How to blow into the flute to produce a tone

by D
(New Jersey)

Question: Dear tutor, I am having some trouble with my flute. I keep on talking into my flute. My teacher says that my mouth shape and keys are correct, but I keep on talking. All she says is just blow. I do that but, I never find a solution. I was wondering if you could help me find a solution.

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Answer: Try these simple exercises to get an understanding of the blowing technique you need for producing a flute tone...

1. Imagine that you have a hot bowl of soup in front of you. It's so hot that it burns your tongue. So, you blow on the soup to cool it down. Go ahead and do this blowing now. While you are doing it, concentrate on how you are making this air go across the soup. You aren't talking while you are doing this, right?


2. Draw a red dot on a piece of paper (about the size of a dime). Tape the paper to the wall at the height of your face. Blow at that red dot. You should be blowing the same way you did across the hot bowl of soup, but now blow at the dot.


3. Take your flute head joint and put it to your lips. Stand in front of the paper you taped to the wall and blow across the lip plate at that red dot. Blow just the same as you were before without the head joint and when you blew across the soup.

Notice when you blow across the soup and at the dot that you aren't talking.

I hope this helps you understand the blowing concept for producing a tone on the flute. Practice and you'll do great!