School me on flutes

Get a flute teacher at least for some beginner lessons. Otherwise you probably use much too much air and have less tone control.

Some advices:

Don't raise the fingers up when you open a tone hole. Keep the fingers relaxed all the time. It's just a few millimeter movement.

"Smile" while playing. Lips should have some tension like a slightly stretched rubber band but relaxed in the center. The lips are more or less automatically opened by the air (like a whispered "P"). And yes, it looks stupid!

If you blow on a mirror or glass (or a mobile phone) from the edge the breath cloud should look like a candle flame.

The amount of air is always controlled by the diaphragm, not by the lips. Same for vibrato.

Saxer said:

Get a flute teacher at least for some beginner lessons. Otherwise you probably use much too much air and have less tone control.

Some advices:

Don't raise the fingers up when you open a tone hole. Keep the fingers relaxed all the time. It's just a few millimeter movement.

"Smile" while playing. Lips should have some tension like a slightly stretched rubber band but relaxed in the center. The lips are more or less automatically opened by the air (like a whispered "P"). And yes, it looks stupid!

If you blow on a mirror or glass (or a mobile phone) from the edge the breath cloud should look like a candle flame.

The amount of air is always controlled by the diaphragm, not by the lips. Same for vibrato.

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As for the smile lips position, it's either that or the grim position, lips turned down, as advised by James Galway. Vibrato has probably origin in the larynx, more than diafragm... Galway teaching as well, but that can be a personal thing

Well, I found a used YFL-311 that kind of spoke to me. Thanks for all of the advice!

DimensionsTomorrow said:

I’m looking at the used ones from music shops here in Japan as the ones advertised have all been fully serviced and come with a warranty

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Aaaah Japan and its incredible service.
Used gear for half the price and top quality, revised with guarantee.
Since you’re in Tokyo, if you don’t know the place already and love synths, there’s Five-G shop in Shibuya.
Incredible collection of vintage synths and modular in mint condition.

(sorry, can’t help you with the flute)

Loïc D said:

Aaaah Japan and its incredible service.
Used gear for half the price and top quality, revised with guarantee.
Since you’re in Tokyo, if you don’t know the place already and love synths, there’s Five-G shop in Shibuya.
Incredible collection of vintage synths and modular in mint condition.

(sorry, can’t help you with the flute)

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Yeah, Five-G is pretty incredible. Honestly, so many good music shops. My office for the last nearly 15 years is walking distance to Ochanomizu, which is pretty much music shop Mecca. Incredibly dangerous. I’ve bought so much guitar gear over the years on lunch breaks.

I have some pretty sick music shops near my house as well. I snapped a picture of a display case of vintage Russian Big Muff pedals a few months back and ElectroHarmonix ended up putting it out on all of their social media. The stuff you see regularly here is incredible.

Here’s the photo:

It is a great instrument to learn, plus audiences LOVE jahzz flute.

DimensionsTomorrow said:

I love real instruments, but limited space and urban living make it difficult.

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Nothing better getting the trumpet out of the window 6am every morning.

DimensionsTomorrow said:

Well, I found a used YFL-311 that kind of spoke to me. Thanks for all of the advice!

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That is a beautiful flute and will serve you a lifetime. I don't know if you bought it from a shop or from a user, but it is good to know if the cork is in good condition when you are starting. A dried or loose cork will affect your sound and you don't have the experience to know if it is your embouchure or if it is the flute at fault.

To get started, take a look at Jennifer Cluff's website.

Tralen said:

That is a beautiful flute and will serve you a lifetime. I don't know if you bought it from a shop or from a user, but it is good to know if the cork is in good condition when you are starting. A dried or loose cork will affect your sound and you don't have the experience to know if it is your embouchure or if it is the flute at fault.

To get started, take a look at Jennifer Cluff's website.

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Thanks very much! One of the reasons I chose this one is that it has been fully serviced and anything not in good condition has been replaced. Otherwise, I would probably be thinking “clearly this thing is defective” right now. Haha.

I’ll definitely check out that site! Thanks for that!

For recording flute, do you have any favorite (inexpensive) mics?

I’m more a fan of jazz/funk style stuff, and I was surprised how much I liked the SM57 clip here.


I don’t actually own an SM57 at the moment. I have a Sennheiser E906, but I really should have one since I play electric guitar as well. I’m planning on grabbing a little Zoom recorder to bring to the studio to record myself and will probably end up picking up an SM57 before too long as well (unless the E906 exceeds my expectations).

I would prefer a condenser. I never tried the 57, but the SM58 reduces a lot of the "air" and overblown texture you get from the flute. They are the same mic except for the ball grill.

Also, the flute makes any problems with room acoustics much more evident, but they are in a frequency range that is easier to treat.

Tralen said:

I would prefer a condenser. I never tried the 57, but the SM58 reduces a lot of the "air" and overblown texture you get from the flute. They are the same mic except for the ball grill.

Also, the flute makes any problems with room acoustics much more evident, but they are in a frequency range that is easier to treat.

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Thanks. I’ll definitely consider a condenser (or ribbon) as well. Here is another example of the SM57 on a wooden flute and it sounds pretty good as well. Not as full sounding as the recordings I’ve listened to using a ribbon or condenser but could work in a mix.

DimensionsTomorrow said:

Thanks. I’ll definitely consider a condenser as well. Here is another example of the SM57 on a wooden flute and it sounds quite good as well.

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I don't know, I think that wooden tone is much more appropriate for the SM57. For the same price, I think the results of an AT2020 would be better for a concert flute, or even better, an AT4040, which is really smooth. The Lewitts also seem very nice and affordable, like the 240 and 440, but I've never tried them myself.

The dynamic mics have the advantage that they will tame (or kill) the problem frequencies of the flute, but I never had any luck getting a satisfying sound from them. Some cheap condensers, however, may actually make those frequencies worse. Even though I really enjoyed the Behringer C1 for my voice, it was a disaster for my flute.

DimensionsTomorrow said:

Has anyone had any success with learning on their own? I wouldn’t be looking to play classical stuff, more old-school funk/rock/jazz “groove” kind of lines.

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This guy had "some" success XD

Tralen said:

I don't know, I think that wooden tone is much more appropriate for the SM57. For the same price, I think the results of an AT2020 would be better for a concert flute, or even better, an AT4040, which is really smooth. The Lewitts also seem very nice and affordable, like the 240 and 440, but I've never tried them myself.

The dynamic mics have the advantage that they will tame (or kill) the problem frequencies of the flute, but I never had any luck getting a satisfying sound from them. Some cheap condensers, however, may actually make those frequencies worse. Even though I really enjoyed the Behringer C1 for my voice, it was a disaster for my flute.

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Thanks for that! I appreciate all the info! I’ll look into the AT4040. (Edit: definitely looks like a winner!)

+1 for the suggestion to take some lessons to get started. That way you’ll get the right embouchure guidance to develop a good sound with good intonation right from the start, and you won’t have to unlearn anything later on. For flute chops, keep the corners down and the high range won’t blow sharp.

jvsax said:

+1 for the suggestion to take some lessons to get started. That way you’ll get the right embouchure guidance to develop a good sound with good intonation right from the start, and you won’t have to unlearn anything later on. For flute chops, keep the corners down and the high range won’t blow sharp.

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Definitely sounds like a good idea. I’m learning the fingerings now and and the first thing I taught myself was the D minor blues scale. It was enough to make me think I’m really going to enjoy this instrument, so I’m sure now that I want to take it to the next level. I’ll look around and see if I can find someone to help me with the basics.

jvsax said:

+1 for the suggestion to take some lessons to get started. That way you’ll get the right embouchure guidance to develop a good sound with good intonation right from the start, and you won’t have to unlearn anything later on. For flute chops, keep the corners down and the high range won’t blow sharp.

Click to expand...

Agreed, getting a good teacher is key! You need to learn good technique and a teacher can help keep you from developing bad habits that are a pain to break later. A good teacher will also help you learn to teach yourself more efficiently. I linked the Ian Anderson video because he's a freak of nature, a glitch in the matrix, a very gifted and unique human... but even he decided to learn the "proper" way 20 some years later:

"Being self taught, and never having had a lesson, I was playing a lot of the notes using incorrect fingering,” Anderson says. “I had to relearn it again, in about ’91, I think. … It taught me to take a little more seriously. In relearning my own repertoire, it was a good lesson in mid life - not quite a crisis, but damned close to it."

I went by a local music shop and it turns out they have a teacher that does private flute lessons for a really reasonable price, BUT it looks like I will have to wait until the State of Emergency ends in Japan before they will open up any regular time slots that will accommodate my work schedule.

In the meantime, they said there will be a sort of 3-lesson summer special package opening up in a few weeks, so I might be able to do that as a way to see if I like the teacher and also to learn some basics. If that doesn’t work out, I’m sure I can find someone else, but I got a really good vibe from the shop, so I might hold off for a few weeks to see how this plays out.

The great thing about what they offer is that it’s private lessons each week, the teacher will cater the lessons to what you want to learn (no specific curriculum you have to follow), and she’s well-versed in jazz and pop as well as classical. Plus, you get a deep discount on their private practice rooms if you take lessons, which would be a nice perk.