remember me? i was gona start..well yes..
today i went with one of my friends to buy a flute. Seeing as i play trumpet already, i wasn`t too fussed about getting a high quality one- i just wanted the cheapest, but best for its price one-not crappy or anything. My friend said it was good..so i bought it. Its a student fountaine flute.
????


Ok..no lessons yet, but as soon as i got home, i went online and looked up the fingerings and my GOD..talk about confusion-lol. I got the hang of it..but the c is hard, i mean (if i got it right,) how the hell do you guys hold your flute when playing 3rd space c??? It`s impossible..and what if you have to play a b on your next note??

Im happy i decided to play flute tho. It makes beautiful music.

Thanks guys

Oh yeh-would be great if u wrote bac

ps:

if there is anything i need to know about like cleaning, maintanance, etc. please say as i know absolutely nothing at this stage

You can make life easier on you if go to a music store get a level 1 flute method book that teaches you melodies one note at a time with fingerings on the page you are using the note for the first time so you don`t have seek out a fingering chart all the time.

As far as maintenance:

1. Never grab keys to dis/assemble flute.
2. You should have a flute rod with your flute. It`s uses:
a. If you stick the rod end without the hole in your headjoint a line on the stick should be centered across the embouchure hole. You can push the rod against the cork and it will move out or screw the crown cap out and push the cork in to center. The cork can come out completely, but ONLY THROUGH THE BOTTOM END... but you shouldn`t really take it out anyhoo unless you hear ringing and you need to tighten the cork. You must grease with cork grease before putting back in if you take out all the way in order to seal.
b. You stick a thin cotton cloth through the hole and swab the inside of your instrument dry. You need to do this at the end of every practice or you`ll get sticky pads, nasty smells, rust, mold, or other nasty growth.
3. Have a separate cotton cloth for just wiping the outside of your flute after every practice. If you don`t sweat can eat through your keys before you realize its happening. Silver plating can last for years without wearing if you take care of it.
4. If you have a metal cleaning rod you may want to buy a plastic or wooden one so you don`t accidentally scrape the inside of your instrument.
5. Some student flutes go out of adjustment quickly. Buy a mini screw driver and keep that with you if possible. A day may come where you may need it for yourself or others. Don`t use the screw driver before you need it! You`ll notice the screws on your flute will influence how other keys close.
6. Invest in a padded case cover. It will save wear on your case and insulate your flute somewhat from sudden temperature changes and impacts.
7. One of the greatest causes of damage of the flute is from sitting on it. You may not want to lay it down on beds and chairs. It is never expected, but it happens.

Enjoy the Flute!

Some generally good advice there.

Just a couple of things:

2. "You should have a flute rod...." There can be more complications if you mess with this cork. If it is in the correct place, then leave it well alone. The use of cork grease makes it much more easily shift to a wrong place. cork grease is definitely not needed to make the cork seal. I don`t think I have ever seen a new flute head with cork grease on the cork. If you DO use cork grease, it really is quite important to use a reputable brand, and there are very few on the market - the only ones I know of are Alisyn and `Doctors Products` (http://www.doctorsprod.com/DrsProduct.html). The stuff marketed under `reputable` instrument makers` brand names is almost always rubbish. Much of it damages cork, and some of it CAUSES metal to corrode. make the with your flute.

4. "If you have a metal cleaning rod you may want to buy a plastic or wooden one so you don`t accidentally scrape the inside of your instrument."

When cleaning the flute with a metal rod, put the cloth through the eye of the rod, then wrap it over the end of the rod for complete safety. The end of the rod is smooth anyway... I have never seen a flute damaged by a rod.

5. "Some student flutes go out of adjustment quickly...."

Yes, student flutes have 4 or 5 adjusting screws, but adjustment of a flute is almost always far more complicated than this, involving the alignment of the pad over the tone hole so that it closes evenly at the same time. BEst to leave these screws well alone unless you know a fair bit about the WHOLE adjusting procedure which, unknown to most players, is actually quite complicated.

i was thinking about buying a flute and just teaching it to myself. I would get a cheap 1 with a few instruction books etc. but i just wanted to know... is it hard? because i have looked onto websites with the fingering notes and it looks really difficult!! I`m a musical person. I already play the violin and can play the piano but i just love the sound that the flute makes!! I would make the effort to learn properly so i just wanted to see what your experiences are!?


rrr... is it difficult to understand? im getting quite worried now!!

I think that knowing how to read music makes learning the flute much easier, but if you`ve never played a wind intrument you`ll experience quite a bit of light headedness on the flute.

It`s like playin a jug... that is over extended to your left to form a large pipe with keys that let you change the pitches.

You`ll have a heck of a time getting one good answer to that, but here`s my attempt at one:

Short version: yes

Long version: I bought mine last year. I`ve been teaching myself; started with a book and video. I play well enough to encourage myself to keep going, and have even been performing a couple flute numbers with my band (I`m primarily the singer).

Do I suck? There are those who suck worse.
Am I a master? By no means, but what`s a "master"?
Am I enjoying it? Absolutely.
Are there those who say I`m going about it all wrong? Wait.
Do I care? Not really.
Do I thing other paths or wrong? No.
Do I recommend trying it yourself? Do you have two hands and two lips?



And after you`ve played with it for a while, you can always decide to take lessons anyway. I`d rather have the flute and not the lessons, than the lessons and not the flute.

"I have never seen a flute damaged by a rod."

To my eternal shame, I actually managed it once. The headjoint of my old Yamaha has a big scratch; I have NO idea how i did it, but then I`m a bit dim.

Snot wrote:
"Do I thing other paths or wrong? No."

-----------

Snot replies to himself:
Do I need to proofread a bit more often?!

Anna, it is not the fingering that is the challenge. It is getting a beautiful sound that people are happy about listening to. It is also maintaining the right pitch and beauty as the volume changes.

A good embouchure and breath support are absolutely vital for this, and if you are left to your own resources you are almost certain to develop a poor embouchure, although of course there are exceptions.

If you start with a poor embouchure, it will be very difficult to correct later.

So I suggest that you get a teacher just for the first few embouchure-formative lessons.

Failing that, may I suggest the following, especially the first one. Others here may be able to suggest other links which are pertinent for your embouchure formation.

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Resources/FluteLessons2.html
http://www.saxontheweb.net/Resources/FluteLessons.html

wow thanks guys i really appreciate it!
I think I`ll just give it a go. I mean i`m not really in the position that i want to go proffessional or play the flute in orchestras etc. i just really like the sound it makes so i think i`ll teach myself (with the help of a few books) and see how it goes.

thanks again!!

definately have a go anna

iv been playing arr..2 days..lol. Just me and the website..
not boasting or anything..but i easily chromatically played 2 octaves c to c lol but then again i played trumpet before and years ago i played the recorder so i think thats given me a kickstart.
its a very pretty instrument. You can practice 12 at night and nobody will complain
easy once u get the hang of it-its like playing the bottle-just more variety
na..
very pretty instrument
good luck