For me, bad days start out bad until I realize how I`m sitting as opposed to good days. On bad days, I find myself leaning back a bit, with collapsed shoulders, which limits my air capacity. However, I never noticed this until I went to a masterclass where my posture was commented on (it was a "bad" day). I learned some basic Alexander technique, which has drastically improved my playing... even on bad days. If I were you, I`d look into it. I`m sure it can benefit everyone.

Fluteloops! I never had anyone teach me, but I sometimes buzz my mouth and get my lips relaxed to get the low notes, and/or high notes on my flute! I use it a lot for my piccolo too. It just makes it easier for some reason.

hi i play brass as well as woodwind and always buzz before playing - especially wen im stressed and tense cos it helps relax. try playing the flute when you are lying down on the floor - somehow that helps tone too!! happy buzzing!

thanks folks...i`m gettin more consistent good tones these days..my bad..i practice about 1-1.5hrs a day
my flute is quite new..a sankyo silversonic..4 months old

i practice standing..no sluches...but truely, to get a good sound, u have to feel that good sound too i guess

but so far, very good
will look into the alexander tech.

I agree with jesse (2nd post) it is an attitude thing. Something that might help is cleaning out your head joint really well

Uhmmm.... did we ask what chair you were in? Who cares!! It just makes you look big headed.

I know what you`re going through. Today was one of the `good days`. I`ve had that question for quite some time now, and I`m glad I`m not the only one. What helps me if you have a positive attitude. Also try sitting up straight to the point that you practically fall off the chair! I`ve heard that temperature affects it, so you might want to try to keep it consistent. Good luck!

over the past few weeks..my flute has been behaving very well!
i notice if i practice every day consistently the tone is always good...(even though i did this before too..damn u galway and rampal and ema. pahud..wish i had ur beautiful sound)

this week i had exams, so i didn`t get to practice, and my sound suffered during rehearsal yesterday...bah, i hated that

and thanks cuban girl, lol, yipee! someone else with the problem! i hate sittin in chair..i like standing better =) for a long time, i thought i was wierd that i had this problem even though i was grade 10 rcm..(embarassing..hehehe)

but then again, i`ve only been playing the flute for about 3-4 yrs....maybe experience will be the thing that saves me

be positive!

Hi i have been reading all of your comments on here and i agree with all of them. I have been playing flute for about six years now and my tone has improved. I do have very bad tone days and at the moment seem to be having them. Your flute does have some part to play in the tone the better the flute the easy it will be to get a better tone. I don`t know what buzzing is but i find that the better mood i am in the better my playing. Also too much practise i feel is bad. if you vision before you start to practise, what sound you want to make adn really concentrate i find it easy to get it. Good luck with the buzzig everyone.

I find that if I sing or hum before i play my tone is better... that just might be me though... i coudn`t tell you why it works

Yeah buzzing is a good technique for improving your tone but it ussually works for some flute players while it doesn`t work for others. One thing that I have found that works whenever I have a bad tone, is that I just flutter a scale up and down from low C to as hi as I can go, ussually high F#( high high one) and then if you play through the scale normally it sounds better. You can do this technique through a scale or a piece.

heyy guys since we`re on the topic of tone anyway, i`d like to ask how to improve tone! i`ve been playing flute for about 2 years now and my tone is still quite airy. i practise almost everyday [esp on tone] but i still cant get a nice sweet airless tone! =(

Kryhsteen (sp?), since none of us can be present in the room while you are playing, I`ll try to give a suggestion that helps:
1) Make you sure are taking, full, deep breaths - full, SLOW, RELAXED deep breaths - as if you were breathing. Play a couple of scales with as much air as you can at a consistent tempo, and when you run out of air, wait a second, and take a slow, deep breath. It helps.

Hi all!

I`ve stumbled on to this sight and thought maybe I could offer a lettle advice. I am 41 and have played the flute for 30 years. I`m not an expert but I have a little experience. I don`t want to come across as a "know it all" but if you`re interested here goes.

First of all, if you`re serious about playing the flute you have to be serious about practicing. Don`t think of it as practice, think of it as a "work out". Play untill you can`t play another note. That`s how you gain indurence.

Second, YOU MUST WARM UP BEFORE YOU PRACTICE!!!!!!

If a runner starts a 500 meter race without stretching, what happens? His mustles tighen and he has to quit before he is finished, and he`ll be in a lot of pain. He stretches his mustles to put them in the condition to run.

Before you practice, I mean "work out", you also need to stretch your facial mustles. Play long low tones for about 5 minutes. start on C2 and go down the chromatic scale-slowly. Do this for 2-3 minutes. Next, start on C2 and go down again but this time, before you go down to the next note hit the C3 and then the C2 again. Then go the the next note,B2 and hit the B3 and then the B2 again and so on all the way down the scale. You will be conditioning your mustles to play well and longer. Once you`ve played the low tones for 3-5 minutes you should be ready to play in the upper ranges. Play in the next 2 octives in cromatic form. You should notice a big difference in you tone quality and stamina.

When I stoped practicing and started "working out" I notices a huge difference in tone quality. Why? -I think it`s because my mustles were conditioned and I was playing longer. Lets face it, you can get better at ANYTHING if you practice. My workouts now last on average of 3 hours, with no breaks.

Also, Upgrading to an intermediate or pro. flute will help tone. There IS a difference in quality. A student flute will only take you so far. When upgrading, stick to brand names. I have a Gemeinhardt Pro Flute and a Gemeinhardt Pro Piccolo. (There are a lot of other good brands. Buy what you can aford and don`t be afraid to try out several before you buy) The Hole in the flute mouthpiece is smaller on the pro. flute and gives a better tone and is easier to hit the upper register. Student flutes have a larger hole on purpose, it`s easier to get a sound on a larger hole. That`s what you need when your`re just learning. But, it`s harder to get a good sound and keep it in tune. If your`re playing on a student flute and you`re having trouble with a buzzing sound, it may be that you`re pushing your flut past what it is able to do. In other words, it may be time to upgrade.

Last but not least, by all means PRACTICE STANDING UP!!!!!!!

That`s the best way to have good breath support and thats how you achieve good intonation. Just give yourself plenty of room to move around. When you are in band or orchestra (I`m in both By the way), do sit on the edge of your chair. only use the last 3". That forces you legs to drop just enough to lengthen your diphram and you can get more air into your lungs. It also helps to keep you back straight while you play, and makes you more attentive.

Something i`ve noticed- when I play my piccolo, my flute tone and ability to hit the higher notes is much better. I think it`s because my mustles are more toned after I play the pic.-----back to that mustle thing again.

Well, I`ve said enough. I hope I was helpful to someone out there in the flute world.