Any tips for flute beginners?

Question:Hi there i just satrted playing the flute like 2 days ago because i want to join my high school marching band next year, and i was wondering if you guys can give me any pointers. It's a "Weimar" brand flute. if that helps.

Thank You :)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Hi there i just satrted playing the flute like 2 days ago because i want to join my high school marching band next year, and i was wondering if you guys can give me any pointers. It's a "Weimar" brand flute. if that helps.

Thank You :)

Since your just starting, take it slow! I started playing in 8th grade, and it makes you light headed and dizzy if you play to long! You'll get used to playing the instrument though, and it will be fine! Um, make sure that you learn to read notes and rhythms(sp?) because it helps with music and site reading. Get into good habits...hold your flute parallel to the ground, your mouth should be set right. Oh! Make sure you learn to tune by ear...it's really hard to learn, but once you get it, you'll be one of the top in the class! (if you hear a wave, or it sound higher or lower than the other people playing, you're out of tune!) Practice almost everyday, and don't just play at tempo until you get it right. Work on each part of the music slowly and work out tough rhythms, and then bring it up to tempo. Go to band camps over the summer (ones that the state or colleges offer)! They help tremendiously. Private flute teachers are great to have to help learn the flute, improve site reading and skills, work on marching band and concert band music, etc.

practice every day and make sure your playing correctly or else you can get a headache.

don't go to band camp

this might sound weird, but when i used to play flute, my teacher made me spit rice!
haha its weird but it helped me get the breathing motion right and its fun!

I dont know. Ive heard the flute is hard to play. Some people are naturally good at it.

It is easy to accidentally get into some little habits, so I'd check with someone who plays flute to make sure:
* your hand positioning is correct - it is easy to stick your fingers too far out over the keys or your right hand thumb too far out. also, you could check on posture - I know that for marching band you have to hold your flute parallel to the ground, but just playing you don't need to.
*it could also help at some point to just compare fingerings with someone more experienced to make sure you've learned everything correctly. for example, my band teacher did not tell me to take my left hand pointer finger off the key when playing D and E-flat and I played with it on for several years before I learned that's wrong.
*also, don't feel discouraged! when I first learned flute, it took me a while to even get a sound out of it! but the longer and more you practice, the more your tone will develop

http://www.ask.com/web?q=flute+beginners...

I am a professional flutist and flute teachers since 1971, and a competition judge here in NY. GET A FLUTE TEACHER - not just your band director - but a REAL flute teacher. They also would have had you get a far better brand that what you have - this one is going to keep you running to the shop a LOT, or you will just not notice, because you are a beginner, that it is the FLUTE that is holding you back, as a series of microscopic things go wrong.

In the meantime, find the website of Jen Cluff - and do EVERYTHING she says (No, *I* am not Jen - but I talk to her online almost every day!). Good luck!

1) Get a good Flute teacher
2) Practice daily esp long notes to develop your tone
3) Get a good flute teacher
4) Wait a bit before you join the band
5) Get a good flute teacher

The webite mentioned ablove is http://www.jennifercluff.com/
It has great tips for all flute players!