Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1886-11-02
THE MEXICAN FLUTE.
A Plea for the Revival OF Tuneful an
Sweet Instrument.

Sweet Instrument.
There is no doubt about il" said
William Ronnberg, the venerable flute
maker, shaking his white head mourn.
fully, "llute.playing among amateurs
has gone out of style. Worse than that;
IT has become an object OF ridoule.
The man who plays the flute for amuse-
ment is laughed at; he is regarded as a
sort Of Miss Nancy, and his friends
make sly remarks about his lowering
rents in his ncighborhood. The verse;
makers write what they think are funny
lines about the toot of the flute, and so,
after taking all things into considera-
ton, the boy or young man with taste
for muse and n desire to learn some
musical instrument is actually laughed
out of beginning to play one Of the best
parlor instruments that are made
"But what does he learn instead, in
nine cases out Of temp" continued the
old gentleman. "Why, either the ear
splitting cornet or tho musicless banjo.
Think of that! instead of an in
sirument like the flute, with Its soft,
sweet musical tones, he takes brass
nuisance and blows his lungs out trying
to got music out of it. Lowering rents.
indeed! Well, Idon' want to be ncighbor
TO the young man who Is playing the
eornet. The banjo isn't quite rs bad.
but what music there is In its pink-a-
pink-a, pink-a-punk, don't know.
Mr.. Ronnberg spoke with the warmth
OF a partisan. He prctends to be moth
ing else. He has been making flutes
more years than most men live, and
looks back with regret TO the days of
"a. when he employed q shopful OF men,
and turned out flutes by the score.
Those we're the days when it was thing
for young men to play the German flute,
Rs the four. six and eight-keyed flutes
were called. Those were the days when
professional flute players were abundant
and excellent. The old man no longer
makes German flutes but in his little
shop he still makes Boehm flutes, ap-
parently quito as skilliully as he ever
did.
at is Just possible" he continued,
"that the Boehm flute has something to
do with The decrease in the popularity
Of the flute, although ii is almost trea-
son to say 80. The Boehm is q perfect
instrument, immeasurably superior to
the old flute. 1t is also very much more
expensive, costing all the way from n
hundred and fifty dollars upward. 1t is
also more complicated in its mechan-
ism, although much easier to play, and
therefore more Table to get out Of order.
And here comes the point | want to
mako. An amateur buys Boehm flute
and enjoys il. About the time he has ii
well in hand il gets out of orlcr. A
mere triIlc perhaps. The maker could
fix il Il minute. But the owners tinkers
with II, gets ii worse, takes II to the first
music store he sees; they tell him they'll
lave 1t fixed; they send II to some flute
tinker, and the result is, too often. the
flute Is spoiled. Now, had the owner
sent it Mt once to the maker, oven from
u distance. his flute would have come
back better than ever. And so it comes
about that you will find in not few
homes Bochm flutes that cost good sum
lying dried up and useless, all for want
OF little care.
ut Is now the fashion to revive old
styles. Why doesn't some one revive
nute-playingP There is no instrument
more perfectly fitted for the parlor.
Accompanied by the piano, or the harp,
or the guitar, or even tho banjo it is
very pleasing. There is much excellent
music arranged for the flute and piano,
and when you take two flutes and p ano,
each well played, then you have music
indeed. IN y. Sun.