AboutHolly Expertise I can answer questions about learning to play the flute, reading music, problems encountered when playing, flute repertoire, practicing tips, and performing, as well as information about classical composers and their works. Please note that I am no longer accepting any questions about what kind of flute to buy, upgrading, flute brands, reselling, what a flute is worth, etc. I have answered many of these questions in the past, so please either view my answers in the the previously asked questions section or visit my website, which has a page about buying flutes: silentgalaxy.com/buyingflutes.html. Thanks!
Experience I've played the flute since fourth grade, graduating with my master's degree in flute performance. I have taught at local music schools, given flute lessons for over ten years, have played in and soloed with several orchestras, chamber groups, and various other ensembles. For more information about me, visit my website at silentgalaxy.com. I love the flute, and I love helping people, so I welcome your questions!
Education/Credentials Bachelor's and master's degrees in flute performance from Carnegie Mellon University.
Question im new in playing flute..
my question is...
why is it everytime i hit the low
notes i mostly hear wind... although
theres a low tone but so windy, that you almost
couldnt hear the tone..
I hope you know what i mean...
:D
Answer Hey Hans,
Yep, I know what you mean! :) Low notes are hard for many flutists and require a slightly different embouchure position and airstream formation. It's different for everyone, depending on their lip shapes, but here's some general guidelines for you:
- Keep playing softly for now. It's often harder to get low notes to speak loudly, so keep playing them at the dynamic at which you can currently hit them. Only gradually get louder once you gain more comfort with each note.
- Keep your embouchure firm, but be sure you're not pinching your lips together in your attempt to make the notes sound. If the lips are too loose, they don't have enough control to form the note. Think of stretching the lips to make a wide, narrow, firm embouchure - some people recommend making a kind of smiling position while playing.
- If the sound isn't coming, don't blow harder, or the air will just shoot past the embouchure hole and nothing will sound. Focus the air into as compact a stream as you can and try changing the angle at which you blow over the embouchure hole: if you try them all, you'll find the angle that works best for you.
- Change the speed of the airstream, too. (Faster or slower air does not necessarily mean louder or softer playing.) Too slow of a speed, which is natural especially if you're gingerly trying to make the note sound, will make the note too weak to sound, while too fast an airstream will cause you to lose control of the note.
- Use the "tutor" note method: start on the lowest note you can sound comfortably. This is a "tutor" note - what you do well on this note, you can apply to notes you have problems with. Now, playing long tones, slur down from your tutor note into the next lowest note. Stay on this new note until it feels more comfortable and experiment with firming and loosening your embouchure very slightly to see how it changes. If you lose the note, go back to the tutor note to get your embouchure back into shape. Once you've got the new note down, use *that* as the tutor note and slur into the next lowest note, repeating the same process. Work down chromatically like that until you can get to the low C (or B, depending on whether you have a B foot). Also, as you play, look in a mirror and note what it feels like. This may seem tedious at first, but you will learn quickly and instinctively what works for you and don't have to inch your way down the low register like this.
If that was a little confusing, here's the tutor note practicing method in more detail:
Play the lowest note you can play comfortably. For example's sake, I'll say that's an F. So, play a low F, hold it out, notice how it feels, what you're doing with the air, how your embouchure is, etc. Let the note really "settle" in and feel comfortable - find the center of the sound. Breathe whenever you need to, so you're not worrying about running out of air. Once the note is really solid, slur into an E. Don't breathe between notes or tongue the E - it's important that there should be no break in sound or your airstream between the F and the E. All you're doing is putting down the right hand third finger.
Next, work with the E. Whenever you start to lose the note, or if you have trouble restarting it after breathing, go back to the F and use that to reset your embouchure, slurring into the E once you're ready. Soon, the E will start to feel much more comfortable, and you won't need to play the F first.
Then, when the E feels solid, use *that* note to slur into the E flat, and go back to the E whenever you lose the E flat, doing everything you did for the F / E pair. Once the E flat is comfortable, go down to D using the E flat as a guide, and so on.
Once the notes start feeling more comfortable, that's when you'll probably start to feel the differences between them... but even if you don't, you'll unconsciously learn to make miniscule adjustments to get to the center of the note's sound, as you experiment to see what makes the note better or worse.
This method is much less frustrating than simply trying to play low notes without any preparation or setup. By using neighboring notes you *can* play well to help you with the ones you can't, you'll be teaching yourself by example. :)
Finally, make sure your flute is in good repair. If there are any loose screws / torn pads / keys not seating properly, it won't matter how well you practice, as you still won't be able to get those low notes. If your flute hasn't been to a repair shop for a year or two, you might want to get it checked out.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any more questions!
