Airflow

[Claiken]

Strange question...

alot of times, i feel like i can hear the stream of air actually going into the instrument - regardless of pitch. is this normal to hear? its almost like i can hear the air touching my instrument.

my main question is if i can hear it, can others hear it?

i only fear this becaue i used to have an extremly airy sound, to me any others. but i recently played for a former teacher after over a year, and he said my tone is very focused, and well, better! so, if i am able to hear the air actualy going through the instrument, is this bad? is there something i could fix? (i tested the headjoint recently for leaks, and there isnt any). can others hear this just because i can? is it something to worry about?

im asking because i have a VERY important lesson in less than a week with not my teacher, but the flute prof here at the school... i need to sound practically flawless!!!

[flutepicc06]

my main question is if i can hear it, can others hear it?

There's nothing inherently wrong with hearing some air, as what we hear as players doesn't really reflect what the audience hears very accurately. It may be that others can hear it, but they may not be able to. I once sat next to WIBB, and from a couple of feet away, he sounds like a wind tunnel....But go out into the audience, and you'll hear one of the most gorgeous tones out there. I would recommend recording yourself or getting someone that you trust to listen to your playing and comment. This will give you a clearer idea of what the audience is actually hearing.

[Claiken]

my main question is if i can hear it, can others hear it?

There's nothing inherently wrong with hearing some air, as what we hear as players doesn't really reflect what the audience hears very accurately. It may be that others can hear it, but they may not be able to. I once sat next to WIBB, and from a couple of feet away, he sounds like a wind tunnel....But go out into the audience, and you'll hear one of the most gorgeous tones out there. I would recommend recording yourself or getting someone that you trust to listen to your playing and comment. This will give you a clearer idea of what the audience is actually hearing.

So, its not completely weird to hear that though? its not even really loud, its very slight. like, i have to really listen to hear it, but it is there...

[pied_piper]

Room acoustics also affect what you hear. When I play in a very small room or if I stand very close to a wall, I can hear more air in my sound. When I play in a larger room and stay away from walls, I don't hear it as much. The "airy" sound is made up of a lot of very high frequencies that easily reflect back off of hard wall surfaces. Move those hard surfaces further away and you hear it less.

[flutepicc06]

my main question is if i can hear it, can others hear it?

There's nothing inherently wrong with hearing some air, as what we hear as players doesn't really reflect what the audience hears very accurately. It may be that others can hear it, but they may not be able to. I once sat next to WIBB, and from a couple of feet away, he sounds like a wind tunnel....But go out into the audience, and you'll hear one of the most gorgeous tones out there. I would recommend recording yourself or getting someone that you trust to listen to your playing and comment. This will give you a clearer idea of what the audience is actually hearing.

So, its not completely weird to hear that though? its not even really loud, its very slight. like, i have to really listen to hear it, but it is there...

Not unusual at all, particularly if it's that slight. It's never a bad plan to record yourself though...It will give you a much clearer idea of what you're playing, so if you're ever concerned with how you sound, that's a good place to start.

[arabians207]

I have two different headjoints, the one that came with my flute (the Pearl Forza with a gold lip) i can hear some air but with the one i always use (Yamaha handcut EC) i can't really at all.

If its only slight, to an audience it probably sounds fine