Hello everyone! I’ve once again picked up the flute, and I’m determined to become proficient this time.
To that effect, I’d like some expert advice, if you wouldn’t mind. I’ve made a video of me making flute sounds from a few different angles and I have two questions:
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Is my embouchure on the right track, where it can successfully mature into a pro grade embouchure with practice, or do you see an issue that needs correction?
I get a lot of tension in my neck as I try to keep my head locked in place to maintain the proper angle. How do I get rid of this tension?
I want to reach the point where picking up a flute and playing feels effortless, but right now it seems to be an effort to sustain anything.
Looks good. Sounds good. I think you are doing better than you realize.
Just play a good deal. That tends to sort things out on its own. Also
relax.
A long time ago I went to see a flute teacher in Bombay. He was a small brown
middle aged man in white pajamas. When I played the flute for him he exclaimed:
‘Relax, Mr. Stone! Relax.’ I often visualize him when I’m playing and follow his advice.
I note that tension gets stored in strange places, e.g. my calves. So I keep checking
my body while I’m playing to see if I’m armoring any part of it, and relax. This enables
one to play faster and more beautifully.
So, you seem to be doing well. Play, practice, and relax. FWIW.
Watching vids of accomplished / recognized players, I notice a lot of different postures. Have you tried getting your head/neck comfortable position and then moving your arms and shoulders to accommodate your neck?
Personally, I’m sure my posture stinks, but I’m comfortable, I can play for a couple hours at a whack, I get a reasonable noise (somewhat melodic) and the dogs don’t bark (much).
I’m anxious to read what the players post here in response to your video.
Remember to move. You are making a great start. I’ve been playing without pain for as long as you’ve been alive likely. We have to remember to relax as we play. When we are beginning we are using new sets of muscles so shorter practice sessions are a good idea when we start. You can still put in lots of time if you have it. Just take frequent breaks. Stand up. Walk around the room, grab a bite, set down your flute and move your arms, roll your shoulders and wiggle your fingers. Gradually you’ll develop a balance that will allow you to hold the flute for longer periods of time and move your fingers fluidly without tension.
Embouchure is complicated to explain. Focusing on blowing across the hole rather than into it will help. Roll the hole up a little if its not catching enough air. Just keep your air moving more horizontally than down. My lower lip protrudes more than my upper when I play. I have no idea what others opinions on this will be. I was told back in the day to think of myself as frowning rather than smiling. You will have the same amount of muscle involvement, just a slightly different angle.
Though you mouth may be frowning, let your brain smile. LOL, and have a good time. It gets easier.
My mantra is “Heart up; shoulders down.” I have heard the same thing from every dance teacher, physical therapist, pilates instructor, etc… I practice it in the car where I have physical contact with the seat back and when I’m not in the middle of trying to hit notes and shape embouchure.
A good warm up is “flippy-floppies”. I don’t know if it has a less-silly name. Start swinging your arms around your body, and let the movement pull your torso into a spiral. Increase the swing until the arms are slapping your back and front. The relevant point here is that the flute position is a twisted pose kind of stuck in one direction, so it is worth loosening the spine up.
Your playing sounds good and seems to be on the right track.
Focusing on blowing across the hole rather than into it will help. Roll the hole up a little if its not catching enough air. Just keep your air moving more horizontally than down. My lower lip protrudes more than my upper when I play. I have no idea what others opinions on this will be.
I do the opposite - upper lip protrudes more then the lower and I blow more into the flute, as explained by Terry.
Thanks for those tips. I think the tension in my neck might also be coming from straining on the high notes. I realized that I don’t need to tense and push them up there, and I can reduce some of the tension by consciously relaxing. The embouchure and the sweet spot still seems so mysterious. Sometimes it’s there, and sometimes the sound is so weak, and it doesn’t seem like I’m doing anything different.
These difficulties are common at first. It takes awhile. Patience. Things sort out
with playing, practicing. A lot of us have posted threads like this one.
As Jim says issues of this nature are not uncommon at first.
I’m not experienced enough on my own flute journey to offer technical advice, I can only empathise and encourage.
When I first started I had tension issues and discomfort in my left hand and was only able to practice for a relatively short time. With the patient guidance from an experienced flute teacher and weekly lessons I’m now over those discomfort issues. The positive result is that my daily practice has imperceptibly increased from about 10 minutes to 40 minutes and this is having a big effect on progressing with other aspects of learning to play the flute.
On a humorous note, and as an experienced and competent player of what I had assumed were ‘more complex’ stringed instruments, it amuses me that making music by blowing through what is essentially a wooden pipe is so subtly demanding. But that understanding just makes me love the flute more.
