Welcome to Gaia! ::

Depends on what kind of swab you have. If it's the treated kind, you can't clean it. If it's just the plain material, throw it in the wash. Or wash it yourself if you prefer. I'd just say get a new one though.

You have a pad-saver. Those are mostly just to keep your pads from going bad. not much for the tarnishy smell though. I think the only thing you can really do is make sure you don't eat before playing.

Your flute's always going to smell like wet metal. I mean, that's what it is! whee

hmmm tone quality? well lets seethere's the standards:

are you keeping your cheeks tight? loose lips sink ships! letting your cheeks sag tends to make you take bigger breaths which in turn makes you get winded.

tongue down on long notes? If you keep your tongue up too high it makes this weird swish-back sound. (it happened to me. might just have been for me though?)

Do you have a cold? if you can'y brethe through your nose your throat gets cold and you get winded. as you see above it makes you airy.

Are you wearing chap stick? chapstick fills in the gaps and routes that you're used to blowing through. you might have to adjust a little bit to get that down right. Or just don't wear chapstick and flute at the same time.

that's all I can really think of.

If you've got tone quality problems, you kind of need to address it directly.

Is it with just a few notes or the whole instrument? PM me and I can help you - I took all year in band last year working on my tone quality(because it's like, the only thing I needed to work on lol).

And just remember, even the best flutists can have off days. ^_^

Thanks for the replies, everyone! It's much appreciated. =)

Nyoko: I try to keep my lips as tight as possible, but as I've mentioned numerous times in the thread, I've just picked up playing again after a two-year period of doing almost nothing. My lips are nowhere near as tight as they were before, but getting there. And as for the Chapstick thing...well, I just started using it because it hurt to play, and that may be affecting it as well. I didn't realize that, although now that you bring it to attention, it is rather common-sensical. =P Thanks!

Twain: The position of my head joint changes constantly during band class; it's pretty much impossible for me to [lately] find a good spot, and even then, whenever we have a rest and the flute has to come down, I can't find it again. Ugh! My flute's fairly old as well (since fourth grade, and now I'm in ninth, so that's about six years) and was poorly treated in the first few years I was playing, so...blah. Although, it's always had a problem with a loose footjoint, as it would fall off during concerts way back in the fourth grade. Ewie. Hopefully, I'll be getting a newer one my senior year, so many years from now...

Silversword: Mostly with the whole instrument, although it's mostly with anything over an A-flat above the scale, which makes me believe that it's just me being pathetic. I'll have my on days and off days, although having band every day really is helping. Or perhaps that's just me being nerdly. ^_^ If it wouldn't be imposing or anything, I'll take you up on that PM offer later.

Nicoliolioli: You have a point, standing does help me sound a lot better, but unfortunately, my school doesn't have a marching band so we don't do a lot of standing and playing. Even when sitting up perfectly straight, shoulders back, et cetra, I get airy. Ick.

Thanks again, everybody! I appreciate it, even if I'm far too long-winded on saying it. =X

Flutes are fun.

...I dunno, I just don't have much else to say right now XD



Hey, that's fine with me. Personally, there are a few different things that could be wrong.

1. Your upper notes are too weak - work on playing them long and loud and then learn to play soft.

2. You aren't using enough breath - that's a common problem with most flutists and a lot of other instruments - try taking big breaths and playing low notes(Probably the F down to the low F), then try to get the same volume with the higher notes.

3. If you're using vibrato, that may be hindering your clarity.

4. You may need to practice more - adjust your embecture(I'm off on spelling, I know) accordingly.

of course it is! luv luv the flute! luv it more than my violini and my piano! poor violini poor piano...
omg! nicole is going to interlochen next summer! yup yup!!! nicole is going to nau music camp this summer though...