A very good place to start, right? Anyone who has ever begun playing an instrument–or any other activity, for that matter–remembers the initial struggle of figuring out how to make a sound, move your fingers correctly, and all of the other challenges that come with this complicated wood or metal contraption. I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss the unique challenges that beginning flute presents to students.
I cannot count how many people I have had come into the shop with a disappointed-looking student, and the conversation starts somewhat like this: “She/he is SO disappointed. She wanted to play the flute so badly, but she just couldn’t get a sound out! Not even a single note!” This can be even more frustrating with the limited amount of time that students have to test mouthpieces. The student will say “I could get a sound on every other mouthpiece, but not the flute.” At this point, I am SO glad that the family has stopped in to see me, because I can reassure them–and all of you–that this is completely normal!! In fact, it is MORE normal for a student to take a few days (yes, days) to get a sound out of a flute than to be able to produce one right away.
There is a very simple reason for this phenomenon. When playing an instrument in the brass family (trumpet, trombone, etc), the student blows directly into a cup-shaped mouthpiece and buzzes their lips. Without getting into the specifics of each instrument, this produces a vibration that makes a sound through the instrument. With other woodwind instruments (flute not included), a reed is attached to the mouthpiece, which, when blown through, also creates a vibration that travels through the instrument. The similarity between all these instruments is that the air is blown directly INTO an apparatus of some sort, there is vibration, and there is back pressure. All of these factors working together create a sound almost immediately. It may not be a particularly pretty sound, but that comes later, of course! With the flute, the student blows directly ACROSS the mouthpiece–similar to making sound in a soda bottle (remember those??). It is a misnomer to say that air is “wasted” when doing this, but for a beginner, it certainly feels that way. There is no back pressure and no resistance–the vibration is created by blowing enough air to make the instrument itself vibrate. And believe me–this takes a LOT more air than a lot of students think!
So what does this all mean? Don’t let your student get discouraged! If you have any questions about your child’s ability to play the flute, please bring them into the shop! I am always happy to do a more extensive instrument test to determine that there aren’t any other underlying issues and to help reassure both students and parents. Happy playing!