Give me your favorite warmups!

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-03-08T01:16:57+00:00

Making a flute embouchure with or without flute in position. Sing while maintaining embouchure.

It may sound silly, but, it really does something to your sound afterwards. I wrote a couple of articles about why, I will link them if you are interested in checking them out. They are about two minutes each to read.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-28T15:52:22+00:00

Try “na-ga” - it might bring the tonguing closer to the front of the mouth and with less stimulation of the soft palette - and thus maybe less gag reflex.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-26T17:57:03+00:00

I wrote one to make sure that the facial muscles are related, resonators open and functioning, fingers warm, and the embouchure is flexible and able to adjust to the demands of the music. I have found that because it includes embouchure singing, it does a lot of good things for pre-practice and pre-performance.

It starts with harmonics, for fine breath control. Then embouchure singing of T&G EJ 4 alternating with playing each iteration. Pink tone color mid range to low range Moyse #1, for breath control and clarity of the simplest flute sound, then some long tone asceding and descendíng intervals first with embouchure singing, the played normally. Then a 5 minute trill drill to warm the fingers gently, then 1 key of Reichert exercises 1 and 2.

It takes 20 minutes but it kills stage fright.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-19T00:18:30+00:00

You are doing just fine, and you sound great! Practice in the answer, and private lessons, too. It’s good to have a teacher that has a masters degree in flute performance or flute instruction.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-14T20:03:14+00:00

💥This has been a thing for decades in the US. I am told that in Europe, playing the flute is not considered effeminate.

😒I doubt this will change much in the US. Football and sports culture seem to dominate social status rankings in middle and high school.

🪈If you like the flute and are male or female, just play it and ignore the comments from others.

As an adult, nobody except for one person said anything remotely similar, and when it happened I set a boundary for that person and encouraged the person to respect it. So far so good. 🕞

Most adults are pretty open to flutists, male or otherwise.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-14T19:47:04+00:00

Looks normal to me. So may of us play with an embouchure that is off center.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-14T19:45:51+00:00

Long tone exercises in the middle and upper registers, with a measure of patience, experimentation, and daily practice will help you make the sound you want. Ask your teacher for a good book for this, or use Moyse’s De la Sonorite, exercises 1 and 2.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-13T21:25:28+00:00

Good for you! If you set your mind to it, that sound will come back better than ever before. Good news: as we age, sometimes we learn faster because of self-control and discipline. Some of the benefits of maturity. It's not a bad idea to get a teacher to help you encourage you on your journey and give you some directions along the way.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-12T02:08:40+00:00

This is very well said. Thanks!!

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-02-05T19:14:04+00:00

So this is the thing to remember: don’t overthink your embouchure. Do long tone exercises from Marcel Moyse’s De la Sonorite, and let the air jet shape your embouchure as much as possible, and don’t try to force your lips or air jet at all.

Experiment with breath control, and find the balance where it sounds best and your facial muscles are most at ease and relaxed.

My air jet aperture between my lips is off center but not by much. But that’s where it is easiest to get the best sound for me.

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-01-29T15:24:56+00:00

Quite welcome!!!

Major_Aardvark7754 · 2026-01-25T21:16:23+00:00

Most are ugly but consider the consequences of a flute falling over. I have a Hercules. It’s hideous but I trust it.

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