I am new to the wooden flute and am having some trouble…I have purchased the “Timber” book and tape and am making little progress.
I have an 8 keyed wooden flute that I have borrowed from a friend.
I am having trouble getting the low 'D" and “E” to sound…all I get is air…I get to the “G” okay, and can do the 2nd register w/o too much trouble.
I am wondering if my embouchure is the problem, or that some of the pads of the keys have dried out too much causing air to leak from the pads. I have the flute laying out in an air conditioned room, so the humidity level is about 30 %.
It does sound like your flute might be leaking air somewhere, most likely from one of the keypads; also check to see that the joints are tight and that the flute has no cracks.
If you’re really not able to get any sound at all on those bottom two notes, I’d start by checking the keypads to be sure they’re totally covering the holes. You could moisten the pads with some water a bit to see if that helps.
Thirty percent humidity is pretty low for a flute; you might be better off keeping it in a Tupperware container with a wrung-out sponge…I try not to let my flutes stay much below 45-50 percent humidity.
Also … I notice you said you have the flute ‘laying out’ in a room. For crack prevention (and friendship retention ), it’s a very good idea to disassemble those puppies & put them in their cases when you’re not playing them.
Just thought I’d mention that in case you’re leaving it put together, because a crack will really mess up your low D!
Like Brad said, sometimes there can be leaks at the pads & joints, especially when the flute is dried out (i.e., in low humidity). You might want to try some cork grease on the joints until the flute swells up a bit from its new sponge-storage environment. (I wouldn’t Teflon tape the joints if you’re going to humidify it; however, if after 4-5 days (maybe even a week) of more humidity they’re still loose you might want to try it – just a little bit of tape at a time, though; you don’t want to crack the sockets!)
Oh … and, FWIW, D & E are the hardest notes on the flute to sound. Work on blowing down into the flute a bit more for these notes, and “frowning” with the corners of your mouth. Also, check to make sure both your right and left-hand ring fingers aren’t allowing any air to sneak out from those holes.
Good luck; it’ll get better! But I agree with Brad – getting the flute into at least 50% humidity will probably help.
thanks for those suggestions…the joints are tight and there are no cracks (yet )…I will start to keep it locked up in tupperware as it came with no case…also I’ll try a drop of water on the pads..
I am enjoying the tones I am getting so far though and am not doscouraged…I will just have to try harder and frown a bit more…
after several weeks of daily effort, I am able to eek out a few tunes, complete with octaves up to f and low D…
my son and I made a couple of pvc flutes that I can leave anywhere and pick up anytime…those actually have a great tone!!!
I think that one of the problems with my wooden flute was that it was always out in an A/C room, and was too cold and dry…don’t know, but a combination of keeping the flute in a closed humified case, and daily practice, and I am on my way!
Congratulations on the big improvement! Unplayed wooden flutes need a playing in period, and keeping the flute humidified in the tupperware really helps that out.
They need love, and spit (or should I say condensation?) to show what they’re really capable of.
On the topic of a strong low D, an instructor of mine said to look at it the following way:
If you look at a flute from the cap, endwise, it looks a bit like a clockface. If 12 is the embouchure hole, the “aiming point” for the jet of air should be about 8 O’clock (2 o’clock for lefties). In other words, aim deep into the flute.
[quote=“Wormdiet”]
If you look at a flute from the cap, endwise, it looks a bit like a clockface. If 12 is the embouchure hole, the “aiming point” for the jet of air should be about 8 O’clock (2 o’clock for lefties). In other words, aim deep into the flute.[/quote]
AHA!!! one of those moments…exactly what I am trying to do right now..
Trying too hard can bollix up the lower notes, too. Keeping the emouchure relaxed and breathing from a supported abdomen can remedy the problem. Someone mentioned aptly that the effect feels the same as when you’re gently fogging glass with your breath.
Unless you’re playing a Rudall-style flute, in which case you might have better luck aiming almost at 9:00 for the bottom D. I raise my blowing angle slightly on the bottom D on most Rudall-style flutes.
You can either use a tight or a relaxed embouchure. Most traditional Irish players I know use a tight embouchure, but a relaxed one (which seems to be preferred mainly by classical players, or traditional players such as Jean-Michel Veillon who’ve learned some techniques from classical and jazz players) can produce an incredible tone for very little effort. I have a new flute student who’s a very accomplished classical player just starting out on Irish flute. She uses a relaxed embouchure and the bottom D she gets out of her flute is amazing.
well, thanks for all the encourragement…it has been quite the adventure to try to find the right embouchure…I have tried too tight, too loose…don’t really know quite what I have now, but it’s working, so I’m sticking to it, and that’s my story!
I want to be able to produce the low D on the first passage of air..that’s what I am working on now…then I play octaves, and then intervals of 3rds up and down…then I settle into a tune or 2..
right now I am learning a set of jigs that I already know from playing fiddle
Of all the tune formats from the British Isles, I find Strathspeys to be the most challenging to adapt to flute. All those staccato jumps or something. . .
You might check out my thread “Help wanted for weak low notes” on this forum. There are plenty of ideas there - and at least you will find support from others like me that are struggling with a similar problem!
A question - the friend that you borrowed the flute from - can s/he get the low notes?
There is also an old thread I found on this forum that has some very useful photos that one flutist contributed - close-ups of his embouchure (that sounds rude!).
Sunnybear - One of the most interesting things about playing flute is that I seem to be continuously adapting and improving my embouchure. I’ll get it to be really consistent, have a period where I struggle, and then change something and be happy again. Granted, haven’t been playing that long (3 years), but I’m not sure that this pattern isn’t going to stick with me forever.
For example, I was experience wrist pain. So I had to switch my grip a bit which relieved the pain, but my tone was just terrible. So, I moved the embouchure around until it was straight in line with tone holes (normally I have it rolled in quite a bit). It felt like I was playing the silver flute blowing right across the embouchure until I looked in a mirror and realized my lip was still well over the embouchure. When I realized that my lip was exactly where it needed to be despite the way I’d turned the headjoint of my flute, I realized the advice to roll in the headjoint really isn’t what is key - it’s how your and your lips interact with the embouchure hole.
), it’s a very good idea to disassemble those puppies & put them in their cases when you’re not playing them.
)…I will start to keep it locked up in tupperware as it came with no case…also I’ll try a drop of water on the pads..