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Top Flute Brands for Beginners

With the vast array of flute brands and models in the market today, finding one that will best suit the needs of a beginner flutist can be a daunting task. This article will help narrow down your choices by listing flute brands and specific models that are often recommended for beginners.

For intermediate or advanced players, check out the next level of flute models for each brand listed below. Other recommended brands that are pricey include Altus, Sankyo, Miyazawa, Muramatsu and Nagahara flutes.

Flute History

Photo Courtesy of
Rianne Kriechel-Mans

The oldest flute ever discovered may be a fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, with two to four =holes=, found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,000 years ago. The authenticity of this fact, however, is often disputed. In 2008 another flute dated back to at least 35,000 years ago was discovered in Hohle Fels cave near Ulm, Germany. The five-holed flute has a V-shaped mouthpiece and is made from a vulture wing bone.

Photo Courtesy of Nik Frey

from Stock Xchng

The flute belongs to the wind family of musical instruments. It is of ancient origin and was first made of wood. Now, however, the flute is made of silver and other metals.

There are two types of methods used in playing the flute: side-blown or end-blown. Generally, a closed-hole silver-plated flute with a C footjoint is recommended for student beginners.

Here are some guidelines when buying your first flute.

Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 314 (K. 285d)

Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major is an adaptation of the original oboe concerto.

For nearly two centuries, experts thought that Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 2 in D major, K. 314 (K. 285d) was originally composed for the flute in Mannheim in 1778. However, in 1952 Bernhard Paumgartner, musicologist, cogently proved that the flute concerto was the alteration of Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C major, K.314/271k, which was composed for Giuseppe Ferlendis, oboist in the Orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

What is a flute?

The flute is, according to Wikipedia, a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel-Sachs, flutes are categorized as Edge-blown aerophones.

A musician who plays the flute can be referred to as a flute player, a flautist, a flutist, or less commonly a fluter.

Aside from the voice, flutes are the earliest known musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about 40,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Alb region of Germany. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.