That`s awesome I`ve been wanting one for years and i`ve been having the same delema so if you get it can you tell me if it works? please & thanks

If you are a serious flutist why on earth would you want to get a piercing where it may trouble your playing?It blows my mind what people say.Post that on the James Galway forum and see what he says.Gosh!*rolls eyes* makes me want to throw up.Heck you might as well just quit flute.To let something small,and what looks good to you get in thw way of playing is just STUPID.

"how could you possibly create a proper embouchure with a metal ball sticking out of your lip???"

What is a "proper" embouchure? The one that God uses?

Some top flute players play with a great lump of lip right in the middle of their lip. There is nothing much `standard` about the embouchure of successful players. See...

http://www.larrykrantz.com/embpic.htm

Aside from the issues of swelling, infection etc....

1. The extra weight of any significant metal could slightly slow down your tonguing speed.
2. If the object was quite large it COULD cause turbulence in the air getting to your lips, making the tone more `fuzzy` sounding, the same as if you lift your tongue a little too far while playing a note, or allow your teeth to intrude slightly into the passage of the air. Experiment by trying these two, to see what I mean, and by putting a small object on your tongue while playing a long note.

When you get used to it I don`t think it is going to make a speck of difference. Until I started doubling on clarinet I had no problem playing with candy in my mouth, and the notion that I was blowing sugary saliva down the flute is also a myth. I kept the saliva IN my mouth, and blew moist air from my lungs. It contained NO sugar. I did not have a sticky pad problem.

I`ve seen it done down here in south miami beach but the guy puts bees wax over it so it makes a smooth surface for the flute to lay on.

I think that if you really want to get it you should. I play the trombone and I have labret piercing, and though at first it was a bit uncomfortable, I soon got used to it and still play as good as I ever did.
Besides, you can always just take it off if you want to.

Have fun with your piercing!

sorry, haven`t been on in a while.
Wasn`t aware that God was a professional flutist.
I thought your web page was interesting.. however I didnt see any pictures there that help to illustrate your argument.. I didnt see one performer with a lip piercing.
I would like it if you could send me a picture of a person playing with a labret piercing... and playing successfully.. My argument is, that it would be next to impossible to create a solid foundation for a flute to rest if there were a lower lip piercing. Also, I find it rather absurd that someone who wants to be a flutist would do anything to possibly hinder their abilities... I welcome you to prove me wrong.

Who mentioned God? Are you talking about yourself?

Actually in my last post I was under the mistaken impression that a labret was a tongue piercing. Sorry about that.

However, from those photos in the website it is clear that you could even learn to successfully blow out the side of your lip if necessary, with the labret not interfering at all. So what is the big deal?

Pink flutist, are you not sufficiently versatile to get a good tone blowing out the side of your lip? You just need more practice, and you will become more versatile. Get outside your box! :-)

i realy want ma lip dun 2 but it wud ruin ur playin! jaz

Hey all~

I play flute, and am starting to get serious about it...however, i REALLY want the left side of my lip peirced. i have a fake one..and i put it on the left side and then tried playing my flute..and it really didn`t affect my playing that much. does anyone have any suggestions? I was figuring i could get it done over the summer, and then it woulb be healed by school, and i could possibly take it out during band class if nesesary(ugh i cant spell that word)..what do you think? thanks!

What other unknown people in a forum think is totally irrelevant.

If you are doing this because of what you think others may think, then it is for all the wrong reasons.

It is clear it barely affects your flute playing.

There are FAR more important things to be noticed for. So think... "Would I do this if nobody else ever saw it? If the answer is no, then you are doing it for image - to be noticed (unless it is for the very temporary buzz of facing the pain, which is pretty minor, or the thrill of having somebody else penetrate your body - a sort of sexual substitute.)

If you YOURSELF, REALLY want it, then do it, but just realise that in a few years you will PROBABLY look back at it as a silly image fad that you sucked yourself into conforming to. Rather like the fashions of extra high heels, or a girdle, in past years.

However the fact that you are asking what we think of it suggests a great deal of insecurity. Will the piercing be a statement to others of your insecurity? If not, just exactly what DOES it say?

How about putting effort into being noticed for something of more substance!

If you are serious about the flute you will not get your lips percied!!!!!!!!!
I know that it looks kind of cool and whatever, but that percing is also something that you will have to live with for life. Even after it is removed there will still be a scar from where the holes were.
Not only do you have to decide how much you want to play the flute in this situation, but you also have to think about how others will percieve you later on ie at job interviews.
Granted looks should not matter, the truth is that like it or not they do.
I know that this is not a morality forum, but with this issue there is more at steak than your flute playing that you may or may not have even thought of.

Oops I meant to title that last posting piercings not percings. I so cannot spell this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do not exactly care what other people think of me. and actually i am pretty damn sick of playing flute, so i am getting my lip pierced.

if you get a labret it can definately interfere, when you take the ball out to keep it from getting in the way of the lip plate you`ll now have a hole where air will leak out causing your tone to suffer. if you`re playing irish flute this could be a good thing but if you`re not then it`s probably a bad idea