Learning how to make a sound on the flute
as a beginner can be tricky in the first few days, but no worries, following the 4 steps
I have for you in this video, you’ll be able to find an instant clear sound in no
time. Be sure to stick around for the whole video
because it’ll make your flute playing much easier. If you’re new to this channel, go ahead
and click the subscribe button and hit the bell icon. This way you won’t miss out on any new videos
I put out here regularly. Let’s learn how to make a sound on the flute. I’m Rebecca Fuller the expert instructor
at Learn Flute Online dot com and for the past thirty two years I’ve helped tens of
thousands of students in my programs learn how to play the flute well and enjoy the entire
process. At the end of this video I’ll let you know
how you can join us. Playing the flute is a bit different from
other instruments because we have to use our air stream and our lips to create the sound. It can be quite frustrating until you get
the right information and do some experimenting. Let’s straighten the learning curve right
now. I’m going to give you 4 steps.. And a bonus (zoom in) for how to make a sound
on the flute - even if you’re a true beginner, and be able to make an instant clear sound. I’m here to show you the easy way because
there definitely are some different ideas out there, but the way I’m going to show
you today will get you the best long term results and keep you playing and motivated
for many happy musical years to come. Step one is to prepare your face muscles for
maximum relaxation: feeling like your face in the same position you are when you’re
asleep. Yep, we’re going to feel the muscles come
forward from the hair line and down. Next, we’ll keep our teeth slightly apart
and our jaw kind of slack. That’s going to help us the most when getting
a nice beginning sound on the flute. Now while keeping face relaxed, our teeth
slightly apart and our jaw slack, we’re going to close our lips in a manner so the
full lip can be used. Mushy and relaxed… bringing our top lip
slightly farther down than we normally would.. If you have braces, you’re going to have
to go the extra mile with this step. Get that top lip over and down below your
top teeth. Okay, next we can find the best beginning
size of hole in our lips or “aperture” by exhaling just slightly while allowing our
lips to part right in the very center. Notice how relaxed all the muscles are in
this area of my lips. The sides of the lips stay closed, but aren’t
pinching shut or tight at all. That’s it for prepping our embouchure (that’s
our face) and our aperture (which is the hole in lips). Step Two:
Now we get to do the next important detail in learning how to make a sound on the flute
and to be able to get an instant clear sound, and that is learning how to use our tongue. Believe it or not but flute players use their
tongue in one way or another with every single note we play. There are a couple of different ways you may
have heard about for using your tongue when playing flute, and for today I’m going to
teach you the easiest way to use it for a clear sound on flute. And I believe it’s best to learn it from
the very first day. Sound good? Great. You can let me know in the comment section
here what other styles of tonguing you’ve heard of before. That’ll be an interesting discussion. Now that your tip of your tongue is sealing
off the hole in your lips you can start to press a little air into your mouth… and…. Quickly pull the tongue back into the middle
or bottom of your mouth and allow your air stream to escape through the hole! Here’s a good visual you can try over and
over and over for yourself by using a small folded up piece of paper in your hand held
about eight inches away and slightly lower than your chin. Try to send that paper off your hand and out
into the room. Over and over and over. Step three is to find the correct placement
of the lip plate on your face. The lip plate is this riser with the hole
in it of your head joint. The Head has no keys, the Body is long and
has lots of keys and mechanisms, and the Foot is the short part with a few keys on it. Use your finger to find the center of your
bottom lip exactly where your lip ends and your skin begins. Hold your finger here and press it in just
slightly… using our relaxed face and lips from the previous steps, you can note that
this spot will feel like it’s also pressing where your gums meet your bottom teeth.. No need to press hard, the idea is that when
we use our fancy tongue blow, our air stream will come out and split on this outside edge. Depending on how much air goes inside your
flute and how much goes over the top of the lip place will be important later as you learn
to direct your air stream. Step 4
We’ve made it to step four now! Which is to put step one, two, and three together-
let's see how it goes. One.. prepare your face… Two… prepare your lips and tongue
Three… place the lip plate parallel to your lips and in the center spot on the bottom
of your lower lip, and.. Let it go! It works! Now of course it may take some experimentation,
listening to these important steps again, and a lot of repeats until it just seems easy. You won’t get dizzy and you’ll have a
nice clear sound almost every single time. Be patient, you’ll get it. Everyone has to go through this stage in order
to learn to play the flute well. Here’s a bonus step number five for you
today to help you practice these steps we’ve learned, and that is to have fun using
just the head joint and the palm of your right hand to either cover or uncover the end of
it while learning how to make a clear sound the way I’ve shown you today. You get to experiment with blowing a faster
air stream, or a slower one and see what happens. It’ll be fun! Since you’re just getting started playing
the flute, you might be interested in the sequential learning videos I have with exercises
and a fun community all learning together. I call it the Silver Level at Learn Flute
Online, and in there I have five full modules containing easy to follow instructions to
making a good sound great, specific beginner flute exercises and music reading skills that
everyone can benefit from in order to grow a proper foundation. This is all so that you can play absolutely
any type of music you want even if you’ve never played a single day of music before. There’s no charge, and I’ve put a link
down below here so you can go get started today. This program has already helped tens of thousands
of flute players just like you around the globe learn to play flute in the comfort of
your own home, at your own pace, and on your own schedule. So there you go, I hope you've found this
video about how to make a sound on the flute for beginners with an instant clear sound
useful.. I'm really looking forward to seeing your
comments and having a discussion about tonguing styles and what you’ve heard or learned
before. And so you can continue, I’ve put that link
below to the free silver level. If you’ve found value in this video, please
LIKE and subscribe here, and come find me at Learn Flute Online dot com so I can help
you continue on your flute improvement journey. Enjoy - see you again soon!
