hey all I just got my first flute off of ebay about a week ago, and after a day or two i was finally able to get some notes out of it 
but i’ve been playing the whistle for over a year now and noticed that i run out of breath quite quickly on the flute compared to the whistle. I was wondering if this was normal or if i’m possibly doing something wrong. Is it possible to make the notes resonate without having to blow as hard, or is it just a matter of practice to get a stable note and then work the air pressure down while keeping the note. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks a bunch
It’s hard to tell from all the way over here what your doing, and without knowing that, can’t give any pointers. Best I can say is keep at it. It might be difficult at first, but will come with practice. Flutes do take more air that whistles, generally speaking. If you want a real lung workout though, try highland piping.
You’re in the early stages of embouchure development so it will feel like you are huffing and puffing with your lips flapping in the breeze.
Long tones (a full breath worth) and slow airs for now. A good trick is to blow a note in the low octave then pinch it up to the next octave using only your lips, not with more wind like you would on whistle. Do this last one with or without a glottal in between; it’s a workout either way.
Try these tips and peruse the rest of that sight pretty well. There’s lots of good info.
Cheers,
Aaron
Playing the flute should take about as much air as talking. Most players who have not developed their embouchures blow way too hard. Try blowing as quietly as you can. It is focusing your embouchure that will make the flute sound good, rather than powering the air through the flute.
Don’t go for big volume yet. Aim for clarity of tone. Volume and speed will come.
Hi,
I feel all the same. Gasping for air after no time. My teacher concurres with the recent posts. It’s mainly the embochure. It is not tight enough at an early learning stage.
What also helps is to inspire more often and much less deeply than one is accostumed to do on the whistle. Effectively more or less at any possible point in the tune. Later on reducing the frequency more and more.
Still, we all need practise, practise, practise and more practise…
Cheers,
brotherwind
There is a light at the end of the wind tunnel! I’m finally now able to play without getting light-headed, though I know there’s lots more to be done in terms of tightening the embouchure. It’s been a year and a half since I started playing flute.
When I started, someone quoted me three months as the time it takes to get past the huffing and puffing stage. I think it’s totally individual, though. I still use a lot more air playing than I do talking.
Persevere!
Jennie
It’s been so long I’d forgotten but yeah, it does take some time to get a nice combination between your lip strength and air flow so you don’t get winded.
It’ll always take a little more on the low notes but eventually you won’t notice.
There are a couple of tricks though. You can twist the flute so when you’re on the low notes it tips toward you and away on the high. Another, and little more difficult technique is to slide your lower jaw back and forth so on the low notes your jaw is back and on the high notes it’s forward.
For what it’s worth. I’ve known flute players who do both. I’ve been doing the jaw thing for a few years and I think my tone stays more consistent.
For me flute takes no more air than do most soprano
whistles. but initially I was huffing and puffing.
A helpful analogy from John Skelton: the
garden hose that sprays further when you
pinch off part of it, leaving a small
aperture through which a thin stream of
water issues at high speed.
It takes time.
I’ve been “playing” for a little more than two years and I can’t play anything without asphyxiating. When I play airs I wake up two hours later. 
Why I haven’t given up on the flute I have no idea.
I don’t think I’ll ever get better at this rate.
James, I’m probably no one to be giving advice, as I’m a relatively new flute player myself, but I got some good advice early on from another player, which is to forget about volume and try to make the flute whisper. Keep your lips pursed fairly tight, and really just give it a whisper-stream of air. It really takes very little air to make the flute sound, and once you get used to a tight embouchure, you’ll find that you can achieve a lot of volume with only a slight amount more air. I struggled for a short time, but suddenly “got it” once I stopped pushing so hard. Now my struggles are much more with accurate fingering and ornaments than breath control. Hang in there, and don’t give up!
It’s because of the high you get from asphyxiating.
Lemme echo what crookedtune said, and suggest another way to achieve it. Start with the lower-octave G. Play a long tone starting normally, and as you start running out of breath do whatever it takes to keep the note from going flat. When you can keep it in tune when you’re just about out of air, remember what you’re doing with your mouth. Then start from that position and refine it till you’re getting the tone you’re looking for.
I’m not sure what do you mean when you talk about “tightening the embouchure”. Do you mean stretchening your lips or developing your embouchure?
Interesting - I actually roll out a wee bit on my low D and it helps - both to hit it and to keep it volume-consistent with the other notes.
Interesting - I actually roll out a wee bit on my low D and it helps - both to hit it and to keep it volume-consistent with the other notes.
That’s kind of hard to put into words. “Tightening” really means reducing the space between your lips that the air flows through. It’s done through a combination of muscle-tightening, angle and Zen enlightenment, I guess. You’re trying to create a very small, focused stream, but you’d like to do that without straining yourself, and in a relaxed way. Wax on, wax off.
This is why the discussion always reverts back to “Practice, practice, practice!”. Give it time, and don’t stress yourself. It’s really worth the time you put in, because once you’ve got it, you’ll own it forever.
when i got my flute, i used to play during commercials because that was all i could manage. now i can play thorugh a whole sit-com.
if the air does not flow through there need be no space between your lips.
the air creates the opening
Yeah, see, I’m way beyond that. My playing has become the sit-com!
I got this exercise from a Boehm flute teacher, but it has helped me to improve my embouchure and tone on a wooden flute, also. Do this without your flute.
Start with your lips closed but relaxed. They should seal all the way across. Then, blow, but don’t open your lips. The air should force your lips apart by its own pressure. Blow just enough so that the air comes out in one little spot – not all over. As you get the used to this air-forcing-its-way-out-one-little-spot feeling, then you need to start working with it. Blos harder, and use your lips to try to close off the one-little-spot. Try to find a good balance between your lip pressure and your wind pressure, so that the one-little-spot stays the same size, whether you increase or decrease the flow of air. Try to move the one-little-spot’s direction and position.
This has helped me a lot. When my tone gets crummy, it is usually because I am trying to hold my lips open to let the air through. Instead, I have to think about holding my lips closed and letting the air go through on its own.
One thing to remember is that your lips need to be relaxed while you do this. The amount of pressure you use to close them should be the minimum possible to balance against the air pressure.
When I play, it’s not as exaggerated as it is in this exercise, but I have found that remembering the exercise helps make my tone more focused ,and definitely helps my breath control. I hope it can be helpful to you, too.