In 2024, I did a series of seven articles under the name “Everything You Want to Know About Breathing,” and I highly recommend that you take a look at those if you’re interested in breathing mechanics. The focus of this article is more about how we teach breathing, especially for beginners. I’ve been continuing to observe double bassists and, as a group, they don’t breathe well. Generally speaking, breathing is not part of their pedagogy. They do not use air coming out of their mouth to make sound on their instrument, but breathing well is an underutilized superpower for them because of the connection between breathing and arm movement and the ability to use breathing to help with performance anxiety. So, I started thinking about how we as flute teachers teach breathing, right from the beginning.
I often get new students who have started flute in their band program at school, and I am their first private flute teacher. A lot of time is usually spent talking about air and how we use air on the flute in the first few lessons. Getting the head joint in the correct position and forming correct flute embouchure is also a priority at this stage, but that isn’t the focus of this article.
The flute is a wind instrument and requires air to produce the sound!
News flash – I know. The clue is in the name “woodwinds.” The habit that some students have developed is to use whatever air is already in their lungs to play, meaning they do not typically inhale before starting to play. Note: I am not throwing the band directors under the bus! I’ve done that job and it’s really hard to tell what every 5th grader is doing when you have 60 of them at once.
I often see versions of this pattern when students first start private lessons. To work on this, I usually go back to the head joint only to eliminate worrying about fingers and holding the flute. For older students, I have them pick their favorite note. We play a bunch of long notes and when the student is out of air, I have them breathe in through their mouth and play again. I want the air to make a U-turn. It comes in and comes right back out into the flute, no breath holding in between. Another thing I do is I ask the student to put a hand in front of my face; I start playing a note and then move my flute away from my face and blow directly onto their hand. This gives them input into air speed and air volume. I have them play a note, usually with the head joint only, and then blow on their own hand. They are often shocked to discover how much better it sounds when using more air!
What does the air actually do to make a sound on a flute?
We blow air out of the mouth, it hits the back wall of the embouchure hole, and some of the air goes over and some of the air goes into the flute. Sometimes, students don’t really understand this when they come to me. Back to the head joint we go.
What happens when all the air goes over the embouchure hole? No sound.
What happens when all the air goes in? Again, no sound.
We only get a sound when some air is going in and some is going over the tone hole. This is different from the way sound is produced on all the other wind instruments. All of the air coming out of the mouth goes into the mouthpiece for brass, through the reed in the case of double reeds, or between reed and mouthpiece for single reeds. In a sense, flute playing needs more air because some of the air has to go over to make a sound.
What has to happen with the air to get from a low note to a high note?
Back to the head joint again. I have the students cover the open end of the head joint and see if they can produce a high sound and a low sound. Many students can already do this when they get to me, but they may not understand what they are actually doing. Some can’t do it consistently and they also don’t understand what they are trying do.
Here are four things that need to happen to get from the low sound to the high sound:
Faster air stream
Air stream aimed higher
Smaller opening in the lips
Opening in the lips moves forward in space, toward the back wall of the embouchure hole
I often think that teaching flutists would be so much easier if air wasn’t invisible! If it were a color, the flutist could see where the air is going and how fast it is moving. Everybody could have their favorite color.
When we talk about these four things, students discover that they are usually just blowing faster. Once they learn that both lips need to participate in making an air tunnel (using the wet part of the lips on the inside), they are able to make the changes they need to reliably switch between low and high sounds. The next step is to go right to the flute and do the same thing on any low-ish note. Playing octaves is now easier because they understand what the air has to do.
Steady air stream or separate puffs of air?
This is a big one because it involves air and articulation. Now they have to add movement of the tongue. Many show up using separate puffs of air for each note. They are not using their tongue at all to articulate. I call it the “owl syndrome” – Whoo whoo whoo whoo. Some are trying to use their tongue to start notes, but they stop the air when their tongue is moving.
Back to the head joint again. Hopefully, you’re noticing a theme here. Much of this stuff can be taught using only the head joint so there’s no need to worry about holding the instrument or which fingers need to be down. Here’s my process for helping students fix this.
~ I hold up two fingers and ask them how many they see. They say 2. Excellent.
~ Say that number four times in row. Great
~ Now say it four times in a row and notice what your tongue is doing inside your mouth. The answer should be something like this: the contact point is the tip of the tongue somewhere where the top teeth meet roof of the mouth. Also, notice that the sound happens when the tongue releases, not when it goes up to the roof of the mouth. Notice that the direction of the tongue is up, not out, like sticking out your tongue. Cool.
~ Now, can you sing the number two, four times in a row. Air keeps moving. Cool.
~ Put what you just did into your head joint. Perfect.
~ Let’s do it wrong on purpose; use no tongue and make separate puffs, like baby owls.
~ Let’s do it again correctly; the air doesn’t stop because the tongue is moving.
~ Now, let’s play a long note for four counts. Notice what your air is doing. Now play four notes using your tongue. The air should feel the same!
Most beginners that I’ve started can do this at their very first lesson. I have other ways of explaining this. We can use the garden hose analogy. If the water is turned on at the house, it’s coming out the nozzle. If you cover the nozzle with your thumb, what happens? The water doesn’t come out, but it’s because of your thumb; you didn’t turn the faucet off. So, when the tongue briefly touches the top of the teeth, it’s like what happens with the thumb.
If students are still struggling to understand this concept, I have them use their pointer finger and press gently and steadily into their leg. This is steady air stream. Then I have them press again, but stop and start. This is air stream stopping because your tongue is moving.
All four of the things I discussed above can be taught very easily from the very beginning. In my experience, it’s much easier and faster to establish the concept and build a good habit right from the beginning. When students show up to their first private lesson, it’s much harder to undo all this, especially if they’ve been playing for multiple years. I find that a clear explanation of what’s happening physically goes a long way in terms of leveling up their understanding, but it often takes a significant amount of time.
P.S. Sometimes, students arrive with a mouth full of teeth that will require years of orthodontic work and appliances. They may not physically be able to get their tongue into the place you want it to be—YET. The key is to explain here’s what I would like your tongue to do and you’re struggling with that because of overbite, crooked teeth, whatever. So, we’re going to do the best we can right now and as your teeth, jaw, and mouth change, we’re going to keep updating this as time goes on. No shame, no judgement. Just the facts. Breathe on.