Music Purse Lady Gets her Own Music Lover Gift
It's the Ultimate Music Lover Gift, And I Got It!
Most people are music lovers to some degree, whether they listen to the blues, attend Jazz Festivals, appreciate the music in their dental chairs... But besides one of the Gift Ideas for Music Lovers, such as a Violin Purse, Guitar Purse or Grand Piano Purse from Violettes, the ultimate gift is a shiny new instrument. And I have one coming in the mail!!!!!!!!!!!
I desperately wanted a higher level flute when I graduated high school, but never mentioned it
to anyone ever until now! Although I carried my flute everywhere I went, like hiking and even in the car to practice during red lights, and although I received the high school orchestra award, I knew that I would be playing less and less as I grew older. I saw a $2,000 Haynes flute for sale that I really wanted, or maybe I tried it out somewhere, but that sounded like an enormous amount of money for one headed to college (in those days and these days too). About 5 years later, I noticed that that particular flute went up in price to $13,000. I suppose, it was the price in silver. I kicked myself figuratively for years. While I was a flautist in my Rock Mechanics Professor's Comedy Opera Company Orchestra at UC Berkeley and continued to teach private lessons at a music store for several years, I did play less and less. Wherever I moved for an engineering summer job, I seeked out places to play or people to play with, and continued to carry my flute on hiking and backpacking trips.I played to my daughter when she was in my womb, and even after she popped out; but with kids, my time priorities changed greatly. When we moved to Knoxville 20 years ago, my own music making went into hibernation. I had asked so many people to play until I gave up. I started playing a little with my kids, as I talk about in previous blog, "50 Ways to Lose Your Loved Ones".Why the Ultimate Music Lover Gift Now?Maybe 5 or so years ago, I saw an ad in the newspaper about the Music Study Club in January. Not knowing what it was, but seriously missing my own music making, I attended. Little did I
know that they would make me perform in front of them after not playing all these years! I joined a flute quartet in the club. This was fun socially, but since the other 3 flautists had been college music majors and professional musicians, I usually ended up with 3rd or 4rth part. Playing in a flute quartet is not nearly as fun as playing with a varied group of instruments, but it is fun socially, and I continue to meet a lot of great people and hear great personal performances! After all these years in Knoxville, a new member made an announcement that a community orchestra is forming in Knoxville, the "Scruffy City Orchestra". I think that I literally jumped over people to ask to get in. (I don't think anyone noticed.) We had our first rehearsal, finally, after a snow delay. It was like I died and went to heaven (if a Jewish Unitarian is allowed to say that). I thought that I would never play in an orchestra again in my whole life! I was in the right place at the right time! Of all the flautists in the University town, and little old me in the right place at the right time! (Did I already say that?) I messaged a flute teacher to say that I may need to line myself up in her studio pronto. I had a night mare that I was kicked out for intonation problems. In the first rehearsal the conductor had to tell me that the g was a trill!!! I was so embarrassed that I couldn't trill my ring finger. I guess I am so old and haven't moved that finger quickly in so many years. Another fluatist told me that if I am going to play in an orchestra, I really ought to get a new flute, "tell your husband that you need a new flute for your 25th anniversary next month". I said WHAT!!!??? RIGHT!!!! She said it is probable that it is the mechanism in my flute more than me that was the trill problem. So I headed to take my flute in for repair, and the repair man was away for a week on vacation. I tried a higher end flute at the local music store. BINGO! Although the tone of the flute sounded shrill, the key bounced off my finger and I could play it as a tremolo (faster than a trill)!!What happened after that, I will not bore you with any longer but my musicianship just improved 10 fold, and maybe I won't get kicked out of that orchestra.How is My Musicianship About to Improve 10 Fold?Let me tell you that I have been playing on a "toy" flute for 40 years, and all I can say is no wonder this and no wonder that!
- 1. The flute "mechanisms" work much much better. They keys bounce off my fingers; I can fly thru runs and trills. So now I need work to get the runs even.
- 2. The flute is designed to be in tune with so much more hand work in a high end amateur flute. Several professionals have suggested that I work on intonation! Like my daughter's violin teacher when I played trios with my kids, said that my sharp notes hurt her ears. And there have been a couple of other incidences. I worked on it a few times, but with a flute not made to be in tune, it's pretty hard work!
- 3. Dynamics are night and day!! There is no work on this new flute to start loud on a low note and run up to the highest note pianissimo. I can't get over this!
- 4. The low notes and the high notes pop out! Normally, it is hard work to get them out, and often the low notes won't sound, and the high notes result in an out of tune squeak or just vibrating lips.
- 5. The tone is much warmer and it projects too!
- 6. There are cheat keys on the flute!!! Sometimes on a flute, to change notes, you might have to move four fingers, so imagine trilling clumsily with the 4 fingers moving up and down. There are secret new keys added so that you only have to move one finger to trill!
- 7. I always have been embarrassed that I don't have a flute that can play the lowest note. Now I've got it!
- 8. There are key movements added such that the commonly worst sounding notes for flautists are better sounding and better in tune.
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Is that enough? So last week I tried the flutes of the other 2 orchestra flautists. They were semi professional and professional models. I asked, "do you have more flutes at home?" "Oh yes!" "I said, so do I, I have a $100 flute that I bring backpacking." That got a good laugh considering one of their flutes was over 100 times that cost.Now where is that flute teacher that I messaged! I never did get around to learning Chaminade or even Fight of the Bumblebee. Let's Go! I'm excited and inspired.Reasons to get the Ultimate Music Gift are listed above, but if you can't afford that right now, please consider an awesome guitar purse, violin purse, piano purse or gig bag from Violettes!
