Does an easy-to-play flute lead to a lazy or poorly developed embouchure?

[RPereira]

How to discern this if I am unexperienced?

[Jayhawk]

Wow, that's a doozy of a question and my answer will truly be just my opinion after playing 25+ years. I think playing an easy to play flute leads you to playing flute much more often which leads to your embouchure improving overall. I have had flutes that were more difficult to play and they did improve my embouchure because they were actually good flutes, but I've played bad flutes that were hard to play and they really didn't improve my embouchure at all.

One factor, though, is that what is an easy flute for you may not be for someone else.

How's that for a definitive non-answer?

Eric

[Flutern]

I totally agree with Eric, it's really important to play on an instrument that you find rewarding. (Your notion of "rewarding" might change over time.)

Here's an additional element for your consideration: a poorly developed embouchure will make you run out of air much more quickly, no matter how easy the flute is. What I have observed over the years I've been playing the flute is that there is a correlation between tone quality and efficiency: as you learn to use your air more efficiently, your tone improves, and vice versa.

[plunk111]

I kinda think "easy to play flute" is an oxymoron! But I agree that playing any decent flute will only increase your abilities...

Pat

[Tradman]

It's certainly a great question. I agree with Eric and flutern because as someone who's had a harder flute to play, I can say that the easier one has made me such a better flute player that my confidence has gone through the roof, and it helps me to know that "I can do this!" and I do not place such downcast self-feelings against myself with the one that really, really needs a focused embouchure.

[jim stone]

Also some easy to play flutes go very deep. They suck you in. Olwells

[Loren]

“Does an easy-to-play flute lead to a lazy or poorly developed embouchure?

How to discern this if I am unexperienced?”

No. As a beginner the most critical aspect to overall improvement is the ability to successfully participate in the endeavor. One needs correct, consistent practice over a long period of time in order to get good at a skill based activity. As a beginner, if you are constantly struggling more than necessary just to get a sound out of your flute, or to get consistent tone, that is time wasted. An easy to play flute helps one to progress more quickly.

Think of it this way: What if you asked the same question as a beginning driver about cars? Does learning to drive a “normal” common car lead to lazy and poorly developed driving technique? Well, what is the other option? Learning to drive in a Formula 1 race car? Or perhaps some poorly made, poorly maintained piece of junk car that is falling apart and won’t start half the time? Neither of those scenarios is gonna work out well.

As a student pilot one learns to fly in airplanes that are very easy to fly and this doesn’t lead to lazy or poorly developed technique, quite the opposite: You progress faster because you are able to have success sooner and more often, without the instructor having to assist or take over as often.

Beginning saxophone and clarinet students don’t start learning to play with the stiffer reeds that intermediate and advanced players use, they start with softer reeds to make it easier to get a consistent tone out of the instrument.

Everyone should start with a good quality instrument that is easy to play, there’s no significant benefit to struggling with the instrument any more than is inherently necessary, unless you are specifically working on perseverance and mental toughness…… but then there are other activities far better suited to developing those particular attributes.

Bottom line: A good quality easy to play flute will help you progress faster and you’ll have more fun while doing so.

[Mr.Gumby]

I don't disagree but defining an 'easy to play' instrument can be tricky.

During my early days on these forums there were heated discussions about 'unplayable' whistles. Relative beginners were, and are, protesting certain whistles tend to squeak.
And they do, if you lack the breath control. But it doesn't follow that a 'foolproof' whistle (as I referred to them for a while), one that doesn't squeak whatever way you blow into it, is the better instrument.
I remember the first 'tweaked' whistle I was sent through this forum, it was clearly made to play in a way so a beginner would not be able to make it squeak. As a result it was also so stiff it was virtually unplayable (to me and several very fine players I had try the thing). It's un-modified brother that was sent alongside it as an example of an 'unplayable' Generation on the other hand, while an average example of the type, was free blowing, nimble and, to me, very easy to play. It was clear to me which I would prefer and think of as the better instrument. That didn't stop forum members declaring these modified instruments (as they were set up at the time) the bee's knees.

So there's that element to the discussion.

How to discern this if I am unexperienced?

[Fixed typos, twice]

[Loren]

I don't disagree but defining an 'easy to play' instrument can be tricky.

Agreed, that’s where recommendations from reliable sources for a good quality, easy to play (relatively speaking) instrument comes into play.

But then there’s the discussion of “what are reliable sources for recommendations”, and so it goes……

[Mr.Gumby]

And round it goes, in ever larger circles

[tstermitz]

Wearing a Hair Shirt

As someone who took a long time to build consistency and strength, I am sympathetic to the argument that an easier to play flute is more rewarding and enjoyable for a newcomer. I have had several 19th C flutes with "harder" embouchures, and I now absolutely love the tone I can get out of my R&R medium-sized flute.

Playing well requires a good embouchure, which goes for both easy-to-play flutes and those that require better focus.

That leads me to the conclusion that it is beneficial to work with a flute that requires better focus because it forces you to develop a better embouchure. That is not an argument that you should work with a flute that is poorly designed, damaged or leaky.

[bigsciota]

Psychologically, I'd say that a newcomer taking up an "easier" flute would absolutely give them more incentive to practice and play, and probably ultimately help them improve.

However, over the past year I have mainly played two flutes, we'll call them flute A and flute B. I've noticed that if I play flute A exclusively for a while, I have to work a lot harder when switching back to flute A, and frequently don't quite get the tone I like. However, the reverse is not true! If I play flute B exclusively, when I go back to flute A I sound great!

The embouchure on flute B is smaller and more similar to the embouchures on antique flutes than the one on flute A. I think it requires a tighter, more focused embouchure to get it sounding good, and if I play flute A for too long I do in fact get a bit lazy about things. I could also simply not get lazy and keep my embouchure even tighter, which does make for an even better sound on flute A. But, at least to my ears/mouth, the effort required to reach "good" is lower, and I fall back on bad habits.

Anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt, but I've heard similar sentiments from other players about their flutes.

[Loren]

Psychologically, I'd say that a newcomer taking up an "easier" flute would absolutely give them more incentive to practice and play, and probably ultimately help them improve.

However, over the past year I have mainly played two flutes, we'll call them flute A and flute B. I've noticed that if I play flute A exclusively for a while, I have to work a lot harder when switching back to flute A, and frequently don't quite get the tone I like. However, the reverse is not true! If I play flute B exclusively, when I go back to flute A I sound great!

The embouchure on flute B is smaller and more similar to the embouchures on antique flutes than the one on flute A. I think it requires a tighter, more focused embouchure to get it sounding good, and if I play flute A for too long I do in fact get a bit lazy about things. I could also simply not get lazy and keep my embouchure even tighter, which does make for an even better sound on flute A. But, at least to my ears/mouth, the effort required to reach "good" is lower, and I fall back on bad habits.

Anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt, but I've heard similar sentiments from other players about their flutes.

You aren’t wrong: Playing some flutes will absolutely force you to refine your embouchure even further, which is a good thing, however……

Question: Is the goal of learning to play the flute to be able to be able to play particular and/or challenging flutes, or is the reason for playing flute to play music?

I used to manage a rock climbing gym and I’ve observed thousands of people learning to climb. I’ve taught hundreds. People who start on easy climbs have success, fun, stick with it, and before long are climbing more and more difficult climbs. OTH, People who insist on trying to climb the hard stuff as a beginner progress more slowly, get very frustrated, often suffer injuries, and eventually either quit or wise up and go back to mastering the easy climbs before moving on.


Some people are there to learn to enjoy climbing, while others only seem motivated to conquer the toughest route in the gym, thinking it will make them better, faster, which as a beginner isn’t going to work out. Might as well go wrestle a Grizzly.

Once someone develops a decent embouchure on an “Easy” flute, it’s no big challenge to move to any other good flute. And if your first flute is a good flute, you never really “need” another flute unless you started on a keyless and move to a keyed flute. Buy an Olwell, a Copley, or another flute by a maker who consistently makes a great high quality, “easy to play” flute so you know that any issues you may be having are YOU, rather than the flute, then get on with practicing and playing music. No sense needlessly struggling.

I had two flutes early on that were often cited here on the board as being “very good flutes”, and “great flutes for beginners”, but you know what, they were not either of those things. When I got my Copley Blackwood flute (in my pre allergy days), everything got much easier, and more fun. After that, other flutes I tried or owned may have required a bit of adjustment, but I never wished I’d suffered with a tougher to play flute just so that it might eventually make me better able to play different flutes.

I have had several flutes for sale, including the Byrne I recently sold, which I declined to sell to a number of newer players here on the forum because I knew they would have an easier time and a better experience starting with an easier to play flute. The Byrne is a fantastic flute, but it has an embouchure that requires a bit more focus, which would be frustrating and perhaps demotivating for a newer player and I didn’t want someone new to playing to spend a lot of money on something they may well regret, so steered these individuals in a different direction and waited for a more experienced buyer.

For sure we’ve all struggled with emboucher as beginners, and I agree that certain more challenging flutes can help you refine your embouchure further, but if I had started on the Byrne or something more challenging, I might have gotten frustrated enough to stick with whistles

Hey, if you like flute hopping and don’t mind some frustration, buying an old flute and/or a modern flute with a more demanding embouchure cut may be your bag, go for it. I do wonder though if you accurately remember just starting and the associated challenges and frustrations? If you had a child who wanted to learn the flute, would you get them something easy to play, or something with a demanding embouchure and tell them “No Pain! No Gain!” Or in my own words from another post “playing any instrument is difficult, deal with it. “ Of course I didn’t mean make things more difficult than necessary.

[bigsciota]

I do wonder though if you accurately remember just starting and the associated challenges and frustrations? If you had a child who wanted to learn the flute, would you get them something easy to play, or something with a demanding embouchure and tell them “No Pain! No Gain!” Or in my own words from another post “playing any instrument is difficult, deal with it. “ Of course I didn’t mean make things more difficult than necessary.

Your point is well-taken, although I do want to point out that when I was looking for my first flute 10 years ago I posted this on a certain flute forum...

I'm not necessarily looking for something wicked easy to play (if anything, something harder to play would force to me really improve), but I would like something that would make it easier to transition to a nicer wooden flute if I felt so inclined.

That being said, the flute I settled on (Shannon) was quite easy to play and get a good tone on, and that definitely helped fuel my progress. I suppose it depends on the individual what exactly they want to get out of the experience, and where they want to go!

[Loren]

That being said, the flute I settled on (Shannon) was quite easy to play and get a good tone on, and that definitely helped fuel my progress. I suppose it depends on the individual what exactly they want to get out of the experience, and where they want to go!

I agree. I do think there is a perception though that beginners have, such as the one you stated 10 years ago, that starting on a more challenging flute will in fact make the transition to other flutes markedly easier, and my experience has been that you will pay the toll to get there either way: Either up front by starting with the more challenging flute, or later when you move from an “easy” flute to something requiring more focus. Same toll though in time and practice. As a teacher of physical skills for 40+ years now (and a life long student), I just see a clear advantage to one learning path over the other. But even this discussion is perhaps a bit off-topic.

To the OP’s original question: Every flute has its own unique requirements that need to be met. If you are playing your “easy to play” flute well, by definition you aren’t being lazy and you don’t have a poorly developed embouchure for that flute? If your goal is to be able to pick up any flute and play it well…..OK, but Olwell flutes are pretty easy to play and there are plenty of people who have only played an Olwell for many years and they can play anything you hand them. So is it the flute or the years of playing that developed their embouchure?

I just don’t see an advantage to starting with a challenging flute, but I’m all about freedom of choice, do what makes you happy with regards to flute choices. Keep in mind, there are things you gain by trying and switching flutes, and things you loose, we pick our trade-offs.