¿How long have you been without playing Flute?

Irish Flute
1

Hi everyone..

A lot of time without posting, hehe studying hard and playing hard doesn’t leave much time, but I’ll do an effort to get online more often.

My question is the following:

¿How long have you been without playing your instrument?
¿Do you consider leaving some days in the week without activity, as something bad that helps your diaphragm to relax, or to get weak? (Based on that the Diaphragm is a muscle, that must be trained to get a good tone, etc).

I’ll hear your opinions.

See ya flute players!
Diego.

2

Your question about not playing got my attention because about a month ago I injured one of my hands, and I’m still having some troubles.

In general, however, it seems that the flute is an instrument which calls for near daily practice, even if only for a small amount of time every day.

I’ve found that it’s usually OK to practice for six days out of seven, or 6/7, and for 5/7 at a minimum.

Less than 5/7 is less than good, and 1/7 is about worthless.

Naturally, 7/7 is ideal.

3

Hi,

I try to practice at least 5 times per week, for at least 30 minutes per day.


¿Do you consider leaving some days in the week without activity, as something bad that helps your diaphragm to relax, or to get weak? (Based on that the Diaphragm is a muscle, that must be trained to get a good tone, etc).

I never leave a day without playing on purpose. If I don’t play, it’s because I can’t (roommate in all day, away hiking, and sometimes work :smiley:).

FWIW, and contrary to popular belief (among musicians :confused: ), the diaphragm itself plays no role in tone production because it contracts when air is inhaled and relaxes when air is exhaled. :really: The pressure needed for air support is actually created by the abdominal muscles below the bellybutton (those that hurt when you do sit-ups). You don’t need to rest these muscles to play the flute because they don’t work out much when we play, unfortunately :frowning:.

Julien

4

It’s kinda embarassing to admit, but I’m tragically out of practice. My main instrument since high-school has been my voice; flute was just an odd little hobby I picked up along the way since. Now singing I practice several times a day, every day. Flute…er… sheepish grin somewhat less often. Used to be I’d practice 3-4 times a week. It’s turned to more like 1-2 times a week of late. I really should get back into it…

5

I play fairly often (my new avatar picture is from a gig I did a few weeks ago), but I find that if I put the flute down for awhile, I am better and fresher when I pick it back up. I can theorize a bunch of reasons why this is so, but who cares? It just works to not play day in and day out. I think you get stale and lose objectivity about how your tunes sound.

Works for me, anyway.

6

Last summer I was away for 3 months and didn’t play my flute. I played my pennywhistle instead. It actually seemed to help. I seemed to be more relaxed about the music, more confident or something. It’s like I didn’t care to fuss over the instrument anymore. I just played it and whatever came out came out and if I was having fun I was happy.

I hadn’t played my flute recently in a while. I’d been playing my mandolin and taking a fiddle class instead. I pulled out my flute and it sounded awful but after following advice here to do some long tones, things came back and I feel pretty good again. Sometimes I think my flute needs to warm up, too.

7

48 years… it’s hard to catch up, have to play every day or sad decline occurs. :cry:

8

I play everyday.

I have to put it down when I go to work however.

:smiley:

9

after several years of playing i stopped completely for a couple of years…then i actually started up again after finding this site, but with far less intensity. suprisingly, the embouchure came right back. but alot of tunes got mixed up in my head and i still get them mixed up all the time. it’s hilarious. i’m afraid i’m no good at sorting them out.
now i play a little each month. that’s about it. just played at a monthly ceili last sunday. a week or 2 can go by without playing. i find i am more relaxed and seem to play better than playing 2 hours everyday like i once did. as a result i have not learned very many new tunes and i suppose i should explore doing so to keep myself going…

10

The longest I have gone is probably 8 hours without playing. :laughing: It is during sleep too.

11

I usually study from 2 to 6 hours (hopely every day).. Here in Chile there are not so much Irish or folk music instrumentalists, so since I was twelve I developed a very traditional and classical playing routine. That is divided in parts: Sound Exercises, New tunes for my lessons (I study with a Mary Bergin’s student), ornamentation, articulation (attack, focused to Breton music) and breathing exercises.

Hehe :stuck_out_tongue:

12

Learned some silver flute as a kid - took a 15 year break - tried again and realized I sucked - took a 15 year break - discovered the Irish Flute and now I play every day for the past year.

Your practice is that of a professional. Being a systems analyst, a father, a husband, and a lover of other musical instruments, I can’t put in that kind of time but I feel what I can do is right for my personal goals.

13

I used to play daily, but for the last 10 years I’ve been too tied up being a single parent with a demanding full-time job and a side business.
Up until this last year, however, despite having very little practice time I was still progressing. I think the reason behind that is I took my practice time more seriously and really concentrated on tone. I’m trying to make space for more music now.

14

Although you quoted somebody other than myself, as above, let me once again say that it’s daily practice which makes all the difference. For instance, there’s the flute, and then there’s the player, but flute playing simply doesn’t successfully happen until there’s an integration of both the flute and the player, that the flute becomes an extension of the player. True, a professional player generally does put in a lot more practice time than an amateur, day by day, but it’s also true that a successful amateur needs to develop that same level of integration, and, quite honestly, that can only be done with regular (read: daily) contact with their instrument.

Moreover, it’s well known that an instrumentalist, of any instrument, could have both good days and bad days. Yet, much could be lost were an instrumentalist to not practice on the bad days. So, even on the worst of days, a player does well to at least commit themselves to a daily warm-up routine, nothing strenuous but of perhaps fifteen or twenty minutes a day. On my worst of days, for instance, I’ve done just that, after which I’ve then packed-up my flute, and have then gone on to do something else, BUT, I at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve completed my daily commitment. That’s crucial.

Oh, sure, it’s also possible to play for hour after hour, and to completely loose track of time. However, if a person could be really serious about developing their abilities, then that person could do well to commit themselves to at least a daily warm-up, if nothing else.

And, let me add something that James Galway once said, that if a flute player could intend to be a professional, then that player could expect to have a flute in their hands for every day of their playing career. And, that says it all.

15

I play daily now, both harp and flute. Just not 2 to 6 hours. It’s more like 1. I agree that even a little a day is crucial to keeping a connection to the instrument. I would LOVE to carve out 2 hours a day. hmmmm…actually if I lose Family Guy and American Dad…I just might fit in in :laughing:

Oh, and another weird thing. When I do practice regularly but for some reason don’t for a few days and then pick it up, I can tell the difference. It takes a little longer to get back in the groove. Every once in a while when I have one of those non-practice periods, I pick up the flute and play it better than I ever have which makes no sense at all. I chalk that up to planetary alignments.

16

Dear Cork:

I completely agree with you, the daily practice is one of the most important matters, and plus, it MUST be a very focused and concentrated study. Because a lot of players just play blowing the sound out of the instrument and doing anything but practicing, they are just joking. I think, having a little “fun time” with your flute before the real practice it’s all right, because the life of the musician (in general, and not in session or gig times) it’s very lonely. Imagine professional piano players, they have to be focused in front of a furniture for all their lives; anyone would get a little crazy without joking or having fun for a little while (I gave the piano example just as one case, I think it happens the same with a flute, or a violoncello, or a guitar, fiddle, etc).. The important thing is, to be conscious of your goals, your own discipline and leaving that lazy feeling every human has aside hehe :wink: ..

17

Dear Diego Lolic:

There are many who would like to play the flute, but they have no idea as to what it really takes to play one.

Long story short, playing a flute successfully involves a daily commitment.

No commitment = no success.

:wink:

18

I’ve found that sometimes practicing in my head helps, too. So you don’t have to park yourself in front of furniture. You can also take a walk. It’s not like practicing in your head will necessarily improve your technical skills (like embouchure or whatever), but I think it does help with learning the music.

19

That’s also true, even though studying in your head doesn’t help to improve your technical skills :laughing: , having a walk after practicing, or doing anything else, helps you think of other ways you could play a tune, other ornaments, even write a tune, etc.. That’s called INSPIRATION :wink: