School me on flutes

DimensionsTomorrow said:

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.

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In the meantime you could probably find a good online teacher at https://www.playwithapro.com/

If volume truly is a problem, go electronic! I live in a condo townhouse, so I needed to be able to practice in silence, too.

Get an EWI USB or a second hand Yamaha WX5 (I’ve tried both and I sold the EWI and kept the WX5).

Neither of them has built-in voices, but they connect by USB to your computer and you’ll be able to control those expensive virtual wind libraries we all have lol

Or do what I did. I picked up a Yamaha Bluetooth midi connector and I’m able to hook up to my Mac or my iPad.

robcs said:

If volume truly is a problem, go electronic! I live in a condo townhouse, so I needed to be able to practice in silence, too.

Get an EWI USB or a second hand Yamaha WX5 (I’ve tried both and I sold the EWI and kept the WX5).

Neither of them has built-in voices, but they connect by USB to your computer and you’ll be able to control those expensive virtual wind libraries we all have lol

Or do what I did. I picked up a Yamaha Bluetooth midi connector and I’m able to hook up to my Mac or my iPad.

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And as a bonus, you can learn sax and recorder too - all on the same instrument :-D

robcs said:

If volume truly is a problem, go electronic! I live in a condo townhouse, so I needed to be able to practice in silence, too.

Get an EWI USB or a second hand Yamaha WX5 (I’ve tried both and I sold the EWI and kept the WX5).

Neither of them has built-in voices, but they connect by USB to your computer and you’ll be able to control those expensive virtual wind libraries we all have lol

Or do what I did. I picked up a Yamaha Bluetooth midi connector and I’m able to hook up to my Mac or my iPad.

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The new EWI Solo has a built-in speaker for practice. It is my favourite wind controller.

I will also mention the Roland Aerophones for completion.

Tralen said:

The new EWI Solo has a built-in speaker for practice. It is my favourite wind controller.

I will also mention the Roland Aerophones for completion.

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True - I'd forgotten the Solo. and the baby aerophone AE-01 could well come into the 'relatively cheap' category too, especially a used one.

The WX5 would still be my favourite, though, as it has real keys rather than capacitive buttons

robcs said:

True - I'd forgotten the Solo. and the baby aerophone AE-01 could well come into the 'relatively cheap' category too, especially a used one.

The WX5 would still be my favourite, though, as it has real keys rather than capacitive buttons

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I much prefer the buttons of the EWIs, I find them much more agile.

The main feature, however, that makes me a lifelong EWI fan is that you can make up your own fingering on the spot. The sharps/flats keys (and most of the main keys) simply add or remove 1 semitone when pressed, so you can combine them and improvise fingerings for different passages.

DimensionsTomorrow said:

I just love the sound on so many old recordings.

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Dude, are we like the SAME person? I absolutely love the same type of flute sounds! So many musical things we have in common!

Am I the only one who dreams of walking into a pawn shop some day and getting a bassoon really cheap.

Someone on YouTube introduced me to this killer performance. Visually amazing as well.

If anyone did not write it yet, consider taking some lessons at least at the beginning

i play a lot of instruments (in a bad way...) and flute is one of them. I learned when I was a child and then took 2-3 lessons when i was about 35. I don't play it very often now...

Getting a note is not straightforward and could be frustrating. The 2-3 lessons I took were extremely useful to understand how embouchure should be and how handle it.

bosone said:

If anyone did not write it yet, consider taking some lessons at least at the beginning

i play a lot of instruments (in a bad way...) and flute is one of them. I learned when I was a child and then took 2-3 lessons when i was about 35. I don't play it very often now...

Getting a note is not straightforward and could be frustrating. The 2-3 lessons I took were extremely useful to understand how embouchure should be and how handle it.

Click to expand...

Thanks, yep. That’s the plan!

Flute and ethnic flute player here of 12+ years
You can absolutely learn on your own. I've taught myself many instruments.

One tip I would give you though is that you spend a lot of time with the basics, so scales and breath exercises.
because regardless of what style you'd like to play, you need breath control to do it.
Hitting the right notes with your fingers is one thing but without good control it won't sound good.

I just wanted to provide an update and say thanks to everyone.

To be honest, I am shocked at how well it’s going. I’m still working on getting private lessons and figuring out a regular practice space, but I’m getting some fantastic tones right off the bat just with the blues scale! This old Yamaha exceeds my expectations. I’m able to get the bluesy/jazzy sounds in my head pretty much right from the start, which is amazing as I’ve *played* guitar for decades and have never felt good about my playing. It’s definitely making me think I started with the wrong instrument, lol.

I’m a bit limited playing at home as I need to keep the volume down and be careful of when I play, but it turns out that one of the karaoke joints right near my places can be used for instrument practice (something I had never looked into before). Once the state of emergency declaration has ended I plan on making good use of it as their morning and weekday rates are super cheap, just a few bucks for an hour.

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice. I’m pretty sure I would have given up on the idea without it and I’m so glad I didn’t. This will no doubt provide a lifetime of fun, especially if I can get good enough to play with other musicians.

And a quick update. I’ve just finished a year of private lessons through Yamaha/Yamano Music and still going. Thanks very much for the advice everyone. I’m moving into the intermediate curriculum now, so things are really picking up, but I’m having a blast.

A flutist flouts their flute while eating floutas.

Consider yourself schooled.

/mic

Here's a playlist with guides to several extended techniques:



I hope someone finds it useful.