Tuning Your Flute
The easiest and most accurate way to tune your flute is by using an electronic tuner. An electronic tuner allows you to see whether the note you are playing is sharp (too high) or flat (too low). There are several types of electronic tuners but most are relatively inexpensive and simple to operate. Use a chromatic tuner with a built in microphone to pick up your flute.
The pitch of the flute can be altered by either pushing the headjoint further onto the body or pulling it back a bit. Before you begin tuning make sure the headjoint is not pushed fully onto the body, or you may have no room to move if your flute is out of tune.
Start by playing the note G. you can make it higher by pushing the headjoint gently a little further into the middle joint, or lower by pulling the head joint gently outward from the middle joint.
Be careful to move the headjoint only a small amount at a time, or you may put the instrument out of tune in the opposite direction, i.e., you may make the note sound too sharp instead of too flat. Once you have moved the head joint, play the note again and check against the tuner. Repeat this process until your G note is in tune.
If your G note is too sharp, you will have to move the head joint in the opposite direction – pulling it back out from the middle joint a small amount and then checking your note against the tuner. Once again, repeat the process if necessary until your G note is in tune.
If you have trouble hearing the differences in pitch and matching them evenly, don’t worry, this is common and tuning will become easier as your lips and facial muscles develop and you get a better sense of the sounds of notes in general. Many people have to get their teacher to help them tune their instrument for the first few months they are learning.
However, it is important to practice tuning each day, as you will often be required to tune to other instruments when playing with other musicians. Next time you go to hear a band, orchestra or any musical group, notice how the musicians spend a short time tuning their instruments carefully before they begin to play.
