out of breath???

[whistlin'fool]

hey all I just got my first flute off of ebay about a week ago, and after a day or two i was finally able to get some notes out of it but i've been playing the whistle for over a year now and noticed that i run out of breath quite quickly on the flute compared to the whistle. I was wondering if this was normal or if i'm possibly doing something wrong. Is it possible to make the notes resonate without having to blow as hard, or is it just a matter of practice to get a stable note and then work the air pressure down while keeping the note. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks a bunch

[Coffee]

It's hard to tell from all the way over here what your doing, and without knowing that, can't give any pointers. Best I can say is keep at it. It might be difficult at first, but will come with practice. Flutes do take more air that whistles, generally speaking. If you want a real lung workout though, try highland piping.

[AaronMalcomb]

You're in the early stages of embouchure development so it will feel like you are huffing and puffing with your lips flapping in the breeze.

Long tones (a full breath worth) and slow airs for now. A good trick is to blow a note in the low octave then pinch it up to the next octave using only your lips, not with more wind like you would on whistle. Do this last one with or without a glottal in between; it's a workout either way.

Try these tips and peruse the rest of that sight pretty well. There's lots of good info.

Cheers,
Aaron

[cocusflute]

Playing the flute should take about as much air as talking. Most players who have not developed their embouchures blow way too hard. Try blowing as quietly as you can. It is focusing your embouchure that will make the flute sound good, rather than powering the air through the flute.
Don't go for big volume yet. Aim for clarity of tone. Volume and speed will come.

[brotherwind]

Hi,
I feel all the same. Gasping for air after no time. My teacher concurres with the recent posts. It's mainly the embochure. It is not tight enough at an early learning stage.
What also helps is to inspire more often and much less deeply than one is accostumed to do on the whistle. Effectively more or less at any possible point in the tune. Later on reducing the frequency more and more.

Still, we all need practise, practise, practise and more practise....

Cheers,

brotherwind

[Jennie]

There is a light at the end of the wind tunnel! I'm finally now able to play without getting light-headed, though I know there's lots more to be done in terms of tightening the embouchure. It's been a year and a half since I started playing flute.

When I started, someone quoted me three months as the time it takes to get past the huffing and puffing stage. I think it's totally individual, though. I still use a lot more air playing than I do talking.

Persevere!

Jennie

[Flyingcursor]

It's been so long I'd forgotten but yeah, it does take some time to get a nice combination between your lip strength and air flow so you don't get winded.

It'll always take a little more on the low notes but eventually you won't notice.

There are a couple of tricks though. You can twist the flute so when you're on the low notes it tips toward you and away on the high. Another, and little more difficult technique is to slide your lower jaw back and forth so on the low notes your jaw is back and on the high notes it's forward.

For what it's worth. I've known flute players who do both. I've been doing the jaw thing for a few years and I think my tone stays more consistent.

[jim stone]

For me flute takes no more air than do most soprano
whistles. but initially I was huffing and puffing.
A helpful analogy from John Skelton: the
garden hose that sprays further when you
pinch off part of it, leaving a small
aperture through which a thin stream of
water issues at high speed.

It takes time.

[JamesF]

I've been "playing" for a little more than two years and I can't play anything without asphyxiating. When I play airs I wake up two hours later.
Why I haven't given up on the flute I have no idea.
I don't think I'll ever get better at this rate.

[crookedtune]

I've been "playing" for a little more than two years and I can't play anything without asphyxiating.

James, I'm probably no one to be giving advice, as I'm a relatively new flute player myself, but I got some good advice early on from another player, which is to forget about volume and try to make the flute whisper. Keep your lips pursed fairly tight, and really just give it a whisper-stream of air. It really takes very little air to make the flute sound, and once you get used to a tight embouchure, you'll find that you can achieve a lot of volume with only a slight amount more air. I struggled for a short time, but suddenly "got it" once I stopped pushing so hard. Now my struggles are much more with accurate fingering and ornaments than breath control. Hang in there, and don't give up!

[chas]

I've been "playing" for a little more than two years and I can't play anything without asphyxiating. When I play airs I wake up two hours later.
Why I haven't given up on the flute I have no idea.

It's because of the high you get from asphyxiating.

Lemme echo what crookedtune said, and suggest another way to achieve it. Start with the lower-octave G. Play a long tone starting normally, and as you start running out of breath do whatever it takes to keep the note from going flat. When you can keep it in tune when you're just about out of air, remember what you're doing with your mouth. Then start from that position and refine it till you're getting the tone you're looking for.

[Matt_Celta]

I know there's lots more to be done in terms of tightening the embouchure.

I'm not sure what do you mean when you talk about "tightening the embouchure". Do you mean stretchening your lips or developing your embouchure?

[Wormdiet]

There are a couple of tricks though. You can twist the flute so when you're on the low notes it tips toward you and away on the high. Another, and little more difficult technique is to slide your lower jaw back and forth so on the low notes your jaw is back and on the high notes it's forward.

Interesting - I actually roll out a wee bit on my low D and it helps - both to hit it and to keep it volume-consistent with the other notes.

[Wormdiet]

There are a couple of tricks though. You can twist the flute so when you're on the low notes it tips toward you and away on the high. Another, and little more difficult technique is to slide your lower jaw back and forth so on the low notes your jaw is back and on the high notes it's forward.

Interesting - I actually roll out a wee bit on my low D and it helps - both to hit it and to keep it volume-consistent with the other notes.

[crookedtune]

I know there's lots more to be done in terms of tightening the embouchure.

I'm not sure what do you mean when you talk about "tightening the embouchure". Do you mean stretchening your lips or developing your embouchure?

That's kind of hard to put into words. "Tightening" really means reducing the space between your lips that the air flows through. It's done through a combination of muscle-tightening, angle and Zen enlightenment, I guess. You're trying to create a very small, focused stream, but you'd like to do that without straining yourself, and in a relaxed way. Wax on, wax off.

This is why the discussion always reverts back to "Practice, practice, practice!". Give it time, and don't stress yourself. It's really worth the time you put in, because once you've got it, you'll own it forever.