Hi all,
i`m a principal flutist in the orchestra at in my university, yet sometimes i`m puzzled by some of the tone problems i have; on some days, my flute sounds absolutely beautiful..perfect tone and a great sound overall..and this would remain for a few days..and i can change my embrouchure five billion ways and i`d still get a good sound.

then for a string of days, i`d get a poor sound quality..or playing notes seem to be met with resistance from the flute..and a general crappy sound...and again i can change my embrouchure and no difference..

any clue why? my flute is a sankyo

thanks for any tips!

That happens to me all the time. I think it is more of a mental block than anything else. When I have a great attitude and pick up my flute, my tone soars! But, when I am in a bad mood or trying too hard, I have the same problem. It is kinda tough just changing attitude, its not like flipping a switch, but after a bit of thinking positively, my tone gradually gets better. How often do you practice? Sometimes practicing too often is the culprit...

i try to play every day..at least 30mins..
sometimes it doesn`t happen

i dont think its the mental block...before i start playing, i have the mental picture of how my sound should sound like..but it doesn`t happen all the time

some days, i can get the high high G# to sing beautifully..and the high E sounds absolutely marvelous...

other days..no

that happens to me too sometimes. but if you practice then it should decrease the number of times that it happens. i have a trick to getting a cleaner sound. it`s called buzzing. more on it if you`re interested. Keith Underwood taught it to my teacher, and i was her first guinea pig. it really works if you do it right, but it`s also thought of as goofy. so...otherwise, the best suggestion i have for you is when this happens, look in front of the mirrow and mess around with bringing the upper lip forward or using more lower lip in some areas. keep me posted!

... i forgot to check the box for replies, so this message is just nonsense and for me to do that. sorry

Eating a meal, then brushing my teeth makes my tone clearer for some reason. I don`t know WHY!

what is the buzzing tip you`re talking about??

You mean "brushing",right? Well, to me, my tone improves and I`ve heard other people say so as well. I don`t know! Just something to try.

no, it`s definitely buzzing. it`s something that trumpet players do (evidently that`s how you get sound out of one of those things) anyways, you buzz a bit (only minus the trumpet mouth piece) and then it should make the playing sound better because it makes your lips become used to this new position. (play regularly, don`t buzz into your flute) anyways, this has worked for me. if it doesn`t work for you, i suggest e-mailing/ getting in contact with keith underwood about this.

ahh..well today`s one of my good sound days...i love my flute lol

but will try the buzzing...

can it be the flute? i mean...my house goes from 25C to sometimes 15C in the night..maybe the cycle of expansion contraction is messing it up?

check the pads for leaks. you know, it could be the flute! take it to a shop and let them look over it. actually, get your teacher to look at it first. teachers usually know what they`re doing

good luck with the buzzing!

If you`re SOMETIMES practicing 30 minutes a day, the problem isn`t practicing too much, it`s practicing too LITTLE. Good tone takes practice, and if you are the principal flute of an orchestra you should be putting in WAY more time than that.

I know that temperature has an effect on being in tune. When I would play a concert, and the hot lights would be shining, my flute would go a little flat so i`d have to adjust the head piece a bit

I`ve been playing flute for 13 years and the only advice I can give is that the energy to have perfection is when you truly know you can play.( It takes away the fear of not sounding "up to par". Don`t mean to be so spiritual, but heart is where good tones comes from.

I think what you said really means a lot. If I think about singing, and how my body looks when I`m in a bad mood, I know there`s no way a rich tone will come from my voice, and certainly any other instrument would suffer equally. Especially flute, where you have no reed to support the tone coming your sloppy body posture/face muscles

Fortunately, playing music usually puts me in a better mood quickly!!