How To Sit and Stand When You Play the Flute

Do you get physically tired when you play the flute? Is your neck or back sore?  Are your shoulders getting tired?  Chances are you’re tensing when you play and part of that tension is probably coming from the way that you are standing or sitting. 

The position you take to play the transverse flute (that’s the one that is held sideways) is not a natural pose.  You’ve got to balance the flute in your hands to the side, keep your elbows away from your body, keep your shoulders fairly level while the left one goes forward a bit and the right one goes backwards a bit, turn your head a bit to the left, and keep your throat open.  You can’t slump or bend your head down too far... 

Oh my. So many things to think about.  It’s an awkward position that we have to make comfortable.  We have to be mindful to use the correct posture and reduce tension so we don’t injure ourselves.  There are musicians who have experienced injuries related to the repetitive motions and the tension that often goes along with perfecting the playing of an instrument.

Ten Steps to Evaluate How You Hold the Flute:

1. Do I bring the flute up to my lips or is my head going down to meet the flute?  (Keep your head fairly straight so that you are looking straight ahead then bring the flute all the way up to your mouth.)
2. Are my shoulders at the same level?  (They should be fairly level- if one is significantly higher than the other you may experience tension and later pain or aching.)
3. Are my elbows away from my body? (If your flute is horizontal, they probably are and should be.  If your flute is at a large angle, one or both elbows may be too close to your body.  If your elbows are not away from your body, you might develop neck or shoulder stiffness or pain.
4. When standing, can I feel the weight of my body spread evenly from the pad of my toes to my heels?  (Balancing on the heel can lead to tension and tight calf muscles.)
5. When sitting with my feet flat on the floor, can I feel the weight of my body spread evenly over my “sitting bones” (also known as “sitz bones” or “rocker bones”)?  These are the two bumpy bones under your rear end, one on the left and one on the right.
6. When standing, are my knees relaxed?   (They should not be locked in place.  Find the best spot by locking them, bending them, and then finding the happy medium, just before they lock into place.)
7. When sitting with my feet flat on the floor, are my knees, legs, and rear end relaxed?  You don't want any extra muscular tension.
8. Is my torso balanced over my hips and is my head erect and relaxed? (Too many times we’ve tried to have correct posture by standing up straight and being very tense. Try imagining your back as widening out and lengthening up.  Let your skeleton hold up your body.  Don’t worry about keeping your tummy tucked in.  You’ll need to let it expand as you breathe.)
9. Can I move while in this position?  Remember- your skeleton, not your muscles, holds up your body. Do a muscle check from your head to your toes.  Your muscles should be flexible and relaxed.
10. Now repeat all the steps while you play something on the flute.  As you consider what is happening with your posture and muscles, listen to your sound.  Is it affected by your standing/sitting position?

Your flute-playing posture affects many things

The way you stand or sit while playing the flute can affect how much air you can breathe in, how well you can control the air going out, your embouchure formation,  how the air is directed into the embouchure hole of the flute, and the freedom of your fingers to move quickly, smoothly, and evenly.  It is well worth your time, whether you are a beginning or continuing flutist, to evaluate your flute-playing posture.  It will help to experiment with the posture that is best for you.

Should the flute be held parallel to the floor?

Some flutists often have questions about whether the flute has to be exactly horizontal and if there is one perfect posture.  To find the answer to this, you (with your teacher’s guidance, if you have one) have to look carefully at yourself. 

• For posture and stamina and to ward away muscle tension when playing flute, you want your body to be balanced, relaxed, and flexible.
•  For a good, resonant sound, you need to have the flute parallel with the junction of your lips; the middle of the hole formed by your lips should match up with the middle of the embouchure hole of the flute.  This means that if your head tilts, the flute will probably need to tilt.  But, if you experience fatigue in the neck or back, you may need to adjust the angle of the flute and your head toward a more horizontal position.
• For good breath control you need to have your airway as open as possible- you don’t want to close it off by bending your neck.

Observe the posture of other flutists:

You’ll find that many successful flutists do/did not hold the flute exactly parallel to the floor: Julius Baker, Robert Dick, James Galway, Bobbi Humphrey, Amy Porter, Jean Pierre Rampal,  Carol Wincenc… They’ve managed to find their personal posture and unique sound.

Here’s an enjoyable seven-minute video about flute posture by flutist Nina Perlove.

Learn more about posture for flute players

 During your search for more information, check our these four resources:

1.  The Alexander Technique- a system of body awareness for better posture and movement
2.  Investigate balance, relaxation, some Yoga exercises and more in this pdf (hopefully it will be available for a while).
3. Information about yoga and musicians
4. Andover Educators- Teaching the Art of Movement in Music.  You’ll find resources on body mapping and more.

 Leave a comment and let me know what you think!