Why your flute is sharp or flat, and how to fix it

A tuner says your A is 20 cents sharp. You haven’t done anything wrong. The flute is one of the most flexible instruments there is, and that flexibility means the pitch moves with almost everything you do. Here is what moves it, in the order worth checking.

What a cent is

A semitone is split into 100 cents. A note 50 cents off is halfway to the next note, which sounds plainly wrong. Five cents is very hard to hear. Flutio counts anything within 15 cents of the note as in tune, which is a sensible target for your first year; players in an orchestra aim tighter.

Most tuners are set to A = 440 hertz. Some bands and orchestras use 442. Check which one your group uses and set your tuner to match.

1. The headjoint position

This is the only adjustment you make before you play. Pulling the headjoint out of the body makes the flute longer, which lowers the pitch. Pushing it in raises it.

Most flutes play in tune with the headjoint pulled out a few millimetres from fully in. Play a long A, look at the tuner, and adjust:

• Sharp: pull the headjoint out a little.
• Flat: push it in a little.

Move it a millimetre or two at a time. Once you’ve found the spot, some players mark it with a small line so they can find it again.

2. Warmth

A cold flute plays flat. As your breath warms the tube, the pitch rises. Tune after a few minutes of playing, not the moment you take the flute out of its case, or you’ll end up sharp ten minutes later.

3. Air speed

Faster air raises the pitch and slower air lowers it. This is why loud playing tends to go sharp and soft playing tends to go flat, especially at the end of a phrase when you’re running out of breath. Practise holding a note at the same pitch while you get louder and softer.

4. The angle of the air

Rolling the flute in, so your lip covers more of the hole, aims the air lower and makes the note flatter. Rolling it out makes the note sharper. Moving your jaw forward has a similar effect to rolling out.

This is how players fix single notes in the moment, but it changes your tone too. Use the headjoint for overall tuning, and small changes in air and angle for individual notes.

Notes that tend to drift

Every flute has its habits. Low notes tend to go flat when played softly. High notes, from the top of the second octave up, tend to go sharp, especially if you push air at them. Middle C sharp is often a little unsteady on many flutes. When one note is always off, it’s usually the instrument’s habit, not yours, and you learn to lean on it slightly.

Using a tuner without staring at it

Watching the needle the whole time trains your eyes, not your ears. A better routine:

1. Play a long note with your eyes closed.
2. Decide whether you think it was sharp or flat.
3. Then look at the tuner.

Over a few weeks your guesses get better. Flutio’s tuner and lessons show the same thing as a word and a number (“A bit sharp”, “+22¢”) with one fix at a time, so you hear and see the result together.