Flute Tone: The Sound You Make

Flute tone is also known as the sound you get when you blow into the flute. Sometimes it may seem to take a long time before you can get a clear, pure sound. But remember and be patient:  the more you try, the better you get.

As you continue on flute, you'll see that many things affect the tone:  the condition of your flute, how well you can breathe that day, how your lips are working, how dry your mouth is, even your mental energy.

To develop control of a pure, crisp flute sound throughout all of the low, medium, and high notes, we have exercises that practice just playing long tones.  Although it sounds simple (and maybe boring) we actually do more than blow air into that mouthpiece.  We think of how we're controlling the air (with abdominal muscles, facial muscles, throat...) and the way we line up our lips with the hole on the mouthpiece.  We listen to see if we're playing "in tune" (maybe comparing it with an electronic tuner).  We listen to what the sound is like:  strong, weak, airy, forced, pure, resonant...

Someone who hears us (a household member, a neighbor, your cat?) may just hear us taking a breath and playing a note for as long as we can.  But we're actually very active even though it doesn't look or sound like it!  Playing "long tones" is an important part of practicing.

Try this long tone study on your flute:  

It does help to have a teacher demonstrate, make suggestions, and guide you through a book or printed tone studies to develop your tone.

But if you don't have a teacher just yet, you can still work on getting a beautiful tone.  Here are some ideas:  

1. Start on a note that you think sounds pure and speaks easily.  Many flutists recommend starting on a B above the staff (for the middle range of the flute) or B on the third line of the staff (for the lower register of the flute).  But any note is good for a start.  
2. Take a deep breath, form your lips, and blow.  Try to hold that as long as possible.
3. While holding the sound, listen to it.  Experiment with the following:

• Changing the way you form your mouth, lips, and the hole formed between your upper and lower lips (also known as "embouchure")
• Pushing your right arm forward and backward
• Rolling the mouthpiece away from your mouth, then back again
• Placing the flute higher and lower on your lips
• Changing your body posture
• Tightening and relaxing your abdominal muscles.

When you find the best sound you can make today, breathe.  Don't go away,  you're not done yet!  

Now start on that note, then descend or ascend to a different note, making the smoothest connection between the two.  (Think about blowing between the notes and keeping that same sound quality that your made on the first note.) 

Hold that note.  Enjoy it.  Then breathe and repeat, moving from that second note to a third.

OK- that's it for now.  Remember to play for fun, then spend some serious time developing the sound you get on your flute.