My embouchure is not solid yet. I can play the first octave somewhat - but I am already itching to try the second octave. Most tunes I have learned from playing whistle have at least one or two notes in the second octave.
Is getting the second octave as “simple” as narrowing the breath stream and blowing harder?
And do you get a second octave B with the same technique as a second octave D?
Thanks!!!
The flute should rest directly in the indentation between bottom lip and chin. The lower lip should be soft and not at all taut then the upper lip should swing over the bottom one like a bread bin lid. The air stream should be as focused as you can make it. To go up an octave tighten the emboucher and blow less hard, it is possible to over blow the octave like a with a whistle but you will run out of air every couple of bars! There should be almost no air blown past the flute 90% should go down the hole this is where you can experiment with turning the head in towards you.Tone practice try slurring up from G to g unlike whistles flutes need less air the higher the note, this took me a while to get at it seems illogical. A great way to practice this is to play the 2nd octave quietly and purely. This is something I am just coming to be able to do convincingly but it’s seemed impossible at first. You turn the head a little further out when playing quietly to bring the note back to pitch.
Hope this helps
Rob
Thanks for replying, treeshark.
“To go up an octave tighten the emboucher and blow less hard…”
Is there more backpressure through the lips when blowing the 2nd octave? I read in several places that the air velocity in the flute is higher for the second octave than the first.
I also read that it helps to narrow the gap between the lower lip and the opposite edge of the embouchure hole. To do this, the lower lip has to more forward slightly to cover more of the hole when blowing a 2nd octave note.
The only real fife I have is a Bb. I always found it easier to play the second octave. I have to blow very soft to get the first.
Some say the sign of a beginner flute player is that the second octave will be much louder than the first octave. So what is the secret to playing the second octave at the same volume as the first? Is it that tight directed stream of air?
Ok, I think I’ve got it - though the second octave notes are still a bit unstable. The way I do it: I slightly push the lower lip against the embouchure while gently pursing the upper lip. This narrows both the lip/embouchure gap and the airstream. I can then hear the octave jump just the way I do on a whistle and the upper notes sound on pitch (more or less 
). I don’t know if this strategy will work for everyone - we all have lips shaped differently.
Wolvy, I find that when I blow the upper notes in the way I describe above, they are less loud than the first octave - so that’s maybe more indication that I am doing it correctly. Well, time (and my instructor) will tell.
BTW, if I try to get the high notes by overblowing hard, then the high notes do sound louder and I run out of breath quickly. 
Now I have to work on reproducibility and stability.
…give it a year or so, it’ll be fine!
I received one lesson from a Boehm flute instructor yesterday, and he confirmed that I was hitting the second octave correctly. I do need to work on the quality of the high notes, but that can come later.
One new thing I did learn, the embouchure hole is supposed to be more or less in line with the tone holes. I did not know this. I was playing with the headjoint turned almost 45 degrees towards me.
This is the modern style, but there is plenty of room for personal taste. Older flutes (e.g. Baroque, Classical) are often played with the far edge of the embouchure hole aligned with the center of the fingerholes (i.e.: turned a little towards the player).