Student Flutes
The instruments in this section are designed for beginner flute players of all ages through to those reaching the levels required for entry to specialist music education.
If you have never played the flute before you might find it helpful to speak to your teacher about the different brands, before going out to buy an instrument. If you already play even a little bit, then trying several different instruments is a good idea – and fun! Even by playing just a few notes you can tell if you like the sound of that particular flute and how comfortable the key work feels in your hands.
At Top Wind we have all been teachers of the flute
and know, from experience, that a beginner needs the best instrument affordable.
We have often seen cases where a young player has been discouraged by an
instrument that is unreliable or difficult to play. As a result we
only recommend quality instruments which are principally the following
brands; Yamaha, Pearl and Jupiter. These are the ones we feel give
the best value for money, without compromising quality.
As part of the Top Wind service, we provide a free
‘Starter’ pack with every flute, from the silverplated range, purchased
outright. Designed to help get a beginner started with the minimum
of fuss, the ‘Starter’ pack comprises:
- 1 x piece of music (a tutor book that your teacher recommends)
- 1 x music stand
- 1 x Fingerfax (fingering chart with four octaves of fingerings and trills)
- 1 x Practice Diary (to keep track of all that hard work!)
Yamaha
The Yamaha Company has been in business since 1887 and, without doubt, their student flutes are the best selling in the world. Yamaha have invested in the best technology and materials and, coupled with an excellent quality control, produce consistently reliable and popular flutes.We stock the Japanese made instruments (as opposed to the US assembled range, which, in our opinion, is inferior in quality), and always have in stock the following selection:
Yamaha Flute YFL211SIIUK
Yamaha Flute YFL271SIIUK
Yamaha Flute YFL281SIIUK
The following models have bodies identical to the ‘2’ series but have a solid head joint.
Yamaha Flute YFL311IIUK
Yamaha Flute YFL371IIUK
Yamaha Flute YFL381IIUK
To read our suggestions on how to upgrade from
a basic Yamaha Flute please see ‘The
First Upgrade’
Pearl
Pearl is a Japanese company with a Taiwanese factory for their student range who entered the flute making business in 1968. The factory, based in Taichung, assembles the parts made in either Japan or Taiwan and carries out the superior standard hand finishing work under the supervision of Japanese management. One of the particular attractions of the Pearl design is that it uses a ‘pinless’ mechanism, making the instrument less prone to seizing up and easier to maintain and repairWe always stock the following models:
Pearl Flute PF501E
- Silverplated throughout
- Closed hole keys with E mechanism.
Pearl Flute PF501RE
Pearl Flute PF501R
- Silverplated throughout
- Open hole keys with in-line G keys
Pearl Flute PF521E
- This model identical to the PF501E but has a solid
lip plate on the head joint,
felt to improve the tonal characteristics in the head joint. - Silverplated tube and key work
- Solid lip plate, closed hole keys with E mechanism
Like most manufacturers Pearl also produce the above models with solid head joint:
Pearl Flute PF661ES
- Silverplated body, solid head joint
- Closed hole keys with E mechanism.
Pearl Flute PF661RE
Pearl Flute PF661R
- Silverplated body, solid head joint
- Open hole keys with in-line G keys
Jupiter
In our opinion Jupiter produce the best of the Taiwanese made instruments. In the last decade they have spent a lot of effort improving materials and design and now produce a reliable, robust beginner flute at a reasonable price.Jupiter Flute JFL511ESSC
- Silverplated throughout with solid riser
- Closed hole keys with E mechanism
Jupiter Flute JFL515ES
- Silverplated throughout
- Both curved and straight head joints supplied
- Closed hole keys and E mechanism.
The instrument above is designed for small children to use in the initial learning stages. The curved head can help avoid the development of bad posture habits or strain often acquired when small children learn on a ‘normal’ flute. This flute has both head joints in the same case so when the time comes to move on from the curved head, it’s not necessary to purchase another instrument.
Other specifications in the silverplated range that we stock are:
Jupiter Flute JFL511RES
- Silverplated throughout
- Open hole keys with offset G keys and E mechanism
Jupiter Flute JFL511RS
- Silverplated throughout
- Open hole keys with in-line G keys
Jupiter also produces a solid head version of their student series:
Jupiter Flute JFL611ES
- Silverplated body, solid head joint
- Closed hole keys with E mechanism
Jupiter Flute JFL611RES
Jupiter Flute JFL611RS
- Silverplated body, solid head joint
- Open hole keys with in-line G keys
Jupiter - Di Medici
In 1998 the Jupiter factory introduced a range of flutes called 'Di Medici' to the United Kingdom market. These are a higher quality flute than the student Jupiter range with a better quality mechanism and embouchure design aimed at the more advanced player. They are realistically priced too being between the student and mid-range in cost. These are available in solid head and solid tube models. All have pointed key arms, giving a professional look to the instrument.Jupiter Flute JFL911ES
- Silverplated body, solid head joint
- Closed hole keys with E mechanism
Jupiter Flute JFL911RES
Jupiter Flute JFL1011ES
- Solid head and body, silverplated mechanism
- Closed hole keys with E mechanism
Jupiter Flute JFL1011RES
- Solid head and body, silverplated mechanism
- Open hole keys with offset G keys and E mechanism
The First Upgrade
Student instruments are generally designed to make learning easy for a beginner. When a player has progressed to a certain level of proficiency, an upgrade may be needed, but it may not be necessary to upgrade as far as the mid-range instruments. There are two options available from Top Wind in the upgrading of student flutes.Option 1
Both Pearl and Yamaha silverplated instruments have
sufficiently reliable mechanisms to ensure a long lifetime of use.
The head joint design is biased towards the needs of beginners and so a
cost-effective way of upgrading is to change the head joint only.
We offer an option of a ‘Mid-Range’ japanese flute head joint, such as
Miyazawa or Altus, fitted to a flute in the silverplated range. This
is sold at the same price as the equivalent student flute with a solid
head e.g. a Yamaha YFL211SII fitted with an Altus head will be the same
price as a Yamaha YFL311II.
Option 2
If you already own a flute from the silverplated Yamaha
or Pearl ranges then a further step would be to select a separate hand
made head joint for your flute, giving you the biggest improvement in sound
and flexibility. See our 'Flute Head Joint'
section for a listing of the new head joints we stock. See
our current 'Second Hand List' for our stocks
of used head joints.
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Top Wind Europe's Favourite Flute Shop |
| 2 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7RJ. Tel: 020 7401 8787 |