Q&A for How to Play the Flute

You need to find you 'spot' first. Your spot is the place you put your mouth to blow into your flute. It can take about one week (or even more) of daily practice to learn where you put your mouth exactly, it is different for everyone. After a couple of lessons, you won't even have to think about it when playing. Also, make sure that you are blowing towards the hole -- if you can't quite blow at it exactly, try moving your mouth's positioning.

Yamaha has a wide variety of flutes, ranging from beginner to professional models. They have received good reviews online and have a reputation for durability.

You can get them online, but a good book to start with is the Essential Elements Book 2000. It's really easy to learn from.

Certain notes will have an airy sound when you play them if the flute has a leak.

Practice the piece of music you'll be tested on, focusing on parts that confuse you. Also, make sure you have all the basics down. Spend some time going over counting beats, playing specific notes, tuning your instrument, and so on.

If you know how to play recorder, learning the flute is easier. A typical student flute (no holes in the keys) is probably best for learning.

Holes do not stand for specific notes on their own. Notes are made by pressing down a specific combination of holes. Use a fingering chart to help you learn where to place your fingers for each note.

Practice your embouchure like this: Take only the head-joint and put your palm over the open end to block the air. Press the embouchure hole against the center of your lips and roll it down until it's between your chin and top lip. Then frown, shape your mouth as if saying "pooh," and blow air hard across the mouthpiece. Your top lip will be slightly over your bottom lip. Once you can make a sound this way, add the rest of the flute. Get a teacher to help if it is still not working.

When you are a beginner and just starting out, you should practise for a minimum of 10 minutes a day. If you are planning on doing an exam, set aside a minimum of 20 minutes a day, (ask you tutor about how many minutes a week/day you should be doing).

Do one piece until you learn it, or at most learn 2-3 pieces at a time. Learn a certain number of measures each day and continually practice the ones you "know" until you can play the whole piece perfectly.

Clean the inside your flute after every practice or performance to keep your flute in good condition. If moisture is often left inside when the flute is put away, it can damage the pads over time. Cleaning the outside is less critical, but wiping fingerprints off with a polishing cloth after you play will keep your flute looking shiny for longer.

The earliest flutes were made entirely of bone or wood. The modern concert flute is made of one of a few kinds of metal, including nickel, silver, or silver-plated brass.

Absolutely not! The shape of your mouth and teeth will only mean you will have to adjust the position of your head joint, and everyone's mouth shape is different, so everyone has their own position that is comfortable for them.

It depends on what you mean by "well." You might be able to play good melodies, but not extremely advanced tones (usually). You could spend more time practicing and get better, but don't expect great results. It takes time.

It depends on your individual flute and embouchure, and also the intonation of any other instruments you are trying to play in tune with (like in a band). Most flutes will play better in tune with the head joint pulled out about 1/2 to 1 cm. The best way to find out for yourself is to play several different notes while looking at a tuner, and try pulling the head joint out more or less to see where the notes are most in tune.

Remember "Every Good Boy Deserves Fun" (egbdf) for the lines going up, and "FACE" for the spaces (also going up).

This depends what flute you have. However, it is better to play with a straight mouthpiece as a learner because then you should be able to play any similar flute easily. If you learn with a curved piece, it will be much harder to play with a straight one, (breathing, holding positions, etc.).

Use a fingering chart. If you are starting out, don't focus on memorizing the music. Focus on memorizing the notes on a fingering chart; that way, you don't have to look at it as often.

Yes they do, so make sure not to damage them.

Start with just getting a note on the head joint. Bring the flute up so the edge of the lip plate is at the edge of your lips. Blow a concentrated stream of air and roll in and out until you get a good sound. Then put the rest of the flute on and repeat.

It sounds as though your flute is a Native American flute rather than the standard band/orchestra instrument. Reference wikiHow to Play American Indian Flute .

Your local music store should have all the basic band instruments. You should be able to find a flute there.

It's not impossible, and it's not necessarily harder either, you just have to practice and get used to it, especially if you started playing before you got your braces.

Saying that your thumb would be finger 1 and your pinkie finger 5, you have your fingers on the right keys and you are using a right handed flute. You would hold down fingers 1, 3 and 4 on the left hand and fingers 1 (to hold the flute) 2, 3, and 4.

If you mean the crown, you can simply buy a replacement and switch them.

Players who participate in focused practice daily can only improve, so if you are doing this, you are doing well. If you want to know if you have a natural talent for music, ask your school band director or music teacher for their opinion.

Yes, your lower lip stays on the lip plate while playing. Try saying "two," and keeping your mouth in that position when playing.

Place your lower lip on top of the flute's hole, then consistently blow air straight out of your mouth.

You'll need to learn the basic notes first, and from there, focus on scales. Once you've mastered scales, try working on those same scales in two octaves.

I think of "Empty garbage before dad flips" for the lines on treble clef. And for the spaces, I remember "FACE SPACE", because the notes are F,A,C,E.