i need help I have a bad tone it sounds very airy and not the pretty flute sound. i have an old flute that has a lot of problems. i am trying out for south jersey middle school band. and dont think i will get in because of that. what can i do? could it be partially the flute?

is anyone out there?

Ok What you might want to do is take your Flute into a shop and have it looked at. One of the keys might be jamed or something. I play clarinet but I know alot about fixing other instruments. When I first started playing the clarinet I didnt know what was wrong with it. I took it to my band director and all that was wrong was one of the keys was jamed. I dont think you need to worry about not getting into the band. You`ll do fine as long as you practice hard and get that flute looked at.We`ll good luck and hope to hear from you soon. ~AMY~

OK! I used to be airy at first. It got better with time, then it got even better with lessons. There is one exercise that helps with tone ALOT. Start on low B (the easiest note to get a good tone on), go to B flat and repeat (if you use the B flat thumb key frequently, which you should `cause it`s better, don`t slide your thumb over, just use the A sharp key.). Try to get the same tone on the B flat s the B natural. Next, start on B flat, then go down to A natural, then repeat. Then A-Ab, Ab-G, G-F# and so on until you get down to low C. This is the most commonly used exercise and it may seem stupidly easy (so many flute students have switched teachers because of it) but it`s necessary if you want a good tone, which is the main thing the audience looks for. If you really think about it, it`s harder, because the notes have to have the same tone, and the last few do get hard at times. Remember to use alot of air, try to stay in tune (you NEED a tuner and also a metronome if you don`t already have them) and for the low notes, use the same amount of air and open your throat more so that it doesn`t go up the octave. Don`t put too much pressure on the embouchure so that your tone can be even better and your lips will be cousioned nicely on the embouchure plate. But it is possible that it`s the flute, and if it doesn`t work after a few weeks or you don`t find any loose screws or springs, rent, not buy, another flute because if you own it, you could`ve bought a flute that leaks (air, not spit) because one of the screws won`t stop popping out or no matter what you do, this one key can`t stay up on it`s own, or the trill keys are slow at re-covering up the hole and it leaks if you accidentally hit one and no matter what you do with the screws, it can`t be fixed. I had flutes like that once, but thankfully they were rented. Also, try cleaning the flute. Just run it carefully under the sink and dry it off gently with a towel. It will be all shiny and it does sound slightly better. And for under the pads, use cigarette paper (or the rare, expensive powder paper) to clean under them because it can really show if they`re sticky. Anyway, good luck trying out!

Almost forgot! Hold the notes for 2 peats at 60 beats per minute. Don`t tongue them and don`t breathe between them. (You can on the repeats and when you go to the next note.)

Query:
1. How much would tone be affected by having an abnormal jaw structure? I`ve got an overbite, and I`m starting to wonder how much it affects my tone (which can be very airy at times, especially with anything above high e-flat)
2. If jaw structure does affect it, are there any exercises that can help me get around it?

Thanks

Believe me!
if you practice more and more and more and more
there`s no way that you can get bad sound i mean NO WAY!
i use to practice more more than 2 hours a day
and i got 2nd chair at next chair in symphonic and i was a only beginner withoout no experiment of musics haha!

Jaw structure isn`t usually the base of tone. I`m missing two of my upper teeth (thankfully not the front teeth, because that`s the main thing about good tone:good jaw structure) because they never showed up and I have a pretty good tone. Just look at the exercise I mentioned before and your tone will be fine after a few weeks.
And to the old flute person, just rent a new flute anyway. If you`re having problems with it that are taking up your time, it`s not worth having it. It`s like having... uh... a jack in the box where you have to put everything back together before you shut it again because it keeps flying off everytime it opens. Still, work on the exercise I gave out.

Blow down and when you change notes keep your embrochure the same

I know you posted your original message back in December. First of all I hope you made the band.
Anyway What brand is your flute?
I had similar problems on a used flute that I had. The problem was that it was not well made and there was nothing that could really be done. Anyway the brand on that was Pathfinder made in China. A brand which I cannot find any info about.
Well, I just got an Armstrong 103B. I love it if you need a new flute either get an Armstrong or a Yamaha. I can attest to Yamaha because my trumpet is a Yamaha I`ve had it since 4th grade and I just graduated w/ a BA from college. The trumpet still plays like new.
Good luck