I’ve been playing flute for four years and do music as a subject at my school. I’ve got a performance test tomorrow but just now when I got up to practise I tried playing a low E to start a warm up but all that came out was a breathy sound, and when I tried to play E in the middle register it went all squeaky. I tried a few scales and a lot of the notes are like that. I tried playing a descending chromatic scale from the second C and it goes funny from the G downwards. I’ve checked all the keys and springs and they are all in place, my ebouchre is right and it was working a few hours ago at band practise, and I DEFINATELY don’t want to sound like this for the test tomorrow, so if any experienced flautists can help me , please do!!
Seems like it’s time to find a good instrument repairman and check the pads… I suppose you play a Boehm flute, a friend of mine who is a flute teacher does that at least twice a year. But his flute plays 6 hours a day.
Hope this helps.
Yup I agree. Almost certainly a pad.
Doc
Be certain that you tell your teacher before your test what the situation is. Does the school have another flute you can use just for the test?
Why don’t you take it to your teacher today? Or, at least, call your teacher and tell him/her what the problem is.
Can you check around the pads? Make sure they’re sealing? Perhaps a bit of something got under the edge of one?
If your teacher knows in advance, he may be able to arrange to let you use another, or even his.
Could always be a pad problem, that’s a good thought.
Could also be a weak or broken spring, a bent key, a leaking tenon, or the mechanism just being generally out of adjustment.
Good luck and best wishes,
–James
thanks everyone for helping out, the test went ok, the problem was a bent G# key that wasn’t sealing properly. my teacher fixed it before my test, which I am very pleased with 
Thank goodness! It went very well then! I’m glad your teacher was able to fix it.