As some of you might remember Im a newbie on the Irish flute. I really enjoy my Dixon 2pc by the way. I manage to get a good solid tone out of it most of the time. Now I just have huge trouble with playing position. I mean, I’ve read some pointers on other web sites about how one should hold a flute, with straight back, shoulders up, etc. But when I play like this I constantly loose the embouchure when tapping at the holes. I can’t hold the flute straight while playing a tune. Last night I played it for several hours togheter with a fellow from my group and I was very aware of my terrible position, with curled back and the flute head resting on the shoulder. Thats the only way I seem to be able to play without moving the flute up and down while playing. And I got up from bed this morning with a hurting neck for this. How the heck should I hold the darn thing??
First off I would suggest that other than sitting upright with shoulders straight (that is, not slumped), which are important guidelines, IMHO, I would begin with holding the flute in front of you with your elbows at their most natural orientation: the flute and you can make no contact without an unnatural reaching of the head toward the flute. If you gradually shift the elbows to your right while maintaining a natural feel to their position (the left armpit should eventually feel snug against the corresponding pectoral muscle with some space between the left elbow and ribcage), and simultaneously turning your head gradually to the left, there should be a meeting point where flute meets lips with the least stress possible upon the neck, upper back, and arms. It’s a sort of compromise, if you will. From there, a nearly horizontal level for the flute is considered ideal (I get my best tone that way), but you don’t want to clamp the right upper arm against the body, nor elevate it from a natural position to do this; this is a matter of practice. I myself have a bad habit of dropping the foot of my flute so that my head tilts to accommodate. Hey, I’m workin’ on it, OK? Again, if you go by what feels most natural in an unnatural (or, rather, unusual) position coupled with good general posture, you’re probably on the right track. Also, in general keep the embouchure hole centered to your lips and the flute as a whole fairly parallel to them (some flute players use their nostrils as a gauge for that).
Works for me. There are always exceptions, but starting from the middle ground is a good idea, IMHO. I hope I haven’t been to confusing here.
If its your neck that hurts and you are sure its from playing, You may want to try some therapy either during breaks or after playing:
Assuming you play with your head slightly turned to the left (commonly known as righthanded playing):
ROTATE your head to the right side (about 45’);
grab hold of the head just above or behind the LEFT ear with RIGHT hand; gently pull head to right and downward until stretch is felt. You can alter the degree of rotation as you do this simply by ever-so-slightly turning either back or forth until the desired angle / stretch is felt. Let go and return head to foward facing position. The next stretch is to
SIDEBEND the head/neck to right and do the the same stretch. Keep left shoulder down as you do these stretches. Works for me.
Hope it helps. Oh, yah, Do the opposite if you play lefthanded.
Note that the position described and pictured works well for me, and allows me to play even very heavy polymer flutes without difficulty, but I can’t promise it will work well for every flutist.
I am in a very similar position to you, I am three weeks into playing my first flute, a Dixon 3 piece.
I also found that slapping my fingers down would throw the flute around at first. It took me at least a week to get relatively stable. The best advice I found was from reading concert flute technical books explaining that you should balance you flute in a three point triangle (from a right handers viewpoint) - mouth pushes out, left hand pushes in and right hand pushes out. With this in mind I altered it a bit to mouth pushes out (and down a bit), left hand pushes in (and up a bit) and right hand pushes out(and down a bit).
Please remember that this is just what works for me and in no way an expert opinion.
I still find much of the time that I can either keep a decent embouchure or move my fingers well. There are days when I can concentrate on both at once, but I often simply can’t. I think it’s largely a matter of practice.
I wish I could remember the name of the thread, but there has been mention in the last couple of months about playing in front of a mirror. It’s very helpful and allows one to see the flaws in his own embouchure, posture, etc.
My upper back often bothers me, and there are times when I’m spending too much time at the desk when playing for half an hour or so is all I can take. I’m glad to see that others experience this, and also the helpful responses. I’ll definitely try the in-between stretches.
Chas, where does your back bother you, between the shoulder blades?
Do you want some stretches too?
It’s interesting to observe flute players and how little some move(rotate) their heads when they’re NOT playing; lack mobility in the neck - they have stiff necks and don’t know it. I over did it (played too much) and developed a chronic distortion in my neck which forced me to start stretching. I had to stop playing for awhile. Boo hoo. But it was a lesson in disguise because it lead me into yoga which I love.
Aum…
rama
…was just going to mention Rama, that Yoga is a GREAT way to strech muscles that get relatively little streching/strengthening including (perhaps most valuable to the flutist) the core muscles supprting your torso and the muscles of the entire back and shoulders.
I did yoga long before picking up the flute (only a few months ago) and they seem to compliment each other very well - with no formal instruction on posture I have no pain/stiffness whatsoever after practicing for an hour or more at a time…anecdotal for sure, but something definitely worth trying.
Henke - I’m also a newbie; I got my M&E two weeks ago and had my first lesson last week (I’m lucky in that my whistle teacher is also a brilliant flautist, recorder player and highland piper).
That lesson was a god-send, because in the previous week I had found that the only way to get a sound out of the flute PAINLESSLY was to finger it with piper’s grip (like a low whistle but in transverse mode). That came to a screeching halt in the lesson and I got a drilling as to how to hold the flute correctly, how to get the embouchure and so on.
The big problem for me was/is my right hand (I’m a left-handed player, so left hand to right-handers). I could not believe the contortion you have to go through to get the hand positioned right (which was why I’d gone to piper’s grip) - but: when you get it, it really works. It also helps to have the blow hole and figer holes not in line, but off-set. Experiment with your Dixon.
Also, have a look at this website and check the “hand position and posture” bit: http://www.irishflutes.net/mef/hands.htm (if that link doesn’t work, just goto www.irishflutes.net and search the site). Finally, get some lessons from a trained flautist - even if it’s just one lesson to get hand positioning sorted, embouchure, breath control, etc.
Thanks for your replys guy’s. I’ve really got something to work on now (as if it wasn’t difficult enough to play the tunes, find a good embouchure and so on. You have to learn a hole new grip and get the position right). This Dixon might well occupy most of my time now. I hope my sweet little whistles don’t get angry with me…
I think you’ll get the hand position right with a little more practice. Also, one onther factor is that your 2 piece Dixon is a very light weight flute, so you do have to hold on to it with a slightly firmer grip than used on a heavier flute. That said, if I could do it on my home made PVC flutes, you’ll get it on the Dixon.
So strange… just today I was thinking about starting a thread asking if there are any other fluters out there who also happen to do yoga, and I come home to find this thread waiting for me.
This week I’m doing an intensive yoga week, meeting every morning which means I get home just about the time the post-lunch be-nice-to-your-neighbors-and-don’t-play-for-a-few-hours starts which means finding time to play isn’t as easy this week. This negative effect on my playing got me thinking about positive ties between the two. I was thinking more about the way the breath control in yoga and flute could compliment eachother. But of course the core muscle strengthening and movement as opposed to being cramped up with the flute are good too.
There really is a period of sheer struggle
that one has to go through.
There was a wonderful website listed here a long while
ago where a fellow gave great advice
about how to hold the flute, some of this
three point stuff. I expect a search
will find it.
Again, if you go by what feels most natural in an unnatural (or, rather, unusual) position coupled with good general posture, you’re probably on the right track. Also, in general keep the embouchure hole centered to your lips and the flute as a whole fairly parallel to them (some flute players use their nostrils as a gauge for that).