I really, really want to learn playing the flute. This has been a dream of mine since I was small.
Reasons:
The cane flutes sound so beatifully mesmerizing in folk songs of the Central Vietnam, where I have been living before I came to US a year ago. I feel very connected to Vietnamese (+Chineseā¦) music. I want to be able to play these songs in flute. That would be wondeful!
I also like the Irish songs played with flute. They, too, are so attractive, so elegantā¦ I dearly love them.
What I have:
Unfortunately, I donāt have much experience with the technical aspect of music due to my background. Iām reading books about music theory and flute right now. I donāt know if my lack of experience will make it really hard for me to start learning to play flute.
I have some experience with Hamonica(4 months). I have been using the tabular system for Harmonica to write down the songs I love the most(through memory, I think Iām good at that). Using the note table for the harmonica, I will be able to convert the tabular one into the regular one. Thatās my plan for the future: using the harmonica to write the pieces I know in the regular system, playable for flute.
I saved up some money during the summer, and I ordered a flute online. Itās arriving soon.
My question:
So as experienced flute players, what would you suggest me to do?
What do I need to do? What do I need to know? What techniques should I spend most time with?
What are the important key steps that one goes from a beginner to an experienced/professional player?( I know it will take a really long time, but I want to look ahead & know where Iām going)
Welcome, and best of luck on your learning journey. Iām by no means experienced, but Iām probably halfway up the learning curve. I have a few suggestions.
Browse the archives of this board. Look at the subjects, and read those that look as though theyāre about learning. It sounds like a daunting task, but will only take a few hours. Thereās a wealth of information, and you can also learn which of us are really worth listening to and which of us may or may not be worth listening to.
When youāre still on the steep part of the learning curve, concentrate on only one type of music ā either Vietnamese or Irish, but not both at the beginning.
Play slowly. Concentrate on getting a good sound and learning a tune well.
Start on a decent instrument, which doesnāt have to be expensive.
Take all advice, including this, with a grain of salt ā everybodyās different.
I woud recommmend focusing first on tone. Also, Iād suggest you learn to play by ear. That will help you become more intuitively connected to your flute. Use th esearch function and check the archives and ask questions.
What kind of flute did you get. Sadly, some of the stuff on eBay and other places is really unplayable.
Iām surprised Iām the first one to suggest this, but the most important thing first is to LISTEN.
Surround yourself with the music you want to learn. Your profile says youāre in San Fran, and I know for a fact there are lots of places in SF where you can find good Irish sessions. Check out The Session Website and click on the sessions tab to find places to go in SF.
Oh yeah, and welcome! You should find this place very inviting, supportive and helpful, as I have since I first started reading and posting just early this year.
Search the archives. Look for embouchure, breathing, posture.
Search the web. A traverse flute is a traverse flute.
Find a teacher. It can be done without one, but it is frustrating and takes much longer.
Each discipline has itās own, strongly held beliefs and idiosyncrasies. (See āA traverse flute is a traverse flute.ā) Look for the similarities. Each flute is different, but they are all more like flutes than anything else.
It will take some time to get sound. It will take longer to get a good consistent tone. There are many good consistent tones, all good tones are not appropriate for all types of music, but all good tones are appropriate for some types of music.
Tell us about the flute that you have purchased. Many flutes are best used as wall ornaments and price is not the major determining factor in quality of the instrument.
Get sound. Practice good tone. Learn to play, with good tone, across the first two octaves. Learn to play across the break. (the octave jump)
Thank you chas, thank you Doc Jones, thank you fyffer, thank you Denny. I have all your invaluable suggestions written down in my notebook, Iāll keep in mind every one of them. Starting from now, I will definitely search through the archive to find information.
About finding a teacher, at which stage is it most suitable to have an instructor? It is good to have an instructor from the beginning, but is it necessary? Can good books replace teachers? I have good access to books, but I wonāt be able to afford an instructor. Iām a starving college studentā¦
Regaring the flute that I bought through Amazon, itās a $200 Hamlin flute. Hereās the link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00061F1WK/qid=1130348497/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xglna/104-1038537-3339927?v=glance&n=507846
What do you think of the flute?
It has no detailed description of the product, which I am very awared of. But I think the price somehow reflects the value of the product, so I bought the most costlyflute that I can afford. Furthermore, the seller sounds quite honest & has good feedback. The customer evaluation is ok, but I found the exact same comment on another website.
Itās rather confusing to buy flutes. Where did you buy your flute?
Wellā¦Google does not turn up a web site for Hamlin Flute in the first three pages. (not a good sign) There are a few for sale at $199.00 new. (not a good sign)
Short answer: very inexpensive student model.
You may find this type of flute referred to as a Boehm style flute. (the forum is not Boehm oriented, although many here have experience with both Boehm and simple system flutes.)
Instructor: immediately. You at least need to find someone in the music department that can see if it plays. It is also helpful in getting the initial sound, after that you can take some time to learn to produce good sound consistently.
I agree. It can be frustrating to get a sound at first, so be patient. An instructor can help with that. You say that you are a poor college student. I teach college, and I know what that is like. But maybe you can find a solution to the problem. Many schools will let you take private lessons as a class. You would get one or two hours of credit. So this could be included in your tuition. Sometimes, there is an extra fee for private lessons, so check with your advisor. The name of the class in your college catalog would be applied flute.
If that is not an option, you should still go to your schoolās music department and just hang around. Maybe you could put up some signs on the bulletin boards, looking for a teacher. Remember, music students are poor college students, too! Many music students can give lessons, and they are sometimes quite inexpensive. Even better would be if you could find a music major who needed tutoring in something that you were good at. If you are an engineering major, for example, you might be able to tutor mathematics in exchange for flute lessons. Do go to the music department at your school, check out the bulletin boards, and visit the flute professor, ok? Also, it looks like you live in San Francisco? Check out the other colleges in your area, and see if there are students there who can give inexpensive lessons or will trade tutoring. You never know what will come up, if you just look.
Thank you Denny and Fluti for your insightful advices.
I just got my flute this afternoon and itās truely hard to blow and make sound.
I have a feeling that for certain notes, the player needs to blow at certain angles, is that right ? I think I can make the most steady sound when I do it diagonally, with the flute lowered a little.
Itās a little confusing, but Iāll be patient as you advisedā¦
I think Iāll check out the music department tommorow.
Once again, thank you all for your recommendations. Iāll keep them in mind, and Iāll ask if I have any further question.
Thank you.
I have quite a similar experience, but since I tend to respect my pets, I stopped playing the whistle (My cat hates: whistle, pipes, clarinet, saxophone, vacuum cleaner, and loves irish flute and bansuri)
Seriously, my flute playing destroyed my capacity of playing the whistle: being obliged to overblow in the high register is something I canāt stand anymore. Even though I love the whistle, I just play it for practice purpose now
