The same thing happened to me with my Boehm flute. This was before I got my wooden one, so I had nothing to compare to, but I couldn't get lower than E4. I took it to someone I know who plays flute and asked for help with my embrochure, figuring that was the problem. He asked to play it and he couldn't get the low notes out either. Upon closer inspection he found a leak. At a later date he also found a leak that was stopping me from paying past the high G. The best course of action would be to take it to a repair shop and have them look for leaks.sbfluter wrote:I have trouble with my boehm flute. I can't get any decent sound out at all, and I can't get anything lower than the low E out. Someday I do want to learn how to play that thing but I just can't bring myself to do it.
Need advice for getting a reedy tone
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irish69
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"Without music, life would be an error."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
sbfluter wrote:I have trouble with my boehm flute. I can't get any decent sound out at all, and I can't get anything lower than the low E out. Someday I do want to learn how to play that thing but I just can't bring myself to do it.
Hehe... that very thing is what threw me back into playing flute seriously again. I had stopped playing for quite some time and when finally I picked up my boehm with a terrible shock.
No low notes!
I thought "damnit, all that wasted"
It indeed turned out to be a bad leak
but the shock was enough light a fire under my butt that is still burning hotter than ever.Aanvil
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I am not an expert
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I am not an expert
I'll second, third, and fourth what the others have said, if you can play the wooden flute the way you do, then it's almost a slam dunk that your Boehm flute has "issues." 
Bob
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
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monkey587
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I had a thought about the tone thing, actually it's something that I notice from time to time but forget about. If I make a change in the middle of practicing, rolling in/out/whatever, I do notice a change, but that change has a lot to do with how I'd been playing up until that point.
For example, lately I have been playing a delrin flute which I lazily leave assembled much of the time and last night I changed the rotation of my headjoint. For the rest of the time I played, I found it hard to play and my tone was not up to par with where it had been lately, although the intonation was a bit better (which was the intended effect).
This morning, I picked up the flute, still assembled from last night, and played a bit. The tone was better and it didn't seem any harder to play than it normally does.
I notice this kind of thing from time to time. One lesson in it is that instant gratification isn't everything; sometimes you do need to make a change that will require time to adjust, and you have to accept that you may get a bit worse before getting better. Another is that maybe when you are trying to make a change like this, maybe it is better to just play for short periods until you are comfortable with the adjustment, to prevent yourself from reverting to the old habit. I don't mean going from two hours to five minutes a day in order to make a change, but take frequent breaks within your sessions and every time you start up again, remind yourself of your goal.
I've made great progress in learning not to overblow the flute this way. I have generally avoided sessions lately, where I would spend long stretches of time trying to hear myself over a noisy pub and in effect practicing the bad habits that come along with that. Instead I practiced in short, frequent, and focused bouts and after a few weeks, felt myself being slowly freed from the grip of those bad habits.
Sorry if that was longwinded.
For example, lately I have been playing a delrin flute which I lazily leave assembled much of the time and last night I changed the rotation of my headjoint. For the rest of the time I played, I found it hard to play and my tone was not up to par with where it had been lately, although the intonation was a bit better (which was the intended effect).
This morning, I picked up the flute, still assembled from last night, and played a bit. The tone was better and it didn't seem any harder to play than it normally does.
I notice this kind of thing from time to time. One lesson in it is that instant gratification isn't everything; sometimes you do need to make a change that will require time to adjust, and you have to accept that you may get a bit worse before getting better. Another is that maybe when you are trying to make a change like this, maybe it is better to just play for short periods until you are comfortable with the adjustment, to prevent yourself from reverting to the old habit. I don't mean going from two hours to five minutes a day in order to make a change, but take frequent breaks within your sessions and every time you start up again, remind yourself of your goal.
I've made great progress in learning not to overblow the flute this way. I have generally avoided sessions lately, where I would spend long stretches of time trying to hear myself over a noisy pub and in effect practicing the bad habits that come along with that. Instead I practiced in short, frequent, and focused bouts and after a few weeks, felt myself being slowly freed from the grip of those bad habits.
Sorry if that was longwinded.
William Bajzek
monkey587 wrote:
I've had the Copley for two weeks now, and I'm finally through the break-in period, thank God, and I have been playing in longer stretches. Last night I was playing off and on in the den for an hour or so, and my wife stuck her head in the room and said, "You're sounding a lot better." Funny thing is, I was pretty frustrated at the moment, because I had been struggling to find the tone I want and had been fiddling with my embouchure the whole time. I hadn't noticed much progress at all.
Sometimes my determination gets the best of me, when it would probably be better to take a break, or as you advise, play more frequently in shorter duration.
Although I haven't noticed much progress in obtaining that nice reedy quality on the Copley yet, the odd thing is, that when I switch to my Boehm flute, my tone and power in the lowest notes has be much better. Go figure....
This is a nice piece of advice. Oftentimes when my embouchure starts to escape me, I get doggedly determined and try to play through it, only to end up sounding worse. And when I do that, I tend to start playing louder with more force which only compounds the problem.I don't mean going from two hours to five minutes a day in order to make a change, but take frequent breaks within your sessions and every time you start up again, remind yourself of your goal.
I've made great progress in learning not to overblow the flute this way.
I've had the Copley for two weeks now, and I'm finally through the break-in period, thank God, and I have been playing in longer stretches. Last night I was playing off and on in the den for an hour or so, and my wife stuck her head in the room and said, "You're sounding a lot better." Funny thing is, I was pretty frustrated at the moment, because I had been struggling to find the tone I want and had been fiddling with my embouchure the whole time. I hadn't noticed much progress at all.
Sometimes my determination gets the best of me, when it would probably be better to take a break, or as you advise, play more frequently in shorter duration.
Although I haven't noticed much progress in obtaining that nice reedy quality on the Copley yet, the odd thing is, that when I switch to my Boehm flute, my tone and power in the lowest notes has be much better. Go figure....
Bob
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
I just wrote:
Just kidding...she's to sweet and supportive for that sort of thing...
I was sitting here thinking about my wife's compliment about what she perceived as improvement in my playing and started laughing at this possible interpretation: the apparent improvement she heard was improvement from sounding like crap to something slightly less offensive...Last night I was playing off and on in the den for an hour or so, and my wife stuck her head in the room and said, "You're sounding a lot better."
Just kidding...she's to sweet and supportive for that sort of thing...
Bob
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
It has been 16 days since I got my Copley, and the reedy tone I want is starting to show up a bit. The tone I'm getting in the low notes, particularly E and D, is certainly rich and pleasant but not a reedy bark. However, I'm keeping a better embouchure for longer periods of play and beginning to build a bit of a memory of my embouchure position that tends towards the most resonance I can currently get. For whatever reason, I find the low E and D more challenging that the highest notes in the second octave or even the beginning of the third octave. I love those low, resonant notes and want to learn to get good power and focus in them.
I've been trying a lot of the things that folks have suggested on this thread, and it has been very helpful. I just need to keep remembering...patience, patience, patience...
I've been trying a lot of the things that folks have suggested on this thread, and it has been very helpful. I just need to keep remembering...patience, patience, patience...
Bob
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
Denny wrote:
Sacramento, about 10 minutes from the State Capital Building and Ahhnold the Governator...been in the area since I graduated from UC Davis many years ago.What part of norcal?
Bob
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
Come to the edge/ It's too high/ Come to the edge/ We might fall/ Come to the edge/ And we came/ And he pushed/ And we flew!
Guillaume Apollinaire
My boyfriend actually asks me to play now. That's quite an improvement from when he used to banish me from the room.
As for my boehm. It has new pads. I just have never played it since it got new pads. When I picked it up at the repair shop the technician said to play the heck out of it and bring it back if there are problems. I have yet to play the heck out of it, but I suspect that if I could play the heck out of it, that might improve its current condition, or at least let me know that I do indeed need to bring it back.
I have too many instruments now. Flutes, whistles, boehm flutes, mountain dulcimer, strumstick. I wish I could play them all but I can't. I guess I mean that in both ways!
As for my boehm. It has new pads. I just have never played it since it got new pads. When I picked it up at the repair shop the technician said to play the heck out of it and bring it back if there are problems. I have yet to play the heck out of it, but I suspect that if I could play the heck out of it, that might improve its current condition, or at least let me know that I do indeed need to bring it back.
I have too many instruments now. Flutes, whistles, boehm flutes, mountain dulcimer, strumstick. I wish I could play them all but I can't. I guess I mean that in both ways!
~ Diane
Flutes: Tipple D and E flutes and a Casey Burns Boxwood Rudall D flute
Whistles: Jerry Freeman Tweaked D Blackbird
Flutes: Tipple D and E flutes and a Casey Burns Boxwood Rudall D flute
Whistles: Jerry Freeman Tweaked D Blackbird
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daiv
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Rob Sharer wrote:Is this you, Daiv?daiv wrote:
i can hit any note on the footjoint, cold... cold flute, cold lips, no "lead in air" like classical players do. it's all about embouchure, and the shape of your throat.
my low notes were so good that my classical teacher spent a year trying to get his as good as mine when i was in highschool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmPwIqX4 ... re=related
Rob
in a couple of months i will do some more; i am aware how bad the rhythm and timing on that is. i had spent many years working on everything but my rhythm, so now i am trying to focus exclusively on my rhythm and timing. obviously it was a mess, so i have a far way to go before my rhythm is organized and solid.
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daiv
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yes, indeed! although it can be frustrating, i dont think there would be anything out of the ordinary if that reedy bark took about 5 years at least to show up. if you get it before then, you're ahead of the game!norcalbob wrote:It has been 16 days since I got my Copley, and the reedy tone I want is starting to show up a bit. The tone I'm getting in the low notes, particularly E and D, is certainly rich and pleasant but not a reedy bark. However, I'm keeping a better embouchure for longer periods of play and beginning to build a bit of a memory of my embouchure position that tends towards the most resonance I can currently get. For whatever reason, I find the low E and D more challenging that the highest notes in the second octave or even the beginning of the third octave. I love those low, resonant notes and want to learn to get good power and focus in them.
I've been trying a lot of the things that folks have suggested on this thread, and it has been very helpful. I just need to keep remembering...patience, patience, patience...