Airy Sound... Lost Sound

[WhistlerCampbell]

This is really bothering me. After about 15
minutes of playing, my notes start to sound really airy. After about 25 minutes,
I can barely make a sound. What's the deal? [:((]

[lhampton]

Well, Have you just started flute? The muscles
involved in your embouchure may get tired quickly. I had the same problem after
starting flute again after an arm injury. The more you play, the better your
tone will be. You just need to develop the muscles that form your embouchure.
Or, it could be your flute. You might want to take it up to a repair shop and
let someone have a look at it. Also, it could be your breath support. Remember,
breathe from your diaphragm. Good luck, I hope this helps. Leanne

[notootsieno]

Hmmm...well I'm probably not in a position to
give advice since I've only been playing for three years. But I've learned
that keeping your flute warm will make it produce a good sound, and also
"cleanliness is next to godliness." lol. Well anyway that probably didn't help
at all so just go with what the person above said ^^^.

[lhampton]

Yes, your absolutely right. A clean flute
helps produce a beautiful sound. It gets rid of squeaks and stuff. That helps me
a lot. And I've only been playing three years also, so advice is always helpful
no matter what your ability level. Also, not many ppl can say that they stuck
with flute for three years! Leanne

[WhistlerCampbell]

Thanks for the replies. My flute teacher says
my face muscles are indeed not accustomed to the new use. He suggested I stop
and rest when this happens, then practice again later. (Plus, when I take a
break, I can clean my flute out.) It sure is nice for a newbie like me to have a
place to ask questions! [:bigsmile:]

[minsmusic]

"It sure is nice for a newbie like me to have
a place to ask questions! [:bigsmile:]" I'll agree with that. My husband bought
me a flute yesterday so I popped straight onto the web and did some searchin'.
Comments from this site have been really beneficial. So far I've learnt that
it's normal for a beginner to struggle with the low D and C (whew!) That you
don't have to blow 'hard' into the flute. To jump the octave into the next
register the air flow needs to be faster, not harder. Blow into your flute to
make it 'warm'. Split the air 'across' the hole. Shape your mouth as though
you're saying 'two'. Muscles take time to 'get used to' new positions. And
that there's quite a few people out there teaching themselves. That's
encouraging. I'm a piano/keyboard/singing teacher who's about to 'teach'
herself. I think the flute is romantic and magical. I know I'll enjoy the
quest. By the way, I love the scripture you quoted above. Our god gave us a
beautiful ability to make and appreciate music. Makes us appreciate Him too,
huh?[:)]

[woof]

[quote] ---------------- On 1/19/2004 5:06:33
PM This is really bothering me. After about 15 minutes of playing, my notes
start to sound really airy. After about 25 minutes, I can barely make a sound.
What's the deal? [:((] ---------------- [/quote] As a newbie I have exactly the
same problem- so frustrating cause it makes trying to learn all that much more
difficult when all you get is air not sound. As others have said I think it is
loss of embouchure. Glad to see I am not the only one..

[flautist blackie]

I have had the same problem too! I've been
playing for 1 and a half years...guess that's pretty short. The tone gets
really horrible after I play for a long time. But quoting my band director "Rest
as much as you play. You play for 4 hours, then you rest for 4 hours".

[ick27]

Do you find that your lip muscles are very
tired after playing for a while? It may be that your lips are fighting
eachother, keeping your mouth tense while you play. This was referred to as
"isometrics" by Tom Nyfenger--the idea is that your lip/facial muscles
shouldn't work against eachother in optimal flute playing. You don't need to
squeeze your lips tight like you do for a reed instrument, it is the air that
makes the sound. A strong sound comes from strong air flow. You might want to
see if you can find some pictures of good flute players as they play, to notice
how relaxed their facial muscles are. I'm sure you'll get better at it quickly
through practice, good luck! -Bradford

[FluteDiddy]

You probably haven't built up enough air yet
and stamina to use it for a long period. Everyone developes differently and lung
capacity is a bigger problem for women than for guys that have been in sports
already.

[Kristin]

The others are right about the ombroshure.
However, I have the tendency to roll my flute in towards me while playing, which
makes the hole more covered up and it a lot harder to get notes out,
particularly high F# and higher. You might want to make sure that you don't
roll the flute towards you or put the headjoint on at an angle so that your lip
covers up most of the hole. only 1/4-1/3 of it should be covered up.

[fluteluversmom]

Kristin~ This is good advice I think this
is something that we forget to tell people just starting out. Amazingly there
are band directors out there that instuct students to roll in and out without
taking into consideration of what can happen to a flutists tone when they do
that. Kim [quote] The others are right about the ombroshure. However, I have the
tendency to roll my flute in towards me while playing, which makes the hole more
covered up and it a lot harder to get notes out, particularly high F# and
higher. You might want to make sure that you don't roll the flute towards you
or put the headjoint on at an angle so that your lip covers up most of the hole.
only 1/4-1/3 of it should be covered up. [/quote]