How to make your first sound on flute

A flute makes sound when a thin stream of air hits the far edge of the embouchure hole and splits. There's no reed to vibrate and nothing to buzz, so your lips do all the work of shaping and aiming the air. That's why most teachers start on the headjoint alone. This guide goes one step at a time, from the headjoint to your first three notes.

Step 1: Start with the headjoint

The headjoint is the short piece with the lip plate and the embouchure hole, the hole you blow across. Hold it with both hands near the open end, with the hole facing up.

• Rest the lip plate on your chin, in the little dip between your bottom lip and your chin.
• Line up the hole with your lips. The near edge of the hole sits right at the edge of your bottom lip, so your bottom lip covers about a quarter to a third of the hole.
• Keep the hole facing straight up, not rolled toward you or away from you.

Step 2: Make a small opening in your lips

Your embouchure (say "AHM-bah-shur") is the way you shape your lips. On flute, the most important part is a small opening in the middle of your lips, called the aperture. The smaller and more centered it is, the more of your air turns into sound.

• Say "pu" and keep the shape. Your lips touch, then part just a little in the middle. Start with a small oval opening, about the size of a grain of rice.
• Relax the corners. Don't smile or stretch your lips back. A stretched opening is wide and flat, and it sounds airy.
• Keep your teeth slightly apart and your jaw relaxed.
• No puffy cheeks. The air goes straight out through the opening.

Step 3: Aim the air across the hole

Blow across the hole, not straight into it, the way you'd make a sound on a bottle. Aim the air at the far edge of the hole so it splits there: some of it goes into the hole and some goes over the top.

• Aimed too far down into the hole, the sound is dull and hollow, or there's no sound.
• Aimed too far across the hole, you hear mostly air.
• Change the aim with your lips and jaw, not by rolling the headjoint. Bringing your jaw and bottom lip slightly forward aims the air higher. Letting them go back aims it lower.

Step 4: Make a sound on the headjoint

Take a full, relaxed breath without lifting your shoulders. Set your lips, then blow a steady stream of air as if you're saying "too." Don't blow hard. A small, steady stream works better than a big gust.

• First, with the end open. Leave the far end of the headjoint uncovered. You should get a high note.
• Then, with the end covered. Cover the end with the flat of your right hand and blow again. The note is lower.
• Getting only one of the two notes? Change your aim a little and try again.
• Hold each sound for 4 slow counts, then rest. Lots of short tries work better than one long one.
• Feeling dizzy? That's common at first, because you're breathing deeply. Stop and rest for a minute.

Step 5: Put the flute together

A flute comes in three pieces: the headjoint, the body, and the foot joint. Hold each piece by its smooth ends, never by the keys or the long rods. Twist the pieces together gently. Don't push straight in or bend them.

• Headjoint into the body. Twist it in, then line up the center of the embouchure hole with the center of the keys on the body. Your teacher may have you turn it in very slightly.
• Foot joint onto the body. Line up the rod on the foot joint with the center of the lowest key on the body.
• No cork grease. Flute joints are metal. If a joint sticks, wipe both parts with a clean, soft cloth.

Step 6: Hold and balance the flute

The flute balances on three points, so you can hold it steady without squeezing. Your fingers stay free to move.

• Your chin, where the lip plate rests.
• The base of your left index finger. The flute rests against the side of your left index finger, near the knuckle. The finger then curves over to its key.
• Your right thumb, under the flute, roughly below your right first and second fingers.
• Your right pinky rests on the E♭ key. It's down for almost every note, and it helps keep the flute steady.

Sit or stand tall. Turn your head a little to the left and let the flute angle slightly down to the right. Keep your shoulders down and your elbows relaxed, away from your sides.

Step 7: Play B, A, and G

Many flute players start with B, A, and G, in the middle of the staff. Start with your left thumb and index finger for B, then add one left-hand finger for each step down. Your right pinky stays on the E♭ key.

Start each note by saying "too" into the flute. The tip of your tongue touches just behind your top front teeth, then pulls away to let the air go. The air does the work; the tongue only starts the note. For more, see how to tongue on flute.

Or start with D, C, and B♭

Some teachers start with D, C, and B♭ instead. Start with whichever three notes your teacher or band book uses. These don't step down one finger at a time the way B, A, and G do, so take each fingering slowly.

• D: left thumb, left middle and ring fingers, and all three right-hand fingers. Keep your left index finger up. D is also one of the few notes where your right pinky comes off the E♭ key.
• C: only your left index finger, plus your right pinky on the E♭ key. Your left thumb comes off too. With so few fingers down, the flute can feel tippy, so let the balance points from Step 6 hold it.
• B♭: left thumb and index finger, plus your right index finger. Some teachers use a different B♭ fingering, with your left thumb on the small B♭ lever instead.

Common first-day problems

Still sounding airy once you have your first notes? See how to get a better sound on flute.

Your first week

Keep it short. About 10 to 15 minutes a day is plenty at first.

After each session, take the flute apart and pull a cleaning cloth through each piece with the cleaning rod. Wipe off fingerprints, then put each piece back in its place in the case.

Once you know a few notes, try Play the Note in Woodwind Trainer. You see a note, play it on your flute, and the microphone checks whether you got it. You can also hold a long note against the tuner and try to keep the needle still.