, 1886-09-23
THE MUSIC OF THE FLUTE.


Plea for the Instrument.
There Is nc doubt about it. aid VIII
lam Ronnberg, the venerable John street
dute maker, shaking his white head
~mournfully. flute playing among anna
teurs has gone of style. Worse than
That. it has become an object Of ridicule.
The man who plays the flute for amuse
meut is laughed at; he is regarded as .
sort OF a Miss Nancy, and his friends
make sly remarks about his lowering
rents in his neighborhood. The verse
makers write what they think are funny
rhymes about the to0t OF the flute, anu
so, taking all things into consideration,
the boy or young man with o taste for
music and a desire To learn some musical
Instrument is actually laughed out OF be
ginning TO play one Of the best pnrior in-
siruments that is made.
Bat what does he learn instead, in nine
cases out Of tenn continued the old gem
tleman. ~Why. either the earsplitting
cornet or the musicless banjo. Think of
I at Instead Of an instrument like the
dute, with its soft, sweet musical tones,
he takes II brass nuisance and blows his
lungs out trying TO get music out Of it.
Lowering rents, iudeedl Well. | don't
want to be a ~neighbor TO the young man
who is playing the cornet. The banjo
ISN'T quite As b I'd, but what music there
Is in its philosophical, punk-a-punh, /
don't know
Mr.. Ronnberg spoke with the warmth
Of a partisan. He pretends to be nothing
else. He has been making flutes moro
years than most men live, and locks back
with regret TO the days of 81. when he
employed a shopful Of meu. AMI turned
out flutes by the score. Those were the
days when 1t was the thing for young mel
TO play the German flute. as the four. six.
and eight keyed flutes were called. ThD-e
were the days when professional flute
players We're abundant and excellent. The
old man no longer makes German flutes,
but in his little shop he still makes
Boehm flutes, ap ,arently quite ~ skill
fully ~ he ever did.
at Is just possible. 80 he continued, "tnat
the Boehm fiuie has something 10 do w III
the decrease Ia the popularity Of the lutc.
although it IL almost treason to sly so.
The Boehm Is II perfect instrument. int
measurable superior TO the old fute. Ii
Is very much lore expensive. costing all
the WAY from Sl5J upward # is also
more complicated in lis mechanism, ale
though much easier to play, and there.
fore more Lab e. TO yet out of order And
here comes the point / want to nuke. An
amateur buy a Boehm flute. and enjoys
IT, About the time he has it well ia hand
1t gels OUT OF order. 4 mere trIfia par
haps The maker could fix il In a minute.
But the owner thinkers with IT,. gets 10
worse, takes 1t to the nrst music store he
ices, they tell him they'll have 10 hXed;
they send it TO some fiute tinker, and the
result Isl too often, the flute is spoiled L..
Now, had the owner -eut IN az once 10 the
maker, even from a distance, his flute
would hive come bacS better thau ever
And 80 h. comes about that you will find,
In not f. few homes. Boehm flutes ilAt
aost II good sum lying dried mp aud i-e
less, all for want Of "a little care.
IL is now the fashion 10 revive old
styles. Why doesn't some one revive
nute plnylnry There il no Instrument
more perfectly htted for the pdrler. Ac-
ocmpaniel by tho piano, or the harp or
guitar, or even the banjo 10 Is very pleas
Ing. There is much excellent music ar
ranged Tor the tiute and piano. and when
you take two flutes and piano, each welt
played. then you have music indeed