Month: December 2019
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A “pressing” issue
To press or not to press? That is the question for many flute players, especially in the early stages of learning, and there are a few different opinions on this which I would like to discuss and offer my own thoughts. When we are first taught the flute, we are told to blow across the…
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Powell Flute Serial Numbers
Below is a list of the serial numbers of handmade flutes produced by Verne Q Powell Flutes. Please note that this does not relate to ‘Commercial’ models. Serial Number(end of year) Year of Manufacture 26 1927 57 1928 110 1929 166 1930 190 1931 207 1932 221 1933 237 1934 258 1935 289 1936 331…
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CITES Regulations of Wooden Instruments – Update
On 28 August 2019, the CITES Convention voted to exclude the trade of musical instruments from the list of controlled items. This is welcome relief for both customers and retailers, as it reduces both the cost of purchase and delivery times of both new and pre-owned instruments crossing borders. It also means that musicians travelling…
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Memorisation
A blog on playing from memory! An excellent skill to develop with many benefits. Incentive Memorising a piece of music, a speech or poem is something that has obvious benefits, but often scares people as it takes away the comfort of having a script or score. I remember my primary (junior) school made all of…