i recently purchased a flute off ebay (made in pakistan, nice and cheap), which is a rosewood, keyless flute (6 holes). I’m going to give myself plenty of time to learn it, and have spend the last couple of days making myself dizzy just trying to get a whisper out of it.
I think this is fairly normal, but how long does it take to get the blowing part right? Are there any tips? Do i need to be able to whistle (without the aid of an instrument)?
I don’t think its the flute, it looks pretty good to me (a stick and some holes), and yes, i’ve never played or touched a flute before…please forgive me, but i would love to learn!
Hope you didn’t pay too much. The problem ain’t necessarily you. Pakistani flutes are usually not very good. I owned a couple, myself, and wound up with a wonky technique for it once I got them to play. Took me a while to correct the situation once I was able to play good flutes. A stick and holes do not necessarily a flute make, to say nothing of a worthwhile one.
If you happen to know someone that plays an open holed flute, I would sujest that you have them play it. That way you can finds out if it is you or the flute.
If you live in a large city, check out the C&F City guide. You might be able to find a session near you. These people at the session could tell you the quality of the stick.
Good luck.
PS. Search some of the forums for Tipple, M&E, Dixon if you end up looking for an inexpensive (Plastic) flute. You may also want to search “Packistan flute”.
yeh, although i might have a bit of trouble finding someone where i live, unfortunately.
say it isnt the flute (surely the thing must be playable to some extent), is there anything i can do to my blowing? do you aim at the top back edge of the hole or the bottom back edge? do you whistle into it?? do you blow straight across? should the flute be parrallel to the ground? do you ‘kiss’ or ‘smile’ as you blow? is it supposed to take a while to get? do you use organic peanuts in your stirfry?
ive been looking at sites on the web and none of them tell you how to actually blow into it.
and if you click on “For Beginners”, you’ll be taken to some basic info that may help, including a list of learning resources. Brad’s a regular on this board, and a fine player.
and are also a good resource for the beginning player, with quite detailed instruction.
Hope this is a start for you. (And yeah, it could be the flute, too; some of those cheaply-made flutes from Pakistan are little more than decoration, sorry to say. Hope that’s not the case with yours!)
Just a few standard suggestions may help to get you started.
I learned to Kiss the flute, then roll it out slowly, then blow softly just as though you were blowing across the top of a coke bottle to make a noise.
I practiced this quite a bit when first learning flute. You can take the headjoint off and seal the end of it with the palm of your hand while doing your practicing.
When it becomes easy to make a sound, you put the flute together and do the same thing.
You use the far edge of the embouchure hole to divide the air stream. The opening of your lips should be small enough to spit a grain of rice out of it, but not tense if you can help it. Get close to the far edge and blow more downward than across; your lower lip should cover the hole a bit, no more than about a third of it. Then you start playing around with it all to find out the best way to get the flute to work for you, assuming you’re after getting that “Irish” sound.
I would definitely look into getting a M&E, for example, as they’re comparatively inexpensive as ITM flutes go, of reliable quality, and pretty easy to play. This is assuming you have the scratch to have a go at another flute.
Try this: close your lips, sealed but not tight. Allow them to open only let let air escape out while you play, then let them “reseal”. It’s a little exaggerated, but may give you the feeling for a smaller embochure.
wow! its starting to sound a bit like those things you call a ‘floot’. covering the hole a bit with the bottom lip makes a difference. still very airy though, and hard to maintain a consistent sound. thanks for the web links too.
I’m all outta breath now trying out the different suggestions, like this bloke > (hehe) but i think i’m getting somewhere
I’ve been playing with one of Doug Tipple’s flutes for several months and am only a wee bit ahead of you. It just takes a while and as my whistle teacher says, getting used to mind numbing repetition. If you keep at it, it will keep getting better. Follow the advice of the other, more experienced posters and you’ll get there.
Give it time. The dizziness will pass. I’d suggest getting a Tipple if your money’s tight. My first flute was a Tipple. Great bang for the buck. At least that way you’d know it wasn’t the tooter causing the grief.
That’s how I learned as well, although I had never blown a coke bottle. Instead, I experimented by blowing softly in various positions until I learned what technique got the best response.
just trying to get a whisper out of it.
(hehe) but i think i’m getting somewhere
