... got myself a flute... but don't know how to play it...

After a while, I managed to play some sound out of the flute with all the keys closed... the feeling is kinda like blowing at the opening of a pop bottle... and I notice that I call play an octave higher/lower simply by adjusting the speed of the blow. Am I on the right track? Is there anyone out there playing the flute without an instructor? What should I bear in mind when playing? I feel a bit dizzy after blowing a few times... is it common for a beginner?

Anyway... I think it's a cool instrument... and I really hope that I can play a few simple melodies some days...

You are on the right track. Also the pitch(how high or low a note is) has to deal with the opening of your mouth. If you want to do low notes just simply open the opening a little more and for higher notes close the opening of your mouth a little more. I do have an instructor. But some of the stuff she tells me is wrong. But this info came out of books. A book called Standard Of Exellence and a book called Essential Elements. Yes it is common to feel dizzy because you are just getting used to blowing that much air. I get dizzy real easily anyways but my band director said it's normal for a beginner. Don't worry. I've been playin' the flute for a good 3 years and still don't get some of the notes. The highest I have gotten was a squeak lol. Jk actually a high F in the national anthem because I played for a football team earlier this year and the lowest i've gotten was a real low F. I can't get down to the E or Eb though and I'm just working on a piece that has 32nd notes and I have a concert the 20th of this month and I don't know how to count it. So even in 3 years of playing the flute there are complications. Just telling you now.

By the way i looked at your profile to add to my friends list and i see you play the oboe. The oboe is kind of like the flute so good luck and you can get lessons on this website for free. Just click on instruments and click on flute and scroll down til you get to lessons and just click on what you need to know (fingering,embracure,ect.) You'll enjoy playin' the flute I just know ya will.

Also the pitch(how high or low a note is) has to deal with the opening of your mouth. If you want to do low notes just simply open the opening a little more and for higher notes close the opening of your mouth a little more

That's really not the best way to go about things. In order to get the fullest, darkest sound possible, your mouth and throat should be fully open at all times to increase resonance. If you close your mouth to play higher, you're most likely going to end up sounding pinched. Changing the direction that you're blowing (raise the airstream to play higher), and making some small changes to the aperture (changing how the lips are working rather than how much you're opening your mouth) will yield better results. The high range usually takes some time to get down completely, but I would strongly suggest trying to learn the full standard range (At least up to C4, if not D4), and you should definitely be able to play below F in the low range, assuming your flute doesn't have leaks.

To the original poster, I would encourage you to visit a teacher, even if only for a few lessons so that you can get the basics learned properly. There are many, many bad habits that can form which can inhibit your playing, or even end up putting you in physical pain. It's not unusual to be dizzy, but it means you're using more air than you really need to be. Work to focus the airstream and learn to use it conservatively.

jeeze sorry! That's what my band director said (about dizziness) and it even said in a BOOKabout the embrature or how ever you spell it. So it's really not my fault i was apparently misled and i'm just trying to help!!!

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as you can probably tell there is supposed to be a space between BOOK and about.

Honestly, it's probably best to disregard everything your band director tells you about playing flute unless they themselves are a flute player. Most have some very...unusual...ideas about the instrument and how to play, repair, and teach it. As for the book, depending on age and the level of player it's directed at, it may very well have said that, but just because it's printed in a book does not necessarily make it the best way to do things. Likely that was a very preliminary idea to allow a beginner to start working the upper range, but opening and closing your mouth to change registers is not going to yield the best results, especially as you progress. I'm sorry you've if you've been misled, but please be careful about the information you give out.

I got my first Flute on Christmas. [[forgot what year I got it at]] I taught myself to play the Flute! It was amazing! I never knew that I could do it! Now, I have been playing the Flute for three years and I love it so much! Trust me, you'll get the hang of it!

The word is "embouchure", I believe it has French origin

yes, it means the formation of the mouth when you play, also SchoolBandGeek, please don't put too much stock into what band directors say re the flute

I have been playing for @ 15 years give or take a couple. The best wya to get over the dizziness is to practice breathing techniques. I had an instructor tell me years ago that in order to be a "decent" flautist you should be able to play a 4 measure set in one breath. To accomplish that, I practiced when I wasn't playing. Take a deep breath and set your emboucher and blow as you would if you were really playing for 16 counts (a 4 measure set in 4/4 time). It takes time and want to but when does anything come easy?

First of all, thank you very much for all your posts and they do give me a lot of insight on playing the instrument.

... just returned my flute... but got myself a fife, a plastic one though.

I've been practising for weeks and now I can play some low notes with my fife. As I did before with the flute, I don't seem to be able to make use of all the blowing air. I can hear a lot of air running away from (or on top of) the hole, while only part of the air I blow seems to be making the sound.

Yesterday, I noticed something I didn't know before: I saw someone playing the flute with the muscle just below the lower lip tightened by stretching the lower jaw downward a little bit, so that the teeth on the lower jaw touches the muscle without much space left in between (hope you guys understand my description)... it's so much like playing the oboe. I also notice, by doing this, I seem to make use of the air more on making sound. Is that how the embouchure supposed to be when playing the flute?

I'm in an advanced band which is technicly and expert. Apparently I'm wrong 'cause of my stupid band director whose main instrument is the FLUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so apparently i'm a beginner compared to you. so i'm sorry. I didn't know i was misled until now lol. and sorry about that last rude comment i posted.

I had an instructor tell me years ago that in order to be a "decent" flautist you should be able to play a 4 measure set in one breath.

I was just recently in an honors band(last sat. actually) and had intense practice with the director (he has won best band alot and has conducted tons and tons of honors bands) and he told me and all the other wind instruments the same exact thing!! So there's one thing that i was taught right about.

I am reading a possible misunderstanding between Flutist06 and SchoolBandGeek. SBG refers to 'the opening of the mouth' having to do with pitch, and that the opening will be 'more' for the lower registers. I believe that SBG is referring to the embouchure as 'the opening of the mouth'- as a NOUN rather than a verb. It appears that Flutist06 is reading this as 'open your mouth' like 'open your jaw', as a verb, in which case the advice would be not quite right. Yes, the embouchure 'opening' is larger in the lower register and smaller for the high end, and the piccolo.

When we are 'corrected' on this forum (or any forum) many of us can take it personally. It is helpful to me when I have something corrected to remember to be polite, ask questions if I don't understand something, and don't take it as a personal attack. Having several points of view is one of the things that makes a forum valuable.

thanks tibbiecow. i did mean it as a noun. I also took the corrections better than most people, i mean man they would never get over it. but i think that flutist06 may be a professional because most people here are. So i should accept the advice and the misunderstandings.