-Altus
-Brannen (these flutes retain much of their value used so don't expect much of a price drop)
-Burkart (older ones are called Burkart & Phelan-there are differences but both labels are the basically the same maker)
-Haynes (has changed hands some but the handmade ones are still considered good)
-Miyazawa
-Muramatsu
-Powell
-Sankyo (known for being repairable as well as good sounding).

Don’t limit yourself to just this list! I don’t pretend to have researched all the different brands out there. And there are smaller flute makers (such as Lehner in Australia) that are considered good but aren't easy to find in some places. And some brands have student or intermediate models (such as Sonare Powell or Resona from Burkart) that are not the same as the higher end instruments. Which doesn't mean you should dismiss them, just be aware of which models you are looking at. And take notes. This is not a small project, you shouldn’t expect to memorize all this information in one go.

How much a flute costs matters far less than how well it fits you. A story about this. When I was in college, a fellow flute player and friend played the same kind of flute as me (Sankyo Prima) but we did not sound the same at all. Because of this and since we both liked the other's sound, we often tested out instruments together to see what would happen. When she got a Muramatsu, she sounded wonderful on it; beautiful tone, great dynamics, just all you could want. I however sounded rather wispy and shy on that flute, nothing too special. Another time, she played an all wood flute that made her sound like, in her words, "a 3rd grader on a recorder." But when I played it, in a crowded room full of people tweeting on flutes, nearly everyone within hearing range turned around and asked about the flute because they liked the sound so much. Both flutes were good and we both played well. It was just the difference in how we interacted with the flutes that created such a change of sounds on the same instruments.
A story about my search for a new flute. At one point I had three wonderful flutes on trial; a used handmade Haynes, a used Sankyo 601 and a Powell Conservatory. All three had beautiful sounds, a wide dynamic range and a good key layout. The Haynes had the most covered (darkest) sound that was oddly reminiscent of an oboe. This flute had the smoothest transition to the top register of any flute I have every played. But the top three notes above the high C were rather difficult to get out. The Sankyo was very bright and open sounding which surprised me since it had a "heavywall" design that is supposed to create a dark sound. It almost had a brassy sound or an edge to the tone. The layout of the keys on the footjoint was simply perfect (Sankyo does that well) and extremely comfortable under my fingers. The top three high notes spoke the easiest of all the flutes. It was also very heavy and made my hands tired after awhile. The Powell spoke easily, had an open sound but no edge. The quiet tone in the low register was fantastic. The sound was quite consistent from the low to the high range. All of these flutes were a delight to play and would have been good choices but you can see that there was still quite a bit of difference between them.

Some links to get you started in your research.
Head Joints-Minor Music and Flutemonkey-Headjoint
Some info on head joints. Just buying a new headjoint instead of a whole flute is sometimes a good choice.
Parts of the Flute-on the Larry Krantz site
Many flute players pick up these terms but if you haven't (since we don't need to know all these words to play after all) this chart may help when reading descriptions of flutes. The Larry Krantz site has a great deal of useful flute information and is well worth exploring for its own sake.
Articles About Flute Construction and more-Miyazawa site
There are many different articles about the terms used by flute sellers, different key options and so on here. Keep in mind this IS the Miyazawa site so they talk up their own flutes in these articles.
Modern Flute Scales-short intro
This is a post in the Powell blog so again, they talk up their own flutes.
"Best" Flutes
This is a very short (5) list of well liked flute brands. Even these brands have their detractors so don't let this limit you.
Gold or Silver-Jennifer Cluff
The debate over gold or silver flutes is long and heated. This post has links to several articles on this issue AND a sensible summary. The Cluff site can be difficult to navigate but has lots of good information.


Links from earlier in this post:
Buying Flutes for Students
This is written for parents of younger players, but there is plenty of good info about shopping for flutes.
Judi's Woodwind Shop
Repairs and good flutes in the Kansas/Missouri area.
Flute Center of New York
Good flute selection and long distance trial policy.
NFA-The National Flute Association
Not directly related to buying flutes but of possible interest.
Flute World
For pricing of new and used flutes, descriptions of flutes, flute music, basically all things flute.
There are other good companies that sell flutes. Here are a couple that are highly spoken of although I have no personal experience with them.
Carolyn Nussbaum Music Company and J L Smith Wind Specialists

The goal is to learn enough that you can have only good flutes sent to you and increase the odds that you will find a flute that you love, that makes you sound your best and that you can't wait to play. Good luck!

With the Music

Moving while playing is a bit of a thorny issue. Many musicians have a tendency to move while we play. Part of the brain that processes music also controls physical movement so this is not at all surprising. The trouble occurs when the movement becomes distracting to the audience.

Now in Classical training, teachers are more likely to be strict about not turning your body into a metronome or standing on your toes when you’re playing high notes (though it is fun to hit those high notes on your toes, let me tell you!). But in folk music, tapping the foot is almost part of the music. There’s a big difference of opinion about whether or not keeping the beat with your body is acceptable. Folk music tends to have a strong steady beat that people can clap along with. Classical music may have a regular beat but it also may use complex rhythms that show off the performers ability to play against the beat. With this in mind, the different opinions about moving while playing makes a fair amount of sense. When musicians are playing against the beat, it is more impressive if they don’t show where the beat is with their foot or by swaying. When the audience is supposed to feel the beat as part of the music, showing that beat adds to the music.
I was never happy with the idea of holding rock still while playing. My teachers, thankfully, didn’t want to turn me into a statue but they did want me not to keep time in an obvious way. So I learned to be aware of when I was moving to the music and to make conscious decisions about how I was moving.

The more I play for live audiences, the more I’ve learned that “dancing” to the music adds to the show. And knowing when I’m moving is vital and lets me make sure it works with the music. I do tap my foot for some songs to make a point about how the piece is speeding up or slowing down or to add to the piece in some way (bells tied to an ankle are a standard trick to create your own percussion line). For other songs, I walk and move all over the stage to show some of how I am feeling the music, not to keep tempo. And for some songs, I hold still and let the music speak for itself. But I try to be aware of each and every choice I make.