I have been primarily a self-taught flute student for the past six years (on-and-off, otherwise it would have been eight) and lately have come to realize that hey, instead of being the great flautist that I thought I was...my tone blows! (Haha, get it? "Blows"? *Dodges flying objects*) It has always been vaguely airy, and since this quandary has come to my attention, I have been trying to improve it over the past few years. However, nothing I do seems to work because I am so stuck in bad habits with my embouchure and aperture. I do not have a teacher to help fix this pressing dilemma, and my band directors have done me no good in learning -- everything I know, quite literally, was from my own doing. Part of my problem is the flute that I use, an old student-model Armstrong with rotten and saturated pads that is half as old as I am, and I had a better flute and loved it but we had to give it up. Pity. =[ Anyway, do you have any tips for improving tone and embouchure without having to go out and hire a tutor or learn from a book?

I've looked online for hints and how-tos, and quite frankly, they all say the same thing and thus give me no help. Example: "Open up the back of your throat," they say. Okay, thanks. "Pretend you're eating an apple and keep your lips tight." It would be lovely if they could tell me how, exactly, to keep the back of my throat open and my lips tight without making the rest of my face tense, too.

In other words, I am very much lost. Teachers are too expensive at $50/hour, and besides, I have always had pride over being the best flautist I know through hard learning and self-tutelage rather than shelling out cash for somebody who ultimately doesn't care about the music more than the money. I want to continue and make the flute a career of sorts, but it's kind of hard to do that if you sound bad, eh? Any help, big or small, would be appreciated.

not all flute teachers cost $50 an hour. theres only so much internet help can do because its not designed specifically for your needs. in short, youd be learning something you dont need help on.

I am no expert by far but what helped me the most was listening to other flautist play. I was in your postion about 2 years ago. When i started to compete most judges said my tone was lacking. I started to listen to recordings of Mimi Stillman (hope i spelled it right) james galway, etc and e i just started to play round with my embrochure to sound like them until i found something i liked.

For the open your mouth and tight lips thing I tend to switch inbetween both depending on what i play. I don't use the same embrochure for everything. I mostly use the loose lips and throat style though. i almost don't try but it works for me.

I hope i helped

Kito,
Some thoughts or suggestions after quotes from your letter.
So, from what I write you can take them or leave them...

......"the flute that I use, an old student-model Armstrong with rotten and saturated pads that is half as old as I am, and I had a better flute and loved it but we had to give it up."

1)You can't get a good tone with a bad flute. If your flute isn't working then get it fixed or get a new one. The flute that I am using is from 1980 and I wish that I had one from 1940 that was in good working order because they have a certain quality of sound that the newer ones don't. So, how old is your Armstrong.

........"I've looked online for hints and how-tos, and quite frankly, they all say the same thing and thus give me no help. "

2)You may be able to learn something from internet vids and comments but there is nothing like having a good teacher. With a good teacher you can actually hear their examples, see how they are doing it, interrelate with their instructions by asking questions or trying to emulate. With internet comments, you may take a comment and misinterpret it causing you to go down a path that isn't good for your development. It may lead to years of trying to remove a bad habit later. It's simply more efficient.

......."In other words, I am very much lost. Teachers are too expensive at $50/hour, and besides, I have always had pride over being the best flautist I know through hard learning and self-tutelage rather than shelling out cash for somebody who ultimately doesn't care about the music more than the money."

3)If you can find a good teacher, take the info from them. Don't "vege out" in the lessons and wait for them to give up gems of insight. Seek out what you want to know by asking questions. When a student does this in my lessons, I am invigorated and the lesson is all the better. If you can't find a good teacher, don't study with a bad one.

4)and finally, it takes work. From what I've read from you, you are showing some interest in improvement. This is the first step. Self-reflection and hard, daily work will get you more improvement. There are no shortcuts in this.

The vid of Galway talking about his Embouchure is very good.
He uses and recommends the Marcel Moyse books:
De La Sonorite
(for his daily tone work)
and
Exercises Journaliers.
(for developing good technique)
These books aren't cheap but they have no equal in what they provide to an aspiring flutist.

I agree with Bilbo, I have taught a number or self taught flutists, as well as kids who learned in band, most of whom had tone issues, it took quite a bit of work to get them to play properly, but most of them came around..

If you can get a good teacher, you don't need many lessons, the teacher will only guide you on the right path, we are not yogis and shaman and gurus...from that point you will improve..

I was a self-learner as well. I was first introduced to the flute in grade 8. My band teacher left halfway through the year, and the band was kind of left to their own devices. We were all beginners, as I came from a school of less than 100 people. I picked my flute up a bit in grade 9, but we didn't have a band program so I didn't get to play it often. On going to high school, I joined the band and was terrible at the beginning. I could only play about five notes because of my lack of experience, but I was up to speed within a month (due to tons of practice). It was always my goal to be the best flautist in the band, and this was achieved by the end of grade 10. I started teaching myself double tonguing and other techniques. I played Flight of the Bumblebee for my grade 12 recital.

On going to university, I decided I wanted to continue my flute playing, so I auditioned for one of the ensembles. Needless to say, FOTBB is NOT a good audition piece (haha) but it was the only solo repertoire I had. Upon being rejected, I was pretty bummed. I didn't know what I lacked because no one had ever told me. I really didn't want to give up playing the flute, so I started browsing the internet for flute stuff. I emailed a couple of ensembles so I could at least be involved. I ended up running across a teacher and emailed back and forth with her for awhile. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted lessons (student=poor!) because of the cost. She said she would charge $17.50 for a half hour lesson. I talked to some people about and found out it was a good deal, so I took it. Maria has helped me immensely over the last two years I have been with her. I am set to audition for a place in the Music Performance program at the university (in addition to my engineering degree -- what was I thinking?!?!?) and she has been fantastic in helping me get to places I never thought I could reach.

My suggestion for you is to find a teacher, even if you only have a lesson every other week or once a month to cut down on costs. It made an immense difference for me. I had a lot of bad habits to break, and Maria was very helpful in breaking them. She definitely cares more about the music than the money.

Teachers usually offer the first lesson free so you can decide if they are right for you. Try a few different teachers before deciding on who you can work best with.

Good luck!!!

Mrbrowne1229
The lowest rates that I could find within a 45 minute drive of my home is $50/hr, and I can not drive any more than that with gas prices being what they are. I love my music more than just about anything, but I can't break my wallet driving two hours for a half-hour lesson.

Afroburst
You did help, thank you. To listen to other flautists and try to imitate their tones seems to be the most common and helpful advice, so I will bear that in mind.

Zoom
Thank you! I shall follow that next I practice, later today.

Bilbo
My Armstrong is only eight years old, which I know is very young by comparison. Logically, it should still be working very well, but one must also take into account that fourth graders generally lack too much caring for expensive possessions and as such, it has been dropped, lost, sat on, and barfed through, among other things. At sixteen, I regret the treatment that Mary, Queen of Scots (the flute) was forced to endure when I was eight, nine, and ten. She needs a crapton of repairs, and after that, I think that she will be well enough to keep me through until college at the least. We have not had her repaired, though, because the only company around here does not do quality work and indeed tends to exacerbate the problem more than fix it, and with my financial situation, a new flute is simply out of the question. That was why I had to send back my lovely Muramatsu, there was absolutely no way I could afford $1500 down and $243/month.

I have only had one lesson with one teacher, and I can't say that I liked her very much but she does have good tone and my own did improve marginally after the first lesson. However, it's just not in the budget, no matter how much I want to learn. My family is barely above the poverty line, and to ask for $200 every month is nearly as bad as having to pay for that flute, and I would much rather have had the Muramatsu than a teacher who seems impatient and judgmental (which teachers should be, I suppose, but I didn't like the feeling of inadequacy that she projected upon me with sarcasm and cockiness).

Perhaps I shall try the books next time I can order them. Thank you, I appreciate the time you put into your response.

Patrick
Oh no! I didn't mean to insinuate that teachers will magically solve my problems. I just wish there was a better way than having to pay for somebody's help, you know? It isn't something that I can do right now.

Redheadedwonder11
Let me just say -- that basically sounds exactly like me at current and in a few years (minus the engineering degree; I am going to be a double major in microbiology and music). It is nice to hear that it can be done to excel in music even upon a first-round rejection. Like I've said to everybody else, I am going to try and find a good teacher for a cheaper price. Thanks a lot. :]

Allieannie
Thanks, I will check out that book, as well. Long tones are frustrating but they do help, in the end.

I'm teaching myself flute as well! I've always wanted to be a flutist, but I was pushed into playing the clarinet. I purchased a student flute for $85 a few months ago,and it was the best purchase I've ever made! So far I have had excellent tone.

I know that you wrote of your dilemma in April, so I hope I'm not too late to help.

I saw something regarding proper flute embouchure on youtube.com and it did steer me in the right direction. The flutist was explaining proper embouchure in a very simple way.

He simply said: "Say the word Poo, like in Winnie the Poo".... when you say "Poo", your jaw juts "forward" and your lips are in the right position for proper "embouchure"...

I'm only four months into learing the flute and I do believe that the "Poo" thing has really helped me to get better embouchure. Let me know if it helps you.... I'd love to know!...

I am the kind of person that needs to have the obligation of attending classes often enough to make me work and progress more or less continuously.

If you could do alone for 6 years, that speaks very well of your perseverance and commitment.

I have never taken private lessons (I mean, in teacher house or in my house), here this is very expensive indeed.

But here in Madrid there are a few music schools where the prices are more affordable, albeit no cheap. For example, in the one I am now, the monthly fee is about 300$ for 6 hours a; that comes to the 50$ per lesson. But note that prices (in general) in Europe are considerably higher than in USA.

I am making it quite intensive because I need to progress as quickly as possible (a problem of age), but really you do not need to take more that 2 hour per month, even one hour could do if you continue working at home the way you are used to.

I suggest you try finding these kind of schools in your area, if you find them, they should be cheaper.

<Added>

Seems that we inadvertently resurrected an old thread. Sorry for not checking the date before posting.