July 2021
I have the clear feeling that I must slowly but surly realise the purchase of a new flute. The sound of my Yamaha student flute is making me increasingly dissatisfied. It is never what I imagine it to be.
I am a beginner flute player, a flute-rookie, so the sound may be due to my embouchure or lip tension. The flute teacher has a hard time assessing it with me either. Of course, I sincerely hope that my daughter's old flute is to blame for the rusty tones and that it's not me.
I asked when my teacher would have time to go to a flute shop with me as a consultant. She indicated some time ago that she would even be happy to do so. Then I would make an appointment in the shops. I chose two in Munich and, as an addition, Flutissimo. I would definitely like to have her with me in the two flute shops so that she can help me look out for important things or features. Which I can't even guess at the moment. Then I would already be experienced enough with the Flutissimo option and be able to manage testing on my own.
I think that's a pretty good plan.
In lessons, I'm now supposed to play the upper octave more and more often. Now that I've finally learned the high "D" correctly, there's no excuse for me to practise up there. That often doesn't work out so well. Not only because of the fingering; the change from "C" to "D" and the whole thing back again still falters a bit. The change of lip opening is also not always clear. When I have to start at the top, it doesn't work at all. It's easier for me to start from the bottom up.
I discovered a great advantage for my piano playing on this occasion. Since I now move outside the staves with the high notes, they are much more familiar to me and I can recognise them better and faster. I am very happy about that.
There was a wonderful meeting with a friend. She had come out as a former flutist some time ago. She plays a Muramatsu flute. Her flute has tarnished, is quite worn from age and not being played much. Nevertheless, it still has a very beautiful and mellow sound.
We spent an afternoon making music together at my favourite place, the bench by the little stream. I lent her my music book earlier so that she could familiarise herself with the pieces. But it wasn't necessary at all, because she could read them without any problems and accompany me safely.
We played the little exercises together first and then each her own part. I can still rarely play the lower ones. The low "C" is much too difficult and if I do accidentally manage to get it, it takes a lot of chance.
We had a listener for quite a while, an old gentleman. He asked if he could sit on the small bench to listen to us. He acted very modestly because we were a bit embarrassed by the simple beginner pieces. At some point he confessed that he had been to the conservatory as a young man and had studied piano for a few semesters before he preferred to become a physicist.
When we said goodbye, he told us his name and that he planted this old apple tree under which the little bench stands by himself. He transfered it from his garden as a young seedling almost exactly 50 years ago. It was a very beautiful and heart-moving encounter.
After the afternoon I was happy with joy. I'm never sure if it's the happiness of playing the flute or all the deep breathing.
In the Bhagavata Purana, the quintessence of the book of Vedic philosophy, art and history, something beautiful is written about the flute: "When Krishna plays the flute, the whole world is filled with love. The streams stop, the stones shine, the lotuses shiver, gazelles, cows and birds go into ecstasy. Demons and ascetics are enchanted."