Is it normal for the throat to get sore when playing high notes. I've got two teachers. One tells me yes, the other (more experienced) tells me know.
I was told that my throat shouldn't get contracted at all as I'm blowing. Same for my lips, they should always remain relaxed.
I'm trying to change my habits, but still get pain...
Any idea?

It sounds as though you are tightening up your throat when trying to play in the upper register though I can't say for sure without actaully hearing and seeing you play in person. Try to relax and really concentrate on keeping it open. Also, do you hear any throat noises (almost like grunts) when you are playing in the upper register? That is also a clear sign that the throat is not open like it should be. Spend some time doing some long tones.

Doyou have asthma? I find that to be a contributing factor also.

yes i have asthma, and I sometimes hear grunts. I'm trying to change my have my throat open, but I never realise when it gets tight, unless it hurts or unless I see my veins when I look in the mirror. In what way does asthma contribute to that?

I would say that it is not normal to have a sore throat (or any other discomfort) when you play, regardless of what register you might be doing with your playing. There are, of course, exceptions in this as in most other things, such as those who have a repetitive stress injury such as carpal tunnel or some previous injury. I would suggest listening to the more experienced teacher. Out of curiosity, do you mean she is more experienced as a teacher (i.e. She's been teaching longer), or that she is the more skilled flutist (which does not necessarily have anything to do with how long she's been playing)? In addition to Kara's advice about keeping your throat open, be sure that you are blowing from the diaphragm, rather than trying to use your throat or mouth to force air out your embouchure. Blowing from the throat/mouth can cause you to constrict your throat just to manage an airstream with an appropriate pressure.

Sorry! That forst sentence should read "I would say that it is not normal to have a sore throat (or any other discomfort) when you play, regardless of what you might be doing with your playing" without the word "register" in there.

thanks. By 'more experienced', I meant a more experienced player and a more experienced teacher.
I think I do put the air in my abdomen, but I kind of block it with my throat because I'm afraid to lose air before I started blowing. I don't know how to control the air stream without my throat I suppose. I guess I have to play with my diaphragm a bit more

Asthma can cause your throat to contract like a muscle which can tighten up your throat when playing and interfere with it. I suffer from asthma myself and it does at time hinder my playing. I am on a daily inhaler, but I also have another one in case of attacks or I need extra. A lot of times I use this one before practice.

I also have asthma, and I'm on a twice daily inhaler. I make a point of taking my evening dose an hour or so before I practice. If for whatever I want to play earlier in the day, I often take the extra inhaler that I have for when I'm out of breath. To cut a long story short, I would check that I have the right meds, and that I've taken them.

And having said that, proper breathing (diaphragm as wel as ribs) should help a lot. It's absolutely necessary in fact.

I only developed asthma recently, 8 months ago, but need my inhaler everyday now. Thinking about it, my throat never used to hurt while playing the flute before I got asthma.
This must be the reason then

"Same for my lips, they should always remain relaxed."

hmmmm....I can't agree less. By having relaxed lips, you may be contracting your throat to conserve air. There is an important point about how large the opening between the lips and how much air is actually used for any given dynamic and tone quality. If you are getting these glottoral grunts, try finding where they happen in the music. They should be pretty consistant. It is usualy when slurring up to the higher register. Practice these areas for relaxation of the throat. I will say that one of the most important issues to controlling your playing is knowing which muscles to use and how much tension they need.

~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

so you're saying that I should use my lips muscles? My tone is better and clearer when I use them, but I've started trying to get rid of this habit.

i'm saying that there are some lip muscles that should be used. It is virtually impossible to teach tone quality from writings because you have to know what a good tone quality is and a teacher/coach needs to hear you. Much depends on the school of playing that one has learned from but (As one hint) I was taught to push the bottom lip forward and the top lip down. I generally use the recorder as an example of a fixed embouchure in that the windway isn't controllable. The windway merely shapes and focuses the airstream into a direction. The player can only modify the breath pressure and on this instrument you don't need lip muscles much at all. This fact, makes the recodrer not as suitable as a pre-flute instrument. Historically, the recorder was pushed out of the way by our more popular flute at some time around the 1720s or so. On our more expressive flute, not only can we modify the breath pressure but also the "Wndway" or airstream shape. This means the width and height of the airstream as well as the angle of attack against the far edge of the embouchure hole -(the knife edge). Each of these adjustments to the airstream produce different effects. You can experiment with a mirror. Try to change one of these things at a time and see what heppens. The best thing I can say right now is to learn to control them and learn to use them appropriately.

One may want to go to Sir James Galways web page http://thegalwaynetwork.com/ find his MP3 files and listen to him practice/play pieces. This gives you an idea of his concept of tone production. If you can find his study of the Swan by Camille Saint-Saens, listen and try to understand how he is practicing, how he modifies his lips and how he thinks about his tone. These things can be heard if you understand embouchure/blowing. No way does he not use his lips. As a matter of fact, I don't think you can get any sound at all but wind noise if there is no rgidity to the lips.
~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

Oh! i get throat nosies too!..ooh, i thought i was the only one. i always get tense in my upper body, i really need to relax when i play. But sometimes i make throat nosies without me even knowing! i usually don't get throat noises in the upper resigeter..i think it's the lower notes for me. Hhhmm.yea.

ooohhh Schoolgirl, then you definately need to relax your throat. Think when you are playing low as if you are singing as low as possible.
~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

Yea..i will! It's funny when i make those noises. In the begining my teacher couldn't figure out why i was making that noise...she tried to make the throat noise by forcing so she can figure out buy couldn't. HEEHEE! at least i'm getting better at it!..