FLUTE HEADJOINT

Enjoyment of a flute headjoint is so much a matter of personal taste that no one can really choose the best for you. I have shown the basic characteristics of each option which will help guide you in your choice. Silver is the most common material used in flute headjoints. It gives a fine projecting sound with a wide variety of tone colour available. Extreme brightness and full rich tones are easy to produce along with clear articulation and good dynamic range.

The ‘cut’ is simply the shape of the embouchure hole. This effects the response for the player and alters the characteristics of the tone colours available. Below I give a brief description of each cuts' characteristics.

CUT 1

This free blowing headjoint gives good projection in all three registers, with a wide range of tone colour. All difficult areas such as middle E, high G# and A are well matched giving a truly even sound throughout all registers.

CUT 2

The extra resistance of this headjoint gives a very stable top octave especially when playing quietly. Good projection and a wide range of colour are a feature. Articulation is clean and even throughout all registers.

CUT 3

This style is generally found to be the most resistive of the three. This built in resistance is especially useful when playing quietly, particularly in the third octave. Players are able to relax and produce a full and colourful sound at all dynamics. The mellowest of the three styles with a bias towards a clean and elegant sound giving an even tone throughout all registers with a good “Legato” quality.

CUT D4

This is a new design of headjoint and offers a very wide range of tone colour with great weight to the sound in all registers. Articulation is excellent and the headjoint is characterised by great resonance and projection in the sound with real stability to the player. The redesigned lip-plate contour gives real support to the lower lip.