When most flute players think of curved headjoints, they think of alto and bass flutes. But did you know that curved headjoints are available on regular C flutes as well? These instruments, designed for the smaller player in mind, have waned in popularity in the last couple of decades, but as a petite player who began the flute at age 9, I definitely wish that I had started out on a curved headjoint. What this does is shorten the distance that the flute is held away from the body to the right, leading to less stretch and strain on the left hand, arm, and shoulder.
There are a few slight disadvantages to a curved headjoint C flute; the sound quality is slightly diminished, but keep in mind that these are designed for beginning flute players. My general opinion is that the development of good hand position outweighs the slightly lower quality sound production. A second disadvantage is an uneven weight displacement–because of the curvature of the headjoint, it is slightly “top-heavy.” Jupiter flutes have come up with a solution to this problem with their “wave-line” flute, which looks like this:
The flute is held the same distance from the body as the curved headjoint. Paige’s Music has a limited number of curved headjoints available on a beginning rent-to-own plan, and an exchange can be easily made when the student is ready for a regular C flute. We do not currently have any wave-line flutes in stock, but contact Erin to get one ordered for your petite student!