All,
I ‘played’ quite a bit today and I noticed that my lower lip feels ‘weak’. I’m not sure if that properly describes it: But anyway is that normal for someone starting out? Feels weird and I’ve noticed that the lower register is much harder to play now than this morning.
Thanks,
Tony
You’re using muscles in your face, cheek, and lips in ways that haven’t been used before. It will take a little while to build them up.
Playing a flute is a physical act and it can take training to get in shape!
I tried once to play a friends didgeridoo and for a day and half afterwards I couldn’t get a note out of my flute. My lips just flapped around.
Well, more than usual.
Eddie
I’ve been playing the flute for 30 years, and the last week, for some reason, after 20 minutes of playing I lose my embouchure focus, and sound very airy.
I remember having times like this in the past, and it passes away. It could be that it’s the cold air, but while I’m having this down period, it sure is worrisome 
Weird, eilam – that happened to me in a session last night. But as I was driving home, I analyzed the situation:
Four-reel set, three times thru each at speed, two of which were The Yellow Tinker and Bucks of Oranmore (which for me are whopper workouts); playing with a seriously good button accordion player plus guitar/mando & fiddle in a festive, pre-New Year’s Eve pub …
Then I contrasted it with my usual playing setup:
One or two times through a tune by myself at home at varying speeds with many stops to work on particular passages (and heaven knows how many breaks). One session on average per week with solid players and one gig about every two weeks with a band of very strong soloists so I can sit out a pass or two if need be.
My epiphany: My regular regimen is nothing like that session! My lip is a WIMP!
My resolution: Never play anything less than three times; start practicing in sets.
Lord, this is going to hurt. 
I’m such an idiot, I never got to the point: maybe you backed off a bit in your practice a little and didn’t notice and then lost some condition? Option 2: Any dental work recently? Option 3: Tension?
Cathy, I’m still screwed up.
I can play the Baroque flute OK, but switching to a larger embouchure, and I cant finish a tune, even on my Eb which requires less.
I’m just coming out of two weeks of flu, and the place I practice is really cold, which I know effects the flute, my fingers, and my embouchure. But this is really bugging me, I never had this happened for so long.
Tension? Maybe, how do you think if would effect?
Thanks, eilam.
happy new year!
Eilam - I just finished rereading the beginning section of Seamus Egan’s instructions for playing the flute on his MadforTrad Flute CD. I must have read it over twenty times now but missed a real important sentence: “Don’t use any more breath than you do when talking.”
How did I miss that? I’m sure you’ve been aware of that too but, give it a go. Ease up on the PUSH.
BillG
thanks BillG.
I don’t think I’m pushing more then I ever have, you know, I’ve been playing the flute for 30 years now, and suddenly I can’t hold a powerful D, or play a complete tune without fading at the end! I never had to work on my embouchure much, now I’m walking around whistling, in hope that it will help my embouchure.
My prediction is that in a few days, I’ll be back to normal, and forget all about it.
I played a bit tonight in front of the mirror, I think this is what’s happening: I was sick for two weeks and my embouchure weakened. When I play and my embouchure gives, I press the flute harder against my lower lip for support, but by doing this, the flute flattens my lower lip and my embouchure becomes wider and less focused, to the point of losing the tone all together.
I’ll investigate more tomorrow.
Hope you all party hard tonight!
eilam.
Hey, Eilam!
I was thinking about all this lip stuff as I was playing tonight – played pretty hard for about an hour and a half – and I noticed exactly what you were talking about. Whenever I was struggling with something, or even just tired, I found myself pushing my flute harder into my jaw & lip – so there was tension happening there. I’ve been playing about 30 years myself, and one would think I’d know better, but there it is.
Anyway, paying attention to that and trying to let the thing sit as lightly as possible on my lip while still having a tight embouchure seemed to help a lot.
Yippee, yet another fundamental thing to work on. 
Also – and this was a big “duh” for me – after about 40 minutes, everything started sounding terrible! Broken notes on octave changes, really stiff-feeling response, etc. That had happened at the session Tuesday night too, but I just played through it. And what I finally figured out was (like I said, “duh”) that the flute needed swabbing out (it did look rather like a Roman aqueduct in there).
Shazam! Problem fixed.
Finally, I had one other thought … have you checked for leaks? Esp. around your tuning slide & joints? I know I find myself working a lot harder when Ol’ Faithful springs a leak, and I’m surprised at how easily it happens. In fact, 9 times out of ten a few swipes with the beeswax/linseed block or a strategically placed rubber band on the offending key changes everything.
Anyway, hope this helps! It is funny, how you think you’d relax more as you got tired, but in my case I find myself fighting the flute more.
Good luck, and take it easy after that flu(te)!
cat.
cat, so are you ever going to let me know how you like the new flute?
You know, after 20 minutes of playing I start hearing some gurgling and I clean the flute. What I did recently is take a string about 2 feet long, tie a loop on one end, and string a bead on the other, I just pop the head from the slid, run the bead thru the flute with a cloth on the loop, and clean the whole body in one push, you don’t have to take all the pieces apart.
I started working on the chipmunk embouchure, does John have you work on the embouchure? Or just finger technique?
30 years of playing, and I never had to put conscience effort into my embouchure!
No playing today, just recovering from last night’s party
Eilam - what is the “chipmunk” embouchure?
BillG
Hey, Eilam! My reply got so long and convoluted I pm’d it to you instead, so check your mailbox. I do the bead on a string thing, too, but it never occurred to me to go for the “long-string/works while flute’s assembled” version … so thanks! I’ll make one of those posthaste! (And the tuning slide-disassembly idea is great since my middle joint’s plumber’s- taped to death right now pending new cork) Thanks again, and yeah … what is a chipmunk embouchure?
My English really sucks, but I’ll try to explain.
You tighten the muscles around the mouth area, especially the cheeks, it kind of looks like a chipmunk (I think that’s how they look), but the whole area around the embouchure is supported, and should stay focused.
I can play like this in front of the mirror, it works, but usually I play relaxed with out any problem keeping a focused embouchure.
Nah, that’s a gopher. Now, a muskrat, they make that face, but their teeth get in the way, and none of these rodents have the proper lips, anyway. Except rabbits; they have a harelip.
Gordon
OK, toothless muskrat