Tips for Playing in the Low Register on the Flute

Tips for playing the low register on the flute:

1-      Make sure you have a working flute and all your pads are sealing correctly.  Ask your teacher to look for leaks or take your flute to a repair shop.

2-      Warm up.  It is important to warm up on the flute before you start doing anything difficult- fast fingers, high register, or low register… which means, warm up in the middle register with long tones.

3-      Be relaxed.  You should never have tension in your shoulders or jaw when playing any note on the flute.

4-      Reach the low notes you are working on by starting higher and slowing working down one note at a time.  Don’t move on to the next note until you are satisfied with the note you’ve just played.

5-      Press the flute a little closer to your mouth and drop the corners of your mouth.  You will need to blow downward more for the low notes (at a steeper angle).

6-      You will want your embouchure to have more of an oval shape when playing lower notes.  The hole will be a little bigger and not as circular as higher notes.

7-      Blow more air and slower air for low notes.  You don’t have to blow harder, just adjust your steam angle, slow down a little, and make your hole slightly wider and more air will come.

8-      Once you’ve got your low notes play them with a full breath and maintain a nice rich sound.

9-      Practice playing the same note an octave higher and lipping down to the low note.  Watch in a mirror to see what it looks like in the two octaves and notice how it feels different when playing low notes.

10-   Practice, practice, practice.  When you stop playing the flute the first things to go and the last to come back are those low notes.