How to Get Started Playing a Flute

You don't need any music theory or prior experience to play these flutes. Here's how to get started!

Step 1 — Make a Sound

Start with all the holes open and blow into the flute. If the sound is weak, blow harder. As a general rule — the more holes you have open, the harder you need to blow to get the best possible tone for that note. Once you can produce a clear sound, you're ready to move on.

Step 2 — Play the Scale

Now start covering the holes one by one from the top down. Each hole you close lowers the pitch. If the sound becomes terrible or weird at any point, check that you're covering each hole properly — even a tiny gap makes a big difference.

Work your way down to close all the holes, then back up again. Once you can freely move up and down the scale, you're ready to start vibing!

Step 3 — Breath Mastery

If you blow really hard with many holes closed, the instrument will jump to the second octave. This can be super fun, but also confusing if you don't know what's happening! For optimal tone, blow slightly harder the more holes you have open.

For sensitive, spiritual vibes — vary your breath to make the tone rise and fall. You can also create a variety of effects by rattling with your tongue, creating impulses of air, or even growling from your throat and beatboxing!

Step 4 — Make It Musical

Music is rhythm, repetition — and with a flute: melody! You don't need to replicate anyone else's songs — in fact, I'd recommend against it. Instead, just move up and down the scale freely and see what happens. Skip a few steps, start high, start low — have fun with your breath and let your fingers dance as they please!