Sometimes I hear little throat noises when I’m playing … but I can get rid of them if I concentrate on relaxing my throat… 
Does anyone else have them? Are there tips for getting rid of them? I’ve searched the archives for “throat” and “noise” but there doesn’t seem to have been a topic on it before.
Thanks,
Pamela 
Well, I’m not sure what throat noises you’re thinking about, but just from a breath support standpoint my recommendation would be to concentrate on relaxing your throat anyway (and after a while, you won’t need to concentrate at it - it will become a part of your playing). This will help (presumably) with your throat noises, but have the added benefit of increasing the airflow, allowing your diaphragm to do its job better and thus improve the response of the flute. Ideally you want an open canister from your lips to your lungs and a tight throat constricts the airway.
Erik
Presuming that you play Irish flute, some extra noises are OK.
Actually making an almost caughing sound whilst playing is a way to push the air in a staccato way and give emphasis to the rhythm.
This is something I am practicing myself now.
Jeroen
On 2002-07-03 07:16, pandscarr wrote:
Sometimes I hear little throat noises when I’m playing … but I can get rid of them if I concentrate on relaxing my throat… >Pamela >
According to my wife, I snore loudly at night 
so I’m predisposed to making the same kind of noise while playing. It’s usually very short and quiet, but a bit disconcerting when it happens. It helps to relax and think about keeping a very “open” throat position. Raising my head, so that I’m not playing into my chest seems to help too (Bad habit, that.)
OTH, you could always claim you learned it from Seamus McTradfluteplayer, and that it’s a little known part of the tradition! 
This is something that shows up with classical players a lot-- throat noises during tonguing passages. It’s a good thing that you are trying to relax your throat when it happens-- keep doing that.
You’re in good company…I’ve read that Matt Molloy used to have trouble with throat noises also.
I fancy probably more flutists do than don’t, especially during live performance where things like throats are going to tend to tighten up anyway. Fortunately such sounds don’t project the way a flute does, so the audience usually never knows.
–James
http://www.flutesite.com
My teacher (wooden flute) mentioned that it was a very common problem for flute players, but when I searched the archives it seemed as though it had never been discussed which surprised me…
I find the little noises happen most often on long notes, especially when I’m running out of air.
Interesting to read the other contributions. Thanks,
Pamela 
I made these sounds as well and they really annoyed my wife. I made an effort to make them go away and they have. I just had to learn to relax my throat. I have listened to other novice flute players recently and am glad that my wife spoke up about my throat noises. I can hear them now in a few players I know and think that they detract from the tune and take away from the pure sound and rythm of the flute. So my advice is to keep working on them. One way to do this is try to make the throat noise without blowing on your flute so you can see exactly what is causing it. I was surprised how loud it was. It sounded like an accidental drone. Once I figured out how I was making them I tried to figure out when I was making them. I also noticed that the throat noises were more prevelant in tunes I was just learning. I think this is because I was concentrating on getting the notes, ornaments right and was rather tense. Definately relaxing is the key. I learned that at certain points I would tighten up and then make the noise. I am a big fan of Catherine McEnvoy’s and you can stop the air with a glottal stop without making a throat noise. The noise is actually casued (in my case) by my vocal chords vibrating makine an ooooh sound. So practice making the glottal stops and coughing/chuffing without involving your vocal chords. I also went to a workshop recently with Hans Araki and he told us his father ( a seventh generation shakuhachi player ) taught him to avoid any un-neccesary movement(like lifting the fingers too high) or noise to maxmimize efficiency. Relaxing is key. It reminded me of when I saw Matt Molloy play. I was amazed at what I saw. I assumed his playing would be furious becouse it was so fast but watching him play he has the most gentle touch I have ever seen. It blew me away to hear how quickly he played yet how completely relaxed he was.
Good luck,
Craig