PRACTICE MATERIALS
Download your practice session outline here.
TECHNICAL MATERIALS
Download your key signature chart here.
View a fingering chart here.
REMINDERS ABOUT COMMON PHYSICAL PROBLEMS
Left hand position: 1. The flute rests ON the bottom joint of your left index finger.
2. Keep your left pinky over the G# key, not under.
Right hand position:
1. Keep your fingers curved.
2. Keep your wrist in a neutral position, so your knuckles point up.
3. Keep your thumb on its side, not with the pad flat agains the flute.
4. Your right pinky should stabilize the flute, holding the D# key down (except on D and the high B).
5. Your fingers should be curved.
Posture:
1. Place your feet at 12 o'clock and 2 o'clock.
2. Keep your knees relaxed.
3. Lift your sternum (where your ribs join at the front).
4. Keep your elbows relaxed and out from your body.
4. Line your left elbow and nose with your left foot (at 12 o'clock).
5. Keep your chin lifted and flute parallel to your lower lip.
TONE & SUPPORT:
Everything comes back to air and posture.Beginning flutists usually have two main problems. The first is having an embouchure that is too big. The embouchure size should be similar to that of the cross-section of a coffee stir-stick - very small! If you find that you're running out of air too quickly, or if your sound has a lot of wind noise around the edges, moving the bottom jaw forward and closing the embouchure will likely create an instant improvement.
The second common problem is a lack of air velocity. If you put a lit candle on the opposite side of a small table, and use your newly acquired narrow embouchure to bend the flame on that candle, that will give you an idea of how fast the air has to move to get a solid flute tone.
Support is an integral part of a good sound. It is that "elastic" feel you get when you push on the air in your lungs with your stomach muscles while creating resistance with a small embouchure. Think about pushing the air up toward your embouchure, always keeping your sternum lifted. By pushing more air than the small hole allows to escape, you create an airstream of a high velocity that will then create a full tone.