Ok,
I know the whistle and the flute are different animals. I understand that entirely. Of course, when i pick up my flute (an M&E I bought about 5 years ago) I have a hard time convincing myself of that.
The fingering is no trouble. However, how the HECK do you get a solid tone out of it. I can SOMETIMES get a very nice tone on the lower register. Whenever I try to switch to higher (not blowing harder, just closing my lips more) it all goes to hell and gets very weak. Of course, most of the time I still have trouble getting ANY sound out of it.
So, this leads me to ask…WHERE do I go for help? I don’t expect to be perfect at it without practice, but I have the feeling what I’m currently doing is wrong.
Is it leaking anywhere? I guess if it’s a polymer there wouldn’t be any cracks, but what about the joints or tuning cork? Or possibly even from under one of your ring fingers? I’ve found that to be something I have to watch for in the midrange, especially around E.
From there, it’s:
– breath support from your diaphragm
– a bit less of a “frown” (whatever you do, don’t close your lips too much! I actually use a looser embouchure on the middle and higher notes)
– you might try lifting your chin. That seems to help, especially if you need to sharpen things a bit
– finally, you could try rolling the flute in or out a little to see if you have better luck one way or the other …
But basically, if you’re not getting notes out, either you’re missing the “blowzone” somehow, you’re flute’s leaking, or you’re not supporting sufficiently.
At least that’s how it’s been for me.
So good luck, and hang in there. I think most everyone’s felt your pain.
Try fixing the leaks first. If it doesn’t help, and you cannot find a teacher, perhaps you can mail the flute to someone who can have a go at it and eliminate the flute as the problem.
When you think “leak,” you may be overestimating the magnitude of leak that is required to cause problems. Just a microscopic leak can terminate any sort of flute-like activity.
SEAL the joints. Do not forget the cork end. Use something thick and gluey, like Bol-Wax, especially if you have threaded tenons.
Put a bit of vaseline on all your fingers and work it in well. That will help you seal the holes. Then, when you cannot get sound, play that one tone while forcibly mashing each finger one at a time into its hole.
You will be amazed at how little off a finger has to be to “not seal.” It’s like the air leaks out in the ridges of your fingerprints.
The upper register is not just a question of closing your lips more. It’s a whole constellation of stuff . . . narrowed air stream, different angle on the far side of the hole, etc. And it’s all far, far more challenging if you’ve got a leak!
Expert on leaks, here . . . if Cat hadn’t saved me months ago, I’d have flung myself off a bridge by now . . .
Cathy has some good advice. There were three exercises my flute teacher gave me in my first lesson. I improved at least a thousand per cent from then to my second lesson a month later.
Overtones. Blow the low D, then by changing your embouchure, blow the middle D, second-octave A, third octave D, and if possible, third octave F#.
short tones. Begin with an easy note like G, and blow short bursts of air. Try to get the note as solid as possible with a very short burst. When you have the G solid, try something more challenging like a B, then low E or D, and eventually second-octave notes.
long tones at the mirror. Tilt your head back a little so that you can see your embouchure, and blow notes while looking at your mouth. Change the shape of your mouth, try the flute in different positions, angles, etc.
Most of all, practice a lot and don’t give up. It’s worth it. I took my first lesson about a year and a half ago, and probably sucked as bad as you do now. (I know after 5 or 6 lessons, I went back and listened to my first and couldn’t believe I had the balls to play that badly in front of someone.) I’ve only had about 10 lessons now, so the lessons aren’t the be-all, end-all, just a way of getting some very valuable feedback and motivating you to practice more. Now I’m a fair player, not great, but really not too bad.
Have you used wax on the tuning slide? I think Michael makes his flutes so they need it…a leak there could cause serious problems. Also, give it a good washing - gunk can accumulate in polymer flutes that can serious impact your tone.
Other than those tips, everyone above has given sound advice.
Good advice so far. I second the mirror idea and if you can get a teacher to help you, even a bohem teacher, even for one lesson, that would probably help too. Do check for leaks and do support your breath, but probably you just need to get that embouchure in shape.
Also, just know that it’s really normal to suck at first, or if you don’t practice much. You have to practice a whole lot, and frequently, before you stop sucking. As you said, the whistle and the flute are very different animals. Like a dog and a lizard. One is eager to please and does whatever you ask, and the other doesn’t care and won’t do anything for you - you have to do everything yourself. I like lizards and flutes.
Sheesh! There is another possibility. I had forgotten this.
Your flute is wet.
This is a polymer flute, right? You have condensation in it, I’m sure, and that may be what is causing the trouble.
Regardless, even if it’s wood, condensation happens and it just wipes out the sound. Or, you can hear a warbly effect from the vibration of the droplets.
I used to think it was me. I’d get a few bars out, then the sound would trail off. Or, things would be going well, I’d stop for a minute, come back and be unable to get any sound at all. I’d give up in despair.
Cat suggested that it was moisture, and, by golly, it was. Lots of it. She even suggested peeking inside to see if there was a droplet hanging off the inside edge of a tone hole . . . and there was! They wouldn’t shake out.
The next time the going gets difficult, see what happens when you swab it out.
I agree. Having the help of an expert can save you so much grief later on. If you can’t find a good Irish flute teacher, an open-minded Boehm teacher can do a great job of geting you started with the basics of embouchure, breathing and posture.
I found a baroque player to help me with the fife. He almost had nothing to do with me because the fife was such a different instrument than the baroque piccolo, but I convinced him to give me a trial lesson. One year later and he has learned a little about fife music and I have learned a lot about playing, embouchure, terminology meter etc. The 8 years before progress was very slow. Now that I have found others to play around and give me tips I will be learning more from them. Unfortunately, now I am interested in learning more about baroque music.
I like lizards and flutes.