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I remember going to a flute event in Chicago back around 2000 and in the exhibit hall, there was a bass flute¹ that a few people picked up and couldn’t get a so
by dhosek 4y ago
I remember going to a flute event in Chicago back around 2000 and in the exhibit hall, there was a bass flute¹ that a few people picked up and couldn’t get a sound out of—later, I was on the other side of the room and someone (who likely had previous experience with the bass flute) picked it up and played a lyrical line on it and it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.²
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1. While called a bass flute, strictly speaking a bass flute should be called a tenor flute as it sounds a fifth below the alto flute which sounds a fourth below the concert flute. The piccolo plays an octave above the concert flute and there are intermediate flutes pitched a fifth above the concert flute and also a whole tone above it.
2. At the time, a bass flute seemed an improbably expensive instrument that I could never afford to buy. It occurs to me that now that I’m older and more financially secure, I could conceivably afford to buy one and learn to play it.
- tomcam 4y agoI got a supposedly used Jupiter for $1500 on eBay a few years ago, so yeah! Worth it.
- jefftk 4y agoThat's a lot of money, but it's well within the range of what people pay for high quality instruments
- dhosek 4y agoThat’s less than half the price of a new bass flute, so not really that much money. And a good double bass (the stringed version) would be $10,000 so $1500 is kind of a bargain in comparison.
- dhosek 4y agoMan, I was just looking on eBay and all I was seeing were no-name Chinese bass flutes around $1000. I’ve been contemplating whether it’s worth the risk to get something that might not be playable.
- tomcam 4y agoYou are correct. I'd risk it if I didn't have one already. I've bought several (normal aka soprano) new Chinese flutes for $80 or so and they're absolutely fine. That price is way less than it costs to get my old student model Gemeindhardt to be repadded. Plus PayPal and eBay never ever side with the seller if you decide to return :O
- dhosek 4y agoLooking at the prices of Jupiters now, that’s a fantastic price.
- tomcam 4y agoAffirmative. It was a great price then too!