Top Flute Tip #5 for absolute beginner flute players

Today we are continuing the series of Top 10 Tips for Absolute Beginner Flute Players!

These tips in this article (that I wrote for the fantastic music app called Tomplay) are actually not just for beginner flute players...

The tips are helpful for any flutist, of any level, who wants to sound better on the flute by learning the little tweaks of proper technique!

Today's TIP #5 below shows you how learning the correct posture is an easy way to prevent pain in your neck and jaw later on...

Have a read below (or read all of the 10 tips here if you would like to read the whole article at once!)

TIP #5. Learn the secret to correct flute posture 

In your first few flute lessons, you might remember, there were probabaly a lot of things bouncing around inside your head.

"Am I blowing correctly?"

"Am I holding the flute right?"

"Where do my fingers go?"

"Am I standing ok?"

"What am I doing again?!"

Haha, you get the idea!  

Correct flute posture

There is one thing that is essential to learn right at the start, and that is the correct flute posture.

Why is this essential?

Despite what you might think, it’s not so that you “look nice” when you play. It’s to avoid long-term injury to your neck, your shoulders and your arms.

As you can imagine, if you have an incorrect body position when doing any repetitive task for many, many hours (e.g. playing tennis, typing, playing a musical instrument...) you can end up in a world of pain.

"Bringing the flute to you"

The correct flute posture that avoids injury is something I call “bringing the flute to you”.

It’s very tempting to jut your chin forward to reach the flute. (I see it in 100% of the beginner students that I teach - both adults and children!)

Unfortunately, if this tendency is left unchecked over the months and years, it will eventually cause neck and jaw pain.

The solution is to think of keeping yourself up straight, and using your arms to bring the flute up to your mouth. It's a simple (but actually doesn't feel natural at first!) way to teach yourself to play with a comfortable posture that will prevent all sorts of pain later on.

Stand by for Top Flute Tip #6!

That was the secret to preventing pain in your neck (and jaw) when you play!

Soon, I'll send you Tip #7 about correct hand position to continue this series. Until next week, have a wonderful week of flute playing!

Jane x