Hello! I’m Emma Piedilato, thank you for taking an interest in my blog. In this introductory post I will be giving an overview of what my current flute set-up as a graduate Master of Flute Performance student. This is my current set-up as of July 2020 which I’ve maintained since the 3rd year of my undergraduate degree several years ago.
I currently play on a Haynes, Weissman model flute. It is a handmade, custom flute that I bought pre-owned from the Flute Center of New York during my 1st year of undergrad in 2015. I’ve kept the original head joint which has a large squoval-cut hole, is made of silver, and has a 14K gold riser. The body is also silver, with Straubinger pads, a C# trill key, D# roller and B foot.
Getting a new flute (and making the jump from student to professional) meant that I had gone from a latch-style case to a french-style case. The different being that I now needed a case cover to properly carry my flute around. During my undergrad, the university would hold a Woodwind Day where vendors would come with limited stock for the students (usually at a discounted price). It was at one of these events that I bought my Jean Cavallaro case cover.
In 2017, I made the decision to add a LeFreque to my flute set-up. I made this choice after trialing several colleagues’ LeFreques of different materials and seeing (1) which metal I preferred and (2) if I really thought it would improve my sound quality. I eventually decided on the rose-gold plated, solid silver sound bridge. My recommendation is to try any flute product before buying it (especially if the price tag is expensive), and despite the varying opinions on LeFreques: I have used mine since 2017 to present day. Originally, I was struggling to adapt from a student Yamaha flute with a small oval lip hole to the Haynes Weissman flute with the large squoval lip hole. Getting low notes, overall control, and stability had been a challenge for about a year and a half since purchasing the flute. I do believe, in my case, the LeFreque was a tool in helping me bridge the physical gap between the two flutes – it is not a necessary tool for everyone, but is certainly is cheaper than buying an entirely new head joint.
The original Haynes case my flute came in was not sturdy enough to support my flute. I found this out one long day during my undergrad when my flute (in the case) was knocked off a chair, no more than 2 feet of the ground, and resulted in a bent key. Over the following summer, I saved up my money to invest in a sturdy case recommended by my repair tech to decrease the amount of movement of the flute while in the case (it can’t be seen well in the attached photo, but my repair tech glued additional black felt inside the case to make the fit custom to my flute). The case I ended up getting was the Valentino B-foot Wood Case.
Over time, I began to accumulate all of the gadgets inside of my case… I made the transition from a flute rod and cloth to a Valentino flute flag the same time I bought the case. Quickly, the flute flag has become my favorite method for cleaning my flute – it is washable, and doesn’t fray like the interior cloths tend to do.
The pad paper has been part of my set up from day 1 – especially in New Jersey with our ridiculously high humidity, pad paper is essential!!!
The mini screw diver was studio gift from my undergraduate flute professor, although I never use it on the body, I do use it for the screw holding the D# roller on the foot joint does which I occasionally need to adjust; I always keep it with me for that emergency.
The coffee straw may seem like an odd thing to keep in my case, but I always keep one on me for when I am teaching. The validity of teaching students the approximate apperture size with a coffee straw is vital… also sometimes if I’m having a subpar playing day I use it to retrain myself.
Finally, I have an abundance of Beaumount cloths. I use one to rest my flute when I’m taking a short break from playing or taking a quick note to prevent dirt or dust from getting on the flute body or pads. And the other one I use for exterior cleaning.
What is your flute (or other instrument) set up? Let me know what you’re using.
What's On My Stand 