Rachel Taylor Geier

Greetings from Phoenix! Welcome to a new Flute Friday from the 2023 National Flute Convention! Two days in and there are still so many more concerts, lecturers, and reading sessions left to attend! As we battle the scorching summer heat walking between our respective hotels and the Convention Center, many of us eventually find ourselves creeping up to the third floor where vendors in the Exhibit Hall tote all of their best flutes, piccolos, and flute swag. As in previous years, today’s flute blog features some of the great products I have come across so far in the Exhibit Hall. If you are at the convention, be sure check them out! Some of these are super affordable, clever upgrades that will take your flute swag to the next level. If you are unable to attend the convention, you can still order these great products from the links below!

NFA Product Reviews – The Best of the Best

Silicone Flute Cushion by Caccini. I really like this one! I have struggled over the years to find a thumb port for my right hand that is reliable, yet flexible (in case I need to move it around to experiment with different hand positions), comfortable (aka not hard plastic), and also adorable/fashionable/a conversation starter. This thumb port option fits all of those bills! It is soft but not too cushy, providing more stability for your right hand than a Flute Gel (which I prefer for the left hand). These come in a variety of colors to fit your personal vibe. I chose pink because, well, I am a flute playing Barbie at heart. Perfect right hand guide for my thumb and personal brand!

Woodwind FIXIT Tool. We all need a decent mini screwdriver for adjustments and emergencies. As someone who has carried around sad, cheap, mini-screwdrivers from the dollar store in the various pockets of my flute cases for, well, decades, I geeked out over this little contraption. Small enough to stash with your cleaning cloth, this genius thing is a small, flat-head screwdriver on one side and on the other side is a handy-dandy tool to catch springs that have loosened in order to guide them back to their respective posts. No more Q-tip, MacGyver-like quick-fixes, or destroying your fingernails trying to help your students figure out what the heck is wrong with their flutes. This is a small, delicate, discreet tool that will take the place (and better) of those not-so-great dollar store bulky screwdrivers in one super cute device. Yes – they come in a variety of colors to fit your personal brand.

Lip Non-Slip Patch by Roi. These are great! I have used lip patches before but quickly ditched them when they slipped off my flute due to overuse in humid climates. I also didn’t love the grossness they seemed to collect over a few practice sessions (ewww). These lip patches are very different than the old school ones that were basically sandpaper with glue on the back. These are super thin, easy to stick onto your lip plate, take up far less space than most other lip patches, and come in a pack of 12. Swap them out often! Finally, a comfortable lip patch that lives up to it’s promises!

Wiseman Flute Cases. These are clearly the popular item at this year’s convention! And I have to say, I totally get it (and picked up one for myself). The beauty of these cylindrical cases is that they fit multiple instruments in a concise package that takes up far less room in your flute bag. They are even stylish enough to ditch those bulky old-school flute bags all together! (P.S. Those bags are to blame for my old person back problems BTW. Not cool.). There are various sizes that can fit single instruments, flute and piccolo, flute/alto/piccolo, and even ones that can fit a flute/piccolo/alto/bass flute! This is a flute choir performer’s dream come true! No.more.schlepping. We’ve been schlepping flutes around the country for way too long. The inside cushioning is designed so well that the instruments on either side of the cylinder do not touch (Whaaat?? I know – I didn’t believe it until I saw it from the designer himself). They are super secure with added straps to keep everything in one place. My favorite part, of course, is that they come in a variety of colors and textures. Again, like many of the other products on this list, there is a color to fit your vibe. Of course, I picked up this beautiful pink bag and I am in love!

Geoghegan Company Headjoints. I was absolutely floored by these headjoints! The quality is like nothing I have ever seen before in a headjoint. It is virtually impossible to overblow your notes on these puppies. Geoghegan Headjoints come in a range of metals and risers and are stunningly beautiful! What had me floored was that the owner, a wonderful, super helpful, friendly, and knowable man named Mike Geoghegan, used a standard student model flute with his most reasonably priced headjoint to demonstrate the power of the headjoint to dramatically improve sound, resonance, and response even on the most basic model flute. If a student starts out with these things already in their arsenal, they won’t need to struggle as much in the beginning of their flute development. This gives them a much better starting point and avoids the awkward relearning/readjusting phase that follows when they are ready to upgrade to an intermediate flute. The price for The Elan model right now at the NFA Convention is $350, which will go up to $600 post-convention. This is a steal! I recommend grabbing one for your studio. The top of the line model, for our professionals, is incredible! The tube on this model is made out of tantalum, which is an element that you do not see in your standard headjoint, and produces a sweet sound in all registers with an equally enormous sound when the occasion calls for it! Finally, there are options for lip plates that are created at an angle! I have literally never seen this before. If you have unique problems with your shoulders, or find you experience pain during longer practice sessions, give one of these headjoints a try. Ergonomically-speaking, they align much better with the natural position of the arms.

Breath Building Magic Pipe. “Dr. G – Why the on Earth are you talking about a cheap kid’s toy on your super cool product review blog?” Because, these little things are great tools for developing breath control and accessible enough that students will love using them in their flute practice. Let’s face it – Sometimes your traditional breath builder gadgets are a little scary and overwhelming for beginning flute students. These, on the other hand, are small and innocuous and something they have probably received before as party favors. The trick is not to make the plastic ball fly up and away but rather to control it with your breath to that it hovers just above the net. When students master this, they can add articulation for an added challenge. These exercises will translate perfectly to the flute in a similar way that breath builder exercises usually do. Easy peasy!

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Do you have a favorite product that you’ve picked up during the NFA Convention so far? Have you tried some of the products listed here? What vendors have you visited and did you score some great finds from them? Please comment below!

Happy fluting! And enjoy the remainder of the NFA Convention!

-Dr. G.