I’ve been playing flute for 5 years, current with a 4 key McGee Rudall Refined flute, which I like very much.
However, my intonation usually conks after 15 minutes of straight playing, and only returns if I take a rest, and then conks again.
I’ve been trying long tones and adjusting my embouchure, pressing the flute closer to my lips, which gave me a fuller, rounder tone. Do I need to keep doing long tones, and hope that my lips and embouchure get stronger, or what? At what point, if any, should I conclude that flute is not for me? (I’ve started playing fiddle the last two years simply because I don’t need to worry about the tone fading into slight whisps of frustrating sound, love playing the fiddle, but want to still play the flute).
The flip side is that when my tone is strong, it’s wonderful to play, and it feels very good. When it goes away, I feel like slamming the $2,000 piece of wood on my kitchen tile floor.
Hey, Jeff – I have no idea whether you’re going flat, sharp, etc., & hey, how you know – are you playing with a tuner or what?
Anyway, off the top of my head, it’s pretty well-documented that playing too hard will make you go sharp after a bit – that’s why you sometimes see flute players’ headjoints “creeping” farther and farther out during a session or gig.
Like I said, it’s a totally hazarded guess, but in case you ARE really honking … maybe you could try backing off a bit and then work on supporting your tone with your diaphragm instead of sheer force of breath?
FWIW from one who has caught herself at it more than a few times (I can’t help it, I love that honky old-style stuff),
To clarify, when I said (inartfully) “intonation,” I didn’t mean pitch. It’s that my tone moves from full and round to soft, whispering, and sometimes eventually nothing.
Could it be condensation in the bore? Have you tried swabbing it out when the tone deteriorates?
Could you have a crack somewhere so that when the flute becomes moist, expands a bit, it pushes the crack open?
After 5 years on flute it’s surprising you’re having an issue after only 15 minutes unless you have some respiratory disorder, so that why I’m wondering about the physical health of your flute.
Do you mean that your tuning suffers, or that your tone suffers, as you play? It sounds from your description that you’re noticing more a difference in the quality of your sound than in its tuning. Is that right?
If that’s the case, you might try a number of things: shaking out, blowing out, or swabbing out the flute to remove excess moisture (it really makes a difference). Excess moisture can make your tone go from bright and loud to dull and muddy quite quickly. (Lots of opportunities for session fun, too: cover all six finger holes, cover the embouchure hole with your mouth and blow hard, being sure the end of the flute is pointing at a fiddler or bodhran player. Glorious stuff.)
Otherwise, you may just need to build up your stamina over time (as Cat notes above, not going all out, supporting your breath from the diaphragm, and so on).
I’m sure others will have more suggestions, as well.
I’ve recently been having trouble with my intonation, completely losing any any sound. I play a Healy keyless, and as anyone who has seen one knows, the holes are substantial.
Couldn’t figure if it was my embouchure, and I kept turning the head in, out, blowing across, down, even sideways!
I did find that if I plugged my finger tips in the holes I could get a tone.
So, after some experiment and advice, I’m putting some almond oil on my finger tips and, sure enough, I’m able to get my sound back.
I always thought that my fingers just dried out in the winter, but it seems to have happened in our NYC monsoon season (bad inside joke!).
So, for what it’s worth, maybe try wetting your fingers and see if you’re getting a good seal.
I know it can be extremely frustrating when you can’t play. What with the Catskills week coming up!
Aha, TONE suffering! Got it. Jayhawk and herbivore make some great suggestions. The one other thing I would suggest is that you might have a leaky key, or condensation might be building up in the toneholes under the keys, making bubbles and other weird things – which can also mess up the seat or seal of a keypad.
I would check with Terry, but when I get a bubble or key leak, my tone can go to you-know-where. And I get lots of bubbles and leaks when the humidity’s up there. From there, rubber bands on various keys might be an option until you find the offender (sometimes leaf springs just lose their springiness, or a knock or bang might unseat a key a bit) – you’ll know because suddenly your flute will go from sounding like it’s got a flat tire to sounding normal again.
Finally, how’s the tightness of your tuning slide? Is it beeswax time?
The flute is obviously blown out. Don’t slam it on the floor, tho’. I’ll send you the postage and you can send it to me. I can make a nice lamp out of it.
I think it’s just a matter of building up the chops. I can play longer now that I could just a couple of weeks ago. The longer I play, the longer I can play without getting weak spots in my playing. I’m up to twenty or twentyfive minutes of playing one tune after another with no breaks befor I start wimping out. That’s twice as long as I could play just six weeks or so ago.
If it’s anything like brass instruments, it’s just a matter of building up the chops.
The only other tip I can offer is try to maintain something of a correct looking position (for some reason holding the thing up straight helps me tremendously) and try not to use to much pressure on your embrochure. I kept pushing too hard at first. It would flat out choke off my tone.
I could be off base on these observations , though. I’m pretty much 100% self taught. I’m not good at following method books either.
It sounds like your lip is giving up. My lower lip does this after about an hour and I have to rest for about a quarter of an hour and then I can go for another hour or so. Try to press less into your lower lip and take breaks between each tune you practice of a couple of minutes, generally try to take it easier on your lower lip. The upper lip does not seem to ever quit in my case just the lower.
