My flute is Japanese, I think my flute is Japanese, I really think so...
Since my last few posts have been clarinet-centric, and I've been spending a lot of time lately thinking about flutes (which isn't really all that new or unusual), I thought I'd do some talking about a topic that seems to generate some mild disagreement in the flute world, or at the very least is the source of a bit of division among flute players, and that is...Japanese flutes vs. American flutes. Much is written and heard about the glorious Haynes sound, or the unrivaled mechanics of the Brannen Brothers' offerings, or the rich history of Verne Q. Powell. Let us also not ignore Lillian Burkart and Kanichi Nagahara, also churning out much-beloved magical flutey-tubes from their Boston workshops. (It should be noted that Nagahara, while certainly of Japanese origin, lives and makes his flutes in Boston, and as such is considered an American maker.) But, this isn't about them... On the other side of the globe, we have the big Japanese heavy-hitters of