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I finally have acquired a transverse flute: it's yamaha student model, got it used for 300 euros. Seems a pretty decent instrument.

I expect to start some classes soon too. I just need to get a phone call from the music school where i applied to. Meanwhile I try to advance as much as possible.

1st: while i've managed to get out some sort of a tone, i'd like to know how to develop as good tone as possible? especially concerning the lowest and higher notes which are harder to hit. and how about reducing annoying and unnecessary wind noise so that the tone would sound as pure as possible.

2nd: i'd be grateful for some breathing exercises. i'd like to be able to hold the tone for as long as possible. It's harder with the transverse than with recorder. while i could hold my breath with the recorder for about 15 seconds max, i haven't got past 7 on the flute. i guess i'm trying too hard to get a tone out, but then, blowing less hasn't given me much thus far either.

Thank you.

for breathing exerices u can look at what i posted some people put some good ones on there it is called breathing exercises lol good luck

don't worry so much about how long to hold a tone, concentrate on the quality instead, a long airy tone is meaningless, as is a note held for one minute with no expression.

as you begin to get a clear relaxed tone, the ability to increase your endurance will improve

>>2nd: i'd be grateful for some breathing exercises. i'd like to be able to hold the tone for as long as possible. It's harder with the transverse than with recorder. while i could hold my breath with the recorder for about 15 seconds max, i haven't got past 7 on the flute. i guess i'm trying too hard to get a tone out, but then, blowing less hasn't given me much thus far either.<<


I think there was a thread on this recently, but I'm on several lists, so I'm not sure.

The thing that helped me the most was learning how to "belly breathe." Exhale; slowly breathe in through your nose, feeling the air fill your lungs from the bottom to the top (imagine filling a water balloon); then slowly breathe out through your mouth. You can do this anywhere--lying in bed is a good place to start because you might feel a little light-headed at first. It's a good thing to do while sitting in traffic--oxygen is good for stress.

I am learning the recorder--the flute takes a LOT more air, so you will notice a big difference between how long you can take between breaths on the recorder and on the flute. Be patient.

Try these:
Using just the headjoint, cover the end with the palm of your hand and blow a nice tone. This will take a lot less air, and you can use a mirror to note how your airstream direction can change the quality of the tone.

Also, from Trevor Wye (and, I believe, Marcel Moyse) tone exercises: Start with a B natural on the staff. Make this note as clear as you can. When you have a good B, go from B to A. As the note changes, concentrate on keeping the tone the same as the note before. Use two notes at a time, with a full breath. You will want to stay within the range of notes that you play well: when you have trouble getting a note to sound, or sound well, go back to the one you could play well- don't force a lousy note out. These notes WILL come later, and there is no good reason to play them badly.

Go on to three, and four notes at a time. Always start with your best-sounding note. You also don't have to go down the chromatic scale, you can go up as well, but always start with the better note and keep the tone consistent from the first to the last.

Don't worry about vibrato for a long time yet- you need a clear, pretty tone as a base for vibrato- otherwise it will likely sound like a goat with a cold.

When I started the flute in 5th grade (a LONG time ago...) I would get really dizzy; we started with whole notes. I could only practice for about 10 minutes before I was ready to pass out.