Hey guys! How's stuff?

Okay, so here's the scoop. When I'm playing in general right now, I seem to be doing okay as far as playing with a good supported tone right? My teacher seems to think that I'm playing correctly, but, when I hear other pro flute players, it sounds like they have a much more open, strong sound going on.

Is there anything I can do to fill up my instrument more? Also, could it be the instrument itself?

Thanks.

Very good question.
You might be doing everything the same as a 'professional' but there is a tone that is developed from palying a certain amount of time each day. There is something about the embouchre that happens when you play EVERY DAY, over a long period of time. There is no way to replicate this other than playing multi hours everyday.

four ways to make bigger tone:

- feed more air into the tube, or

- more force to hit the embouchure hole, or

- focus more and hit correctly the tone-producting point on the embouchure hole, or

- buy a headjoint with high riser to cheat

Sometimes, pros seem to play a lot louder than us, especially the low notes, like Sir James Galway, his low notes are so loud 3 meters in front of us. You know what's their secret?

They told us they "Borrow" the overtones from upper octave!!!

Flute is stupid instrument!! flute sound is against natural sound! in nature, you hear low tones loud and high notes quiet, like human vocal and birds sing, dogs bark. Flute is opposite, so we must play high notes quiet and low notes loud to emulate nature sounds.

To do this, we must borrow the upper octave overtones! because human ears can perceive higher overtones well. To do this, either you give the flute more air like Sir Galway did, you give it more force like I did:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4SAK3FikD8

<Added>

in video, mostly are low notes until the end, played with Yamaha 211 low riser, slow-responsive lip-plate, student flute

see how loud Yamaha 211 student flute can be with the simple technique of stealing/borrowing the upper octave overtones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaIdsBvZOKs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rYFCIERHxY

Which of your teachers taught yo that, pahud, galway, wye.
You like filming youself, is it so you can watch youself over and over again?

[post removed by admin]

Edited by Forum Admin at 07:48 on Monday, January 18, 2010
Reason: insulting post removed]

Okay, so does anybody else have any OTHER suggestions?

play with a relaxed embouchure so that the air flows freely, avoiding a tense, tight, pinched sound...a big tone is created by letting the flute vibrate naturally, thus creating a nice warm open tone...if you feel the tone in your lips when you play, you are achieving this

I agree with patrick

I agree with Patrick too. I didn't know what OboeNightmare meant by Bigger Tone, can a Tone be described as Big in English? I'm no good at English. I am still learning English and French as second and third language. Sorry for my misunderstanding.

I think becuz OboeNightmare is playing oboe now, so his embouchure (both lips) must be very tight, therefore his lips are pinched so is his tone when he/she plays flute, Patrick's relaxed embouchure is a very good and correct advice for him/her.

Some teachers of flute and oboe suggested my friends "don't play oboe if you play flute as well, becuz it will destroy your flute embouchure in a long run"

Thanks guys! Will let you know how things go.

Actually, I have found the opposite- oboe helped my flute embrochure. It makes you more aware of the little adjustments you need to make.

I play both oboe and flute and both my embouchures are fine. I think playing english horn helped my flute embouchure as I wasn't playing relaxed enough. Now I can get a lot more air through my flute with less force.

I like Patrick's idea! I tried it, because my tone was a bit whispy, and it improved no end!
Also, if you search on YouTube 'Flute masterclass galway tone' and there are a few masterclasses by Sir James Galway that really help! The one posted by Larry Krantz is good!