New to the Flute

[Ramin]

I got a Flute last week and began learning how to play it. The book I have doesn't go into beginning flute much (Grey Larsen's The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle), he gives a brief overview and then teaches Ornamentation. So I have begun by just playing long notes working my way down the flute. I'm down to G now (which I've found the octave higher G too it seems). the F#, and E don't seem too hard but I'm focusing on the G for now.

I play about 15 to 20 minutes at a time a few times a day just working on my ability to play notes. I spend about the same amount of time on my whistle learning songs.

It took an amazing amount of time to get the first note out of it. After that I've noticed my ability increase gradually until I get tired and then it is gone (that is why I've been practicing for short amounts of time.)

It seems as I play lower and lower notes I to need to roll the flute outward a little and possibly open my mouth a fraction more. does that sound right ?

Is there a better Beginner Flute tutor?

Is this a decent way to begin?

Rc

[Jack Bradshaw]

I still think Ralph Sweet's book is the best for an absolute beginner....

"The Fifer's Delight"

I think...he's also got Ryan Thompson's DVD....I havn't seen it but I know Ryan and it should be a good one...

http://www.sweetheartflute.com/music.html

[Bart Wijnen]

Is there a better Beginner Flute tutor?
Rc

Think Grey Larsen gives a lot of attention to the basic flute playing compared to other Irish flute tutors.

Personally, I learned a lot about Irish flute-playing from other sources as well (especially Seamus Egan at MFT) but I had the advantage to play the flute some eight years before I actually started ITM.

I'm a proffesional flute-teacher, there's nothing to be extraordinary proud of this, but I think we could keep in mind that there's some difference between how to understand the soul and technique of this (and other kinds of) music and how to cope with the instruments.

I can distinguish different pipers/fiddlers/whistlers as most of we can, I do understand how they are playing their instruments, but I can't reproduce it.

That's called skill I guess and it takes time........

You began last week.

All advise I can give is to search for someone to help you (maybe a teacher) and to search for a lot of patience.

May you enjoy this marvellous journey.

[Cathy Wilde]

Indeed. Just enjoy the journey, and be prepared for moments of joyous epiphany and abject despair (over the years, I seem to have had both in relatively equal measure). I like Fintan Valelly's "Timber: The Flute Tutor" a lot if you can find a copy of that; also, it might not hurt to get a general-purpose beginning flute book for some nice basic exercises that apply to both Boehm and simple-system instruments. But no matter what you do, just keep listening to players you like and trying to replicate their sound. Maybe start with lots of slow airs so your ear can learn tone more easily ... ?

And of course, if there's a workshop or some such in your area, jump on it! I think there's a fellow named Jonathan on the board who *maybe* lives near Fort Worth? Might be worth a search of his posts to see.

Good luck!

[m31]

Is this a decent way to begin?

There are different kinds of learners. Some like to have a textbook. Some never read the manual and prefer to tinker. Some need visual explanations. Others are more aural/oral. Some people need motivation. Some like to be left alone. How would you categorize yourself?

A few initial lessons from an instructor would be a good idea, just to get past some of the basic hurdles. Since there are a surprising number of variables other than the flute itself that contribute to the tone, it's important to have feedback on one's playing. For example, a big problem I used to have was slightly moving the flute relative to my mouth, brought on by heavy fingering. I never noticed I was doing this. This affects the flute's responsiveness, attack, tone and pitch of the note being played. If I had had a teacher to point this out, it would have saved me countless hours of frustration. (BTW, that does not mean one should be completely immobile whist playing). Another example: sitting vs standing. I'd sound great standing up, then go to sit down and all of a sudden my tone was shot. It took me a while to realize that the angle of my head, relative to the embouchure hole was changed when I did that. In fact, where you glance (e.g., sheet music) can affect your head position.

Still, the most important feedback system is your own ears. Being acutely aware of what you're actually hearing vs what you want to hear and quickly reacting to the difference is part of developing the skill. Also note that what you want to hear (your notion of a good tone) evolves over time.

(Take with a grain of salt, as I'm no instructor).

[Cathy Wilde]

You know, my beloved has his young fiddle students walk around the house, dry dishes, watch TV, do whatever with their fiddles under their chins so they'll get comfortable with them there. I've never really thought about it that I can recall (especially after 30X years of playing including eight in marching bands), but being able to move around and play your flute is probably a pretty darned good embouchure trainer too. The faster you can re-set the flute on your lip after a change, or the better you can keep the flute in the right spot during a change the better (and the easier!) it gets.

Just a thought from one who's walked (and jogged, and danced, and marched, and stood, and sat, and even slid down onto the floor and laid there like a thrashing slug (if slugs can thrash)) many miles in the wandering flute player moccasins ....

Anyway, playing around with the thing is good. Sooner or later you find what works ... and what doesn't. And often, like m31 says, a good instructor can help you figure it out faster.

[TheSpoonMan]

also, it might not hurt to get a general-purpose beginning flute book for some nice basic exercises that apply to both Boehm and simple-system instruments.

A problem there might be that Boehm tutorials don't get around to playing in D right away, and will have lots of stuff in E, A, C, F, Bb, Eb as well that wouldn't be too good on a keyless flute.

Ramin, have ye got a boehm flute or an irish flute?

[Denny]

including eight in marching bands

gluten...


seriously, ya right, walking and playing is good for you.
although dangerous for some perhaps...

[Ramin]

I have an Irish flute. I was reluctant to pick up any Boehm learning material for that reason.

I can see by the reply's that this will be a long road. I'm going to attempt not to become totally obsessed with learning it, if possible for me.

Cathy, I kind of do what you say. I wander around the house coaxing long clear notes from my flute, occasionally working on cuts.

m31: I'm reluctant to get a steady teacher because it causes me to put a large amount of stress on myself. If I don't improve a great deal between lessons I feel like I'm wasting money so I end up practicing enormous amounts of time. I want this not to be so intense.

" be prepared for moments of joyous epiphany and abject despair "

: ) I've had both already.

One thing I've noticed right away is that I have more wind for my whistle.

Thanks for the help I'm looking into the books mentioned now.

[KateG]

m31: I'm reluctant to get a steady teacher because it causes me to put a large amount of stress on myself. If I don't improve a great deal between lessons I feel like I'm wasting money so I end up practicing enormous amounts of time. I want this not to be so intense.

Actually, one of the joys of being a grownup is that you don't have to have a steady teacher, in the lesson every week format. What I've done, and I think others have as well, is to find a congenial mentor and pay for lessons on an as-needed/as-available basis. Adult lives are complex enough that trying to absorb a fixed amount of info in a fixed amount of time doesn't work, especially for the stuff we do for ourselves!

[johnkerr]

m31: I'm reluctant to get a steady teacher because it causes me to put a large amount of stress on myself. If I don't improve a great deal between lessons I feel like I'm wasting money so I end up practicing enormous amounts of time. I want this not to be so intense.

As the Rolling Stones have said, you can't always get what you want. But if you try, sometimes you'll get what you need. You will never become a good flute player without it becoming intense - if by "intense" you mean that you'll have to work hard and spend a lot of time at it, which is what it sounds like you're saying. If you have the opportunity to study with a real live teacher of the Irish flute, by all means you should do it. If money is an issue because you really can't afford it, then take lessons only every other week or once a month instead of weekly to cut your cost. But if money is an issue because when you spend it and don't follow up with practice between lessons you feel guilty...well, that's one of the big reasons you should take lessons. The guilt will spur you into practicing more, which is what you need to do. And if you don't show improvement between one lesson and the next, it's not really something you should worry about. Your teacher will see things that you are doing wrong and tell you how to correct them. There are tons of little things that you can do wrong when trying to learn the flute. If lesson after lesson your teacher brings up the exact same set of issues with you, then you're not making progress. But if over time the old issues go away, only to be replaced by new problems to work on, then you are. But if you pass up the opportunity to take lessons just because you're afraid you won't progress fast enough, you might as well just sell your flute along with whatever books you're relying on to learn from. It doesn't matter what your "preferred learning style" is, you can never learn to play the flute (or any other musical instrument, for that matter) from a book. But you can learn by being around other players who are further along than you are, whether it be in a formal teaching situation or just hanging out. So never, ever pass up an opportunity to do that. If good players are not available to you live and in person, then listen to them on recordings or watch them on DVDs to try to figure out what they're doing. Go to where they are, e.g. summer camps, festivals, etc. Become as close to being a stalker as you can get away with. Don't waste your money buying instructional books, unless you buy them in person from the author and can cajole a few tips out of them while you're at it. Otherwise, take Abbie Hoffman's advice and steal the book.

Okay, that's two '60s references in one post, which is probably two too many. This old fogey is outta here...

[crookedtune]

I agreed with everything Johnkerr said until the last couple of sentences. I think there's a great value to be had in using instructional books, cds, dvds, websites, etc. You should absolutely not let them be a substitute for live interaction with real players, but don't rule them out. Many are well-prepared and contain a wealth of useful information. And, given that they are not time-sensitive, they are convenient and lasting. Learn by all means that you have available!

[Cathy Wilde]

I'm going to attempt not to become totally obsessed with learning it, if possible for me.

What's wrong with a little obsession

(in other words, you're preaching to the choir on that one )

[Bart Wijnen]

I agreed with everything Johnkerr said until the last couple of sentences. I think there's a great value to be had in using instructional books, cds, dvds, websites, etc. You should absolutely not let them be a substitute for live interaction with real players, but don't rule them out. Many are well-prepared and contain a wealth of useful information. And, given that they are not time-sensitive, they are convenient and lasting. Learn by all means that you have available!

Amen!

[johnkerr]

I agreed with everything Johnkerr said until the last couple of sentences. I think there's a great value to be had in using instructional books, cds, dvds, websites, etc.

Hold on there - you're glossing over a big difference by attaching CDs, DVDs, websites, etc. to what I said about books. With all of those other media, there's at least the chance to hear or physically see (in motion) what's being done by the better player, which provides the possiblity to pick up on some of it and try to reproduce it yourself, thereby learning something. With a book there is none of that. Was it Frank Zappa who said "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture"? It's the same thing with trying to learn a musical instrument strictly from a printed text. Words and still photos cannot begin to describe what you need to do to produce music from a flute. The best they can do is raise questions, which then generates more words to try to explain the first set of words, and before you know it you have Grey Larsen's massive text that would be completely useless as a primary learning tool, except for the fact that it includes a CD. No one has ever learned to play flute from reading that or any book, but there are people who have passably learned to play Irish music on the flute through media like the Scolitrad website or Mad For Trad DVDs, even though they've never met a "real" Irish flute player in their life. I believe some of them even post on C&F every now and then...