Somewhere on C&F Dales mentions reading a comment from a flute great from the back of a CD to the effect “Some days I get up in the morning and I can’t play a note.”
I have just been through about four of these days and was thinking seriously of wrapping my flute around the bed post. Then, yesterday it sounded good again. I have no idea what was wrong or, for that matter, what I was doing right yesterday.
I suspect we all go through periods like this and can get very discouraged. But I think the answer is to do at least some practicing even when things are not working right. Don’t fret. Just keep working on it. Sooner or later things will be back to normal and you’ll be off to the races again.
I concur. Some days I’d swear that my hands have turned into hooves, or the embouchure is playing tricks on me (and how did it all work so well yesterday?). Stick with it, and be vigilant against sloppiness due to frustration.
I’m a rank beginner so I have a lot of bad days. It’s not that I can’t literally get a sound out of the flute, but I have two frequent problems. I have to breathe every measure or so, and I can’t hit a note above the high G. I fall back on the whistle, so that I can practice tunes, finger nimbleness, etc.
I went through the same thing. As your embouchure tightens up, you’ll lose less air and be able to last longer. The other thing that I found that helped me are “long” tones. Basically, take a scale, and play it note by note, holding each one as long as you can. It helps to increase your lung capacity and breath control. You can also try playing scales as softly as you can, which will really help you focus your embouchure, especially on the high notes.
I have been playing a bamboo flute for a few months now and have experienced the same things at times. To start off with, the flute is supposed to be in the key of d but is closer to e-flat so I can’t play along with cd’s. Sometimes I’ll be doing quite well blazing away on some un-planned nonsense, when the sound just takes a crap. I have discovered that this is due to my method of covering the holes. If I accidentally cover a hole with the crease of my finger instead of the pad, a leak occurs that compromises the sound. This problem is more significant with me than embouchure glitches.
Often, it is simply that my hands are too achy to be able to withstand playing for any length of time. Another thing that happens is that my diaphragm runs out of steam and my vibrato gives up the ghost.
There are times however that make up for all of this. This weekend I managed to play through a tune, (with my whistle) I learned off of a Chieftans cd. I kept running through it slowly with a metronome until I got up to speed. I’m still a little sloppy, but I feel like it was a milestone.
So to hell with the cheap-ass bamboo flute, my faulty piper’s grip, ineffective embouchure, my withered hands, and my weak diaphragm, (all of this on top of the fact that I don’t know anyone else around here that likes ITM) this weekend seemed to rise above the misery and I have enough inspiration and beer to last me until the next milestone.
I’m not on the net much, but I drop in here when I can and I appreciate all of the help I have received. You folks have been more beneficial than you might think. Take care.
For those struggling: Hang in there and be consistent - play the flute every day, or at least 6 days a week - your embouchure will improve with time.
Breathing takes some concious effort and perhaps even some exercises, but it’s really pretty simple: Always start to play with a FULL breath on board, and (in the beginning) focus on taking a FULL breath every time you breathe during the tune. Sure, there are times when an experienced player, knowing his own limits and capabilities, will take smaller breaths at certain points in a tune, but beginners often take only really shallow breaths, so never feel like they can make it to the next apropriate breathing spot. Even more so if they have an undeveloped embouchure and are wasting air at the lips.
So…practice taking deep full breaths QUICKLY by working on a tune or tunes your fingers know well. Play the tunes VERY slowly so you can focus on the breathing thing. And…
Be Patient and Consistent! You WILL see and hear results.
I used to have the same problem, then I discovered that on the days I couldn’t play, I was holding the flute with the embouchure hole off centre. I corrected that by winding some string around the flute on each side of the embouchure hole, enabling me to feel the correct position with my lips. Since then I’ve replaced the string winding with a pair of nice neat running turk’s head knots. People think they’re just there for decoration. Yes I know it’s cheating, yes I know it’s shifty, dishonest, yadda yadda yadda…
) that I sound much better.
