I play the violin and I am realy interested in playin the flute but I do have a few qs.
do your arms get sore from holdin up the flute because at least in the violin it is pressed against the top half of your chest.
are there any differences in the music that you play for the flute? and by that I mean how you read them and is there a stave things like that.
Is it hard to play? is it complicated? does it get confusin? Is it expensive to get a real flute or does your instuctot give you a real metal 1? and is it expensive to keep the flute in good condition? like is there anything you NEED to buy u know because for the violin you NEED rosen/resin?
how long does it take to become reasonably good?
sorry its kind of like 21 qs here eh! but i really want to know.

oh and by the way instuctot = instructor

Your arms do tend to get sore from holding up the flute but this is true with many instruments.

There isn`t much difference in the music you play for flute and violin as both instruments play from treble clef and are in the key of C. Yes, there is a stave exactly the same as with the violin.

Any instrument is hard to play - that is if you want to play it well. To me, it`s not as complicated as the violin, but that`s just my two cents.

It isn`t that hard to keep the flute in good condition as long as you don`t bash it about or anything like that! There is nothing that you absolutely need to buy unless you want to buy corkgrease for your joints. However vaseline works just as well.

I can`t tell you how long it will take you to become reasonably good, that`s a silly question. It all depends on the individual person, your tutor, how much you practise etc etc.

Good luck and have fun!

Amy

thanks for all your help! does it take long to be able to learn songs though? and by that i mean does it take long to learn all the notes and basic steps?

Amy pretty much said everything I would have said.

I started out as a violinist as well. I`d been playing for three years when I decided I`d like to try the flute as well. Obviously, I could read music, so I was advanced in that aspect, but what I REALLY had trouble with was breath support. You can breath whenever you want when you play a stringed instrument, and I always took that for granted until I took up the flute. O_o The flute requires a lot more air than, say, an oboe (which requires air pressure more than anything else). Even playing a whole note would get me dizzy, and I`d have to sit down and rest every few notes. I got sort of discouraged at first, because I thought I`d constantly be having to breath (which was annoying), but eventually you start being able to go longer and longer without a breath. So, breathing and working on your air capacity would be the #1 thing I recommend you work on at first. Work on long tones.

What sort of flute do you have now (brand, model)?

Make sure you have a cleaning rod and cloth as well. You need to clean out your flute every time you get done practicing, or it gets all nasty. It`s boring, I know, but make sure you do it.

Sorry, I missed your last post there.

There are several things you should be able to do before you can play an actual piece:

1. Know fingerings. You`re going to start out with basic notes, probably around the C above middle C. Don`t attempt higher notes for a bit, until you`re comfortable with the middle notes.
2. Embouchure. That means the shape your mouth/lips take in order to make a sound. You can`t just blow into the flute any way you want and expect it to play. Your embouchure should be good... you should be able to get a sound on command. Having a good embouchure means having good tone.
3. Hold the flute correctly. Make sure you`re not slouching, and you`re holding the flute at a good angle. You don`t want to be holding it so low that you have to tilt your head when you play. Also make sure your hands are holding it correctly. On your right hand, your fingers should be on their tips (well, not their tips, but you don`t want them completely flat so that the edges of your fingers dangle off the opposite edge of the flute).
4. Articulation. You should start out learning simple tonguing, and know how to slur.

If there`s anything in particular you want help on, go ahead and ask

one of my friends has just started playing the flute and he has caught up with anuthr 1 of my friends ( who has been playin for about a year ) in about 2 months! and i was just wondering if it was that easy! i know practice comes into it and how well you are able to adapt to it but i would be putting in a lot of effort.

If you practice for about a half hour a day (I wouldn`t recommend much more than that at first, or you`ll end up straining yourself), then gradually increase that time if you want, it shouldn`t be long before you start to catch up with other people. Just remember to keep trying harder things and taking steps. Don`t dwell on the same song over and over again, and constantly be thinking about your embouchure. Every flute player should be in the habit of making adjustments as they play. When you find that you`re making a sound you like, don`t move and remember what you`re doing... by doing this, you`ll start to develop a consistant, nicer tone quality.

If you do all that as you practice, I wouldn`t be surprised if you were able to catch up with other flutists very quickly

thanks merlena!
how do you tune a flute? is it the type of `wind` that comes out of your mouth and the way you pitch that note with your mouth or is it something else?

You`re welcome

Tuning can be done by adjusting the headjoint. The way I used to remember it was by this: The piccolo is shorter than the flute, and higher pitched, right? So, when you push the headjoint in (make the flute smaller), the flute will play sharper. Pulling it out makes it flatter. Most flutists tune on their A or Bb. I personally tune on both my lower and upper A, and make sure they match in intonation.

Some notes will naturally be out of tune... C and C# on the flute tend to be a bit high sometimes (my first flute was REALLY bad... I don`t know if it`s a student model flute thing, or what). You can adjust a note as you play by rolling the flute towards you (make it flatter) or rolling it away (make it sharper). By rolling the flute in/out, you`ll cover more/less of the embouchure hole with your lip, which changes the pitch.

Don`t worry if your low notes are flat and your really high notes are sharp at first. After you`ve been playing for awhile, you`ll start to develop control of those sorts of things and the notes will start coming in tune, especially if you upgrade to a solid silver flute, which makes it easier to hit the high notes.

Argh. I always get carried away. Sorry about that

tz alrite
thanks for all your help!
i am goin to talk to the instructor for flutes to see if i can start when i go bak 2 school.
i think it will take me ages to learn the flute and how to do diffrent notes etc like sharps and flats. but wish me luk if i do get in! ( even though it will be ages away! )

You`re welcome. Good luck!

so has any1 got anything else they want to say about flutes that would help me aswell because I have just started to play and am finding it quite difficult!
anything will do!

Is there anything in particular you need help on?

just breathing really! i cant hold it on for long and in other forums people have said that there are certain techniques/exercises i could do but i am scared that i will never be able to hold a long note for ages because it takes a lot out of me