Hey all. I have played fiddle and whitle for years, and I recently decided to try flute. I got a tipple flute, and can get some notes out on it, but I would appreciate some advice on how to progress, or where to go to learn. Thanks.
Steve
But you sort of have to have been playing for a while to really use most of it.
I highly recommend you get grey larsens book, “the essential guide to irish flute and tin whistle” or “Timber, the flute tutor” by cintan valelly (if I am right).
Besides this, do a lot of scales up and down, and octave jumps as that helps to develop your embouchure, and listen to a lot of your favorite flute players on cd to see what style you would like to learn.
Start with very simple tunes that you know (songs you like) and try to learn play those on the flute.
here are some websites that could get you started:
http://www.skiphealy.com/frames/fr_learn.htm read the tips in the right…
http://www.geocities.com/feadanach/ also a very good site
If at all possible look for somebody of the forum, or an traditional flute teacher (the last being a very rare find 
) living near you or for an irish session to get into touch with other musicians who would like to help you out. (how close depends on how far you want to drive 
) when you are ready to take some lessons because there is nothing like a live person to help you out.
Hope this helps you a bit on the way and don’t hesitate to ask questions on the forum!
Greetings
berti
Try to play a few different flutes if possible.
I’ve found that sometimes some flutes just ‘work’ better in some people’s hands than others. I had an expensive Böhm flute that I never could get to play right, and an old cheap eBay bamboo flute that I absolutely love (and still have). It plays really cleanly, and is in tune and everything. One of my friends tried to play it, though, and she much prefers the band flute.
I think flutes are more ‘personal’ than are whistles in that regard.
I’d recommend perusing the archives. There’s tons of advice, some of which will work for you and some of which won’t. You’ll get a lot more feel for what you should be doing than you will from a dozen or so responses in one thread.
Here are some things that have helped me (some of the came from Grey Larsen’s book):
- playing in the mirror to see where my lips are/should be–remember where they are when you make the flute sing.
- build your embouchure by playing until it hurts and beyond–one thing I’ve done is just go through my day tightening up those muscles at the corners of my mouth as a sort of “mouth pushup” if you will.
- take the head off the flute (if you can) and try to just get a clean note on it; then reassemble and remember where your lips were and what they looked like.
4-10. Practice
(Well, of course I’ve done other things. The most important perhaps is that I have tried to approach learning the flute in a conciencous way, i.e. forcing myself to play slowly and with good tone; taking my time through pieces so I don’t “run over” the hard parts, etc… this has really helped a lot.)
11. don’t beat yourself up about it.
Hope that helps.
Matt
If you spend a lot of time online, keep a flute near your computer. Play, play, play!
If you can take a couple of lessons, even one,
from somebody who plays Irish flutes,
it can save you a lot of time and trouble.
These are pretty cheap, in fact, and
there may well be somebody in your
area. A lesson every few months
is a good idea.
The mirror trick wasn’t helpful for me–couldn’t see myself. 
Of necessity, I go by touch-and-feel. Instead of looking to see where the flute is and should be, I memorize the feel of it on my face and in my hand. I get the right placement against my lower lip by brushing my lip over the flute and feeling the embouchure hole. I practiced getting the placement right over and over until I could pick up the flute and, by brushing against it, go to just the right place.
I examine the position of my lips over the hole the same way. By rolling the flute slightly, I can tell how far my upper lip is over the hole. I work on reducing hiss while checking to see what positions make it worse. When I find what works, I memorize the feel of the position. I work on producing better sound, then memorize the feel of the position that made the better sound.
It has helped me a great deal, although I’m sure I’ve a really long way to go.
I bu gluebed de flute to da botta obba my lip. Now Ibba allays know Ida got it inna rite place. No mirra or nottin. Perfek ebber time now!
Well, I thought it was the right place. Turns out I’d slithered down the side too far. Covering the hole more works much better. It just goes to show that my memory is going, too.
What kind of glue did you use, Bun? Maybe I should rely on that instead.
On a serious note, Steve-O, just keep at it. Things will get better gradually. <she says, hoping it’s true . . . >
Ibu de try da suber glube. Work prebby goot.
Tweeeeet! Tweeeet tweeeee! Tweeeeeeet!
See?
You need a boxwood flute. I can’t play blackwood because it’s too slippery – when it gets warm my lip starts to sweat and I just can’t keep it in place. Boxwood’s much better; cocobolo is certainly preferable to blackwood.
Of course, VB’s solution works too, and once you’ve built up a little torn-away flesh, it’s as good as having a tacky lip plate.
OW!!! That’s gonna hurt tommorow.
How is mopane? Is it slippery? I don’t have so much of a problem when I play by myself, but I seem to when I’m around others.
It is a boxwood. 
And my lips do not sweat. They glow.
Tacky lip plate, eh? Perhaps a little double-sided sticky tape would help. Or a head strap.
Velcro!
Perfect! I’ll stop off at Joanne Fabrics tomorrow and get some. Should take, what, about two inches max? Perfect timing, too, as I have a 50% off coupon that expires on the 11th.
Steve-O, so sorry to have hijacked your thread . . . we’ve nearly dragged it over to the Pub . . . no excuse for our rude behavior. 
Tell us more about yourself, would you? Have you checked the links yet? Any thoughts about them? Look helpful? Not?
I forgot to check if anyone recommended the MadforTrad CD. It has lessons on it which a number of people have found useful. You might be beyond that if you have experience with other instruments, but peek at it anyway. www.madfortrad.com
When you are starting out play often (if you can) but for short time frames. As your lip will get tired which can make you frustrated as the note you were able to play 10 mins ago, suddently seem out of reach.
I think it is more important to play good notes (good notes being the tone you are looking for) for a short period of time, rather than fighting with them for a long period of time.
It takes practice and experimentation to develop the tone you want over a sustainable period of time. But gradually you will find that you will be able to keep the tone you are looking for for longer periods of time.
Also, if it is a wooden flute DO NOT use “bore oil” it is a crude oil product like gasoline, with chemical evaporators, and could damage your flute over time. Use Almond oil often and from time to time use Mineral Oil (recommended to me by a woodwind repairer and it works better than linseed oil, IMHO).
I’m playing a tipple flute now, and I’m still working on getting a good tone out of it. I can play some songs that i know slowly, but I dont really have good tone yet. I’ve been working on long held out notes and scales now. Thanks for all the advice.