Flute lessons

[PinotAndPlaydough]

My youngest daughter (6) is asking to leave the flute. I was just wonder if
A. Her arms are going to be longer enough and her lungs big enough!
B. How hard/easy to learn is it?

My eldest does violin and although she loves it it’s not the nicest instrument to listen to while they learn and it seems a difficult one to learn.

Her arms won't necessarily be the issue - you can get flutes that are bent to shorten the length. Her issue will be whether her fingers can stretch to reach the keys, and whether she is strong enough to hold it.

Learning is quite easy. If she has played the recorder, the early fingerings are very similar. The blowing technique is the same as blowing across the top of a bottle, and some find this harder than others.

If she finds she is not big enough to manage yet, starting learning the recorder would be good preparation until she grows.

The issue will be if her fingers reach.

We persuaded my dd to wait until she was older(bigger) but this was easier as her uncle plays the flute and showed her that her fingers wouldn't reach the keys.

She could try the piccolo.

Piccolo is much harder to play than the flute. I know lots of reasonable flautists who have never really managed to get a decent sound out of a piccolo.

Would recommend not starting on the piccolo. Yes it's smaller than the flute, but the embouchure control you need to make the notes come out and clear is not something that's easy to get at a young age. Adult flautists struggle! Some swear by the folded/bent flute, but I was told to wait until my arms were long enough to be able to deal with the full length. Something about posture and back muscles developing better.

Learning the recorder as @Seeline suggested is a great idea. Get the idea of reading sheet music in, and general lung capacity up a bit so she's well prepared for fluting.

I remember having fife lessons at school, and then went on to the flute, may be worth looking at.

Maybe contact a teacher but my thought would be start on recorder, learn to read music, deal with fingering etc whilst having a very light instrument which bis easy to hold and does not require an embrochure ( mouth position) that is tricky. Then progress onto flute will be really easy at the right time. The fingering is very similar but the instrument position is quite tiring to start with. I don't like the bent beck ones as the balance feels funny but I am just a very bad amateur!

As you can tell from my username, I'm a pro flautist and teacher.

Whilst recorder is good for learning to read music, it won't really be much help for flute playing, other than perhaps learning to breathe whilst playing.
The curved headcount flutes are good for overcoming arm length, but very young students find the balance hard(all the weight is in the top, so the flute can end up rolling out) and they are still a stretch for little fingers.

I recommend the Yamaha fife for young beginners, for the following reasons:
They are cheap to buy, pretty hard to break and easily cleaned.
Progress can be fast and satisfying; they make a decent sound that is rewarding (unlike a flute, which takes a while to get a decent sound from)
The fingerings initially are exactly the same as the flute, and so is the blowing technique

I'm my experience, pupils who spend a few months on a fire actually make quicker progress once they move over to the flute, than those that start with the flute.

www.amazon.co.uk/Yamaha-YRF-21-YRF21-Fife/dp/B0002F5F9O/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8VZELT96VNL5&keywords=yamaha+fife&sprefix=Yamaha+fif%2Caps%2C248&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1581527781&sr=8-1

My dd learned recorder first. Gave her first in-roads into reading music and then moved easily on to flute when she was about 8.

My dd started at 7 and a bit with a curvy flute - it was OK but she didn't really make much progress until she was bigger - and it was heavy and weirdly balanced. Even at 10 the flute looks a bit big on her to be honest (but then she's quite a little 10). The fife looks like a good option.

I bought dd a Yamaha Fife and let her play around. She started flute lessons at six and a half in a normal (not curved head) flute but she was very tall (and long armed) for her age.

I think my DD was 8 (but small for her age) when she started flute lessons, using a normal straight flute (Yamaha). The peripatetic wind teacher let any interested kids have a tryout - the first requirement was that they could get a sound out of the mouthpiece (I tried it - completely impossible, DD could make a nice note from the off). She could reach ok but at first she needed someone to support the end of the flute for her!

I started with a fife age 9/10 and moved to a flute when I was around 11.

My DD started at 8 and is now 9 (small side of average height). She uses a curved head. She had done a term of recorder at 7 (group lessons and a bit pointless IMO) and plays occasionally on a keyboard at home, so could read basic music.
She is on her fifth term of 20-minute lessons and preparing for Grade 3. It's a beautiful instrument. I actually think she should not focus on grades but that's another thread - her teacher likes them and she wants to do them.
The first few lessons were learning how to make a good sound and from then it's been lovely progress. She doesn't practise much at all so I think she has picked it up quickly, partly due to being able to read music a little first.
Her older brother plays violin and you are right - the flute is much nicer to listen to when they are starting a new piece! He also plays the alto sax though, which is wonderful to listen to.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that learning the recorder first was pointless - just these particular group lessons of learning one note a week was pointless. She learnt quicker at home with a book.

Hi OP - I’m a flautist. I started at age 6, and was a smallish child. I had a Yamaha flute and I remember having to stretch a bit but I could play fine. Maybe see if she can try a flute out at a shop/teacher. I did start recorder first at 5 but quickly wanted a ‘proper’ flute, and in my day there were no curved heads for me to start on.
I also play violin - and out of the two flute is much easier, and will sound more beautiful on the ears more quickly.