HELP ME WITH MY FLUTE PLSSZZZ

[johnrulz20032003]

Ive bought a flute months ago. And i didnt get a chance to learn how to play it. Can anyone teach me how to play the flute, just the basics. And can anyone give me notes to a simple song. BTW, its a bamboo flute. PLLSSZZZZ HELP MEEEEE, I REALLY WANNA LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE FLUTE

[AaronMalcomb]

Hi, John. Here are some links that could prove helpful. They helped me get started. Just click on the blue text.

Rob Greenway's Irish Flute Page is full of good beginner information that will help you get to playing.

The Flow has a lot of great information about styles and players.

Terry McGee is a flutemaker with lots of helpful info on his website.

Brad Hurley's Guide to the Irish Flute is probably the best Irish flute website with excellent directories. My favorites are the interviews.

Woodenflute.com has excellent resources including a teacher list so perhaps you can find a teacher in your area.

The easiest tune to learn on your flute will be Mary Had a Little Lamb. It goes CBAB CCC BBB CCC CBAB CCC BAB CBA. Each letter is a syllabe in the song. You can play that one down the scale by starting on a different note, e.g. BAGA BBB AAA BBB BAGA BBB AGA BAG and on down the flute.

Good Luck!
Aaron

[johnrulz20032003]

my flutes got 7 holes in all, and 2 are small the 5 are big. Cud u give me something like 1st hole-1, 2nd hole-B, start from the left end (where the player blows ). Thank You.

[BillG]

John - It would be easier to start at the right end, the lowest hole away from the blow hole since it goes up the scale from there. The lowest note would be a D - six fingers covering the lower six holes. The right hand pinky touching the bottom end of the flute and not on a hole. Each finger up from there coveing a hole. Lift the right hand finger next to the pinky and you're playing E. As you move one finger off at a time going toward the blow hole you go up the scale thus: D E F# G A B C# (all fingers of the left hand off and the right three down.) Repeat this process with all fingers down except the right hand third, blow a little harder and tighten up the embouchure a bit and you continue up the same scale as above only now in the second octave. There will be some fingering changes at the second C# but don't worry about that just yet.

Hope this helps get you going.

BilllG

[AaronMalcomb]

7 holes? It sounds like you may have a bansuri which is a whole different game of cricket from Irish flute. The bansuri scale starts with the first three holes covered (the one closest to where you blow) and goes up from there using half-holing and such. I'm not sure how your embouchure is going to work, whether it'll need to be tighter, looser, etc.

Going from top to bottom is easier for a beginner as those bottom notes require more embouchure development than the higher ones.

Try Mary Had a Little Lamb but instead of letters, the number 0 is with no holes covered, 1 is with the first hole covered, etc. So the tune will go 0121 000 111 000 0121 0000 11012. If it sounds really weird and off key it could be further evidence that your flute is a bansuri which is for classical music from Northern India. Have a look at this website about bamboo flutes from India and see if that's what your flute looks like.
http://www.chandrakantha.com/articles/i ... nsuri.html

Cheers,
Aaron

Cheers,
Aaron

[Jack]

By saying seven holes I believe he's counting the blow hole.

Like this:

1________2___3___4___5____6___7_
|o_______O___O___O___o___O___O_ |

(the above flute is being held horizontally)

You don't normally count the blow (emboucher) hole. X means the hole is covered and O means it is uncovered. With all fingers down XXX XXX, you get a "D". With 5 fingers down XXX XXO, you get an "E", with four fingers down XXX XOO, you get an "F#"and so on.

I highly reccomend getting a tutorial book to start with.

Have fun.

[johnrulz20032003]

I went to that website you said aaron, but the flute there only has 6 holes, the other is a blow hole. Mines like this: 0 is a big hole and o is a small hole.
00o000o

i tried doing mary had alittle lamb, and it worked. Cud u send me other songs. Thak You

[AaronMalcomb]

So is the last hole on the top face of the flute with the other holes or off to the side?

Try London Bridge. 2123 432 543 432 2123 432 52 46.

Try this whistle tutor book by Tom Maguire. It starts with the same number system and simple tunes and teaches you the basics of reading music.

There aren't a lot of flute tutors out there but for beginning a whistle tutor will help. There are many tutors to pick from.

Cheers,
Aaron

[talasiga]

7 holes? It sounds like you may have a bansuri which is a whole different game of cricket from Irish flute. The bansuri scale starts with the first three holes covered (the one closest to where you blow) and goes up from there using half-holing and such. ......
Going from top to bottom is easier for a beginner as those bottom notes require more embouchure development than the higher ones.

...........If it sounds really weird and off key it could be further evidence that your flute is a bansuri which is for classical music from Northern India. ..........

There appears to be some misunderstanding or confusion here:-

1. Though classical and folk Indian flute playing has particular conventions
and unique techniques, we need to distinguish the tradition from the instrument. In fact a bansuri is not at all different to the Irish flute.
One doesn't have to play according to "Indian tradition" to play a bansuri any more than I have to play Irish way on my Seery.

There is nothing mysterious or abstruse about a three finger tonic as preferred by the indian trad.

Now take Danny Boy using a D flute. The Irish flautist does thiswith a G tonic.
So when you do Danny Boy in G on a D flute/whistle you are in effect
doing a 3 finger tonic because the reposing note for it is
xxx ooo.

Now Greensleeves on D flute - A Dorian (2 finger tonic)
You can follow the tablature for this on any bansuri and still
get Greensleeves.
The classical Indian maestro may like to use a 3 finger tonic which means that for Dorian he/she would need to
half hole the 3rd
half hole the 4th (to bring it down semitone to natural)
half hole the 7th.

But hey! - My Indo roots aside I prefer to Dorian from
xxo ooo
bansuri or not.

2.. I don't quite understand why you think that a finger tablature for simple system western flute may sound off key on a bansuri