Hiya! I'm new here and I really hope you more experienced guys could help me out a little. I used to play flute for a year or so when I was 10, then stopped for some reason. Now I'm 20, and decided to start playing again, so I bought an old flute from a friend, and now I'm teaching myself. It's been about two months now, and I feel I make some progress every week, but some days I just feel stuck.
My main issue seems to be the second octave, with the over blowing. It's mainly E2 that's frustrating. I practice the chromatic scale, and sometimes it's all very nice and beautiful, but mostly it sounds crap if indeed it sounds at all. However, I've noticed that if I get a nice E2, the rest goes really well, but sometimes F2-B2 can go well, without E2 working. And when the second octave sounds nice, my low C sound bleh, which it usually doesn't do.
Any ideas as to what I can do to fix this? It is getting on my nerves, because I seem to tense up when things don't go as well as I want them to, and that just makes it worse, meaning I quit my practise session whenever it happens (right hand pinky hurting is the main thing I go after there), and it is a bit of a downer to do that.
Second octave help
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pied_piper
- Posts: 1962
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:31 pm
- Location: Virginia
It's difficult to diagnose your problem without hearing you and seeing what you are doing. A private teacher could help you figure out what's going wrong.
You mentioned that you bought a used flute. Have you had it checked by a flute repair technician? Pads with even very tiny leaks can greatly affect how a flute responds. Also, you didn't mention if you have an open hole or closed hole flute.
You mentioned that you bought a used flute. Have you had it checked by a flute repair technician? Pads with even very tiny leaks can greatly affect how a flute responds. Also, you didn't mention if you have an open hole or closed hole flute.
"Never give a flute player a screwdriver."
--anonymous--
--anonymous--
A private teacher would indeed be nice, but it's not really an option atm (yay for being a busy student.) Sadly I don't know any flautist either who could help me out.
I have a closed hole Jupiter student model flute (not sure exactly what model though). I probably should get it serviced, but I'm thinking about leaving that to the summer when I'm gone for holidays anyway. Don't want to be without my flute more than I have to. The thought of leaks has come to mind, but my (maybe faltering) logic says it shouldn't be it, since the low C sounds nice. Though maybe that depends on how hard I press the keys... Should look in to it. How long does it normally take if they have to replace pads?
Anyway, practise today went better than before. Maybe I just have to relax my embouchure more instead of trying to force the notes out.
I have a closed hole Jupiter student model flute (not sure exactly what model though). I probably should get it serviced, but I'm thinking about leaving that to the summer when I'm gone for holidays anyway. Don't want to be without my flute more than I have to. The thought of leaks has come to mind, but my (maybe faltering) logic says it shouldn't be it, since the low C sounds nice. Though maybe that depends on how hard I press the keys... Should look in to it. How long does it normally take if they have to replace pads?
Anyway, practise today went better than before. Maybe I just have to relax my embouchure more instead of trying to force the notes out.