Hi, I'm Yoobin Son and I'm a flutist in the New York Philharmonic, and this is "What's
in My Case?" Seems like my dog Chloe will be assisting me.
So today I'm going
to walk you through what's in my case, how I set up my flute, and some of the
gears I use as a flutist.
So I have two gorgeous flutes I love to play. This one
is the Muramatsu flute from Japan, and I got this one as a new flute back in 2017.
It's made of 14-karat gold body and head joint with silver keys. And I have
another one back at my dressing room at David Geffen Hall which I didn't get to
rescue before the quarantine started, and that one is made by Brannen Brothers,
American flute maker, and I got that one as a used flute, and it was actually made
in 1979 which is even a couple years older than myself. And I go back and
forth between two flutes depending on the repertoire. I find it easier to blend
with other players on my Brannen flute, even though it's the same setup like 14K
body and silver keys as the Muramatsu flute, and Muramatsu feels a little more
secure in the higher register and I feel a little more evenness throughout the
intonation. So, it's slight difference, but I do feel it when I play in the
orchestra.
So other than my two flutes that I just told you about, I also have another head
joint that I sometimes use. This one is actually platinum that joins with gold
lip plates made by David Williams, another American flute maker. And
platinum brings a lot more power to the sound, so if I have to play something
that requires a lot of strength and volume I go for this head joint. Let's see
if you can actually hear the difference:
It might be more obvious in the bigger concert hall than my living room here,
but yeah so depending on the repertoire again I tend to go back and forth.
I have two different cloth: one to swab out the inside, and one for the outside,
so you can keep your flute clean and shiny. Then I have a pencil to mark things
during the rehearsal. Oh, and cleaning pads,
so sometimes moisture will get stuck between the key and the body tube and
some notes won't speak if that happens, so then you use these cleaning pads
to clean out the moisture. So it's very important.
Earplugs so you can protect your ears while you're playing with many people
onstage, and sometimes from your own playing, so you can have a long and healthy
career.
So I custom-ordered this case when we were on Asia tour a couple of years back
and when we were in Tokyo. They have a Muramatsu store, so I chose the fabric
and inside color and I even have, oh yeah, engraved my name inside. So yes, it's very
special to me, and it's a very good quality and sturdy, and I don't have to
put it in another backpack or bag, which can be quite heavy. I can just have it
separately on my shoulder, so also a nice fashion statement. So I love my case.
Now, some of you might be thinking, "Oh, I need a fancy flute to sound good," but
that's not entirely true. Of course, all these different types of
materials -- wood, silver, gold, platinum -- they all have different characteristics of a
sound, but it doesn't mean that one is better than the other. It all depends on
personal preference. If you're an early stage student, the most important thing
now is to work hard and develop yourself fully both musically and technically so
that later you can experiment with different materials of a flute, and find
your own color. And if you're on a budget and looking to upgrade, I suggest that
you go for different types of head joint. If you find the right one you can make a
tremendous difference in your sound.
When you're practicing, I want you to have a goal and purpose so you're not
mindlessly repeating yourself. As you know, playing a musical instrument is
physically very strenuous so we always need to achieve maximum
musical result with minimum physical efforts. So think before you practice! And
one method that can help you a lot with your practice routine is to record
yourself at the end of the day. When you listen to it, you might be surprised at
how differently it sounds than how you imagined yourself. Then take a note on
what to improve on and plan your next day's practice session accordingly.
I'm Yoobin Son of the New York Philharmonic, and this was "What's in My Case?"
Thanks for joining me!