I'm no expert in wind musical instruments but have been played Western concert flute and harmonica for few years. So it's my first time playing shinobue after all. This flute seems to be constructed well and is of high quality with reasonable price. Comes with a green fabric pouch and a easy instruction sheet on how to use. It needs effort to figure out how to get a sound in the beginning. Now I can play few notes and it sounds great. So put a little more effort to practice, I think I'll be able to play a short song soon.