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Is there some kind of practice mute for flute? I have been lent a flute and would like to try it out without disturbing neighbours too much. Only found for trombones and such when googling.

phoog
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Emil
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    There is a confusion as to what gets named 'flute'. Whilst a lot of us consider it to be the transverse instrument that is played by blowing over a hole near the end, the rest regard a flute as something otherwise known as a recorder, blown straight into the mouthpiece at one end. Recorders can be muted, transverse flutes not. – Tim Apr 24 '22 at 11:07
  • In warm weather, when windows are open, I can hear the flute teacher who lives about 8 houses up the block... but I don't mind, it sounds nice. – Michael Curtis Jul 08 '22 at 12:46

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Assuming you are talking about the standard orchestra flute, or another kind of traverse flute: no, it's impossible to mute a flute.
Brass instruments such as trumpet or trombone can be muted because all of the sound comes out of the bell. The sound of a flute is far more diffuse.

For other members of the flute family, fipple flutes, there are mutes available. Here's one for recorder (note the site says "flute" but they mean "recorder").

PiedPiper
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  • Interesting. Usually impossible things become possible with progress, but I guess there is no solution for now. – Emil Apr 23 '22 at 19:11
  • @Emil you can practice inside a soundproof booth; this is not particularly new technology, but it's prohibitively cumbersome in most contexts. – phoog Apr 23 '22 at 19:23
  • @phoog A soundproofed booth was the first thing I though of, but since the poster is just trying a flute out, it's not a useful suggestion – PiedPiper Apr 23 '22 at 19:31
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    @emil The reason you can't mute a flute the same way as a trombome is that on a trombone/trumpet all the sound comes out the hole at the end, while on a flute the sound comes out of every hole. Including the one you blow in, and including the tone holes, and if you cover them partially for muting you also change the pitch. So you need soundproofing that covers the whole instrument while still letting you operate it. – j-g-faustus Apr 24 '22 at 02:02
  • As I've suggetsted a few times previously, playing in a car parked somewhere would work. You'll have to sit on the left, though ! – Tim Apr 24 '22 at 06:01
  • @PiedPiper it might be a useful suggestion if Emil is near a facility that rents practice rooms. – phoog Apr 24 '22 at 09:43
  • @Tim in a majority of the world's cars, there is a steering wheel on the left that might get in the way. – phoog Apr 24 '22 at 09:45
  • @phoog - the majority of cars also have the facility to move the seat backwards. We extend our arms to hold the steering wheel, which means playing flute with bent arms doesn't allow the wheel to impede our playing. Or, maybe, in a safe place, open the window on the right..? Or even sit in the back? Come on! – Tim Apr 24 '22 at 10:40
  • I don't have a car or driver's license either so won't work in my current situation. I know they rented out practice rooms in my hometown but funnily enough now that I live in one of the largest cities in my country I have not found any practice rooms, I guess you need to know where to look to find them.. – Emil Apr 24 '22 at 22:00
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    @Emil - there will always be somewhere: local schools are well underused - there could be plenty of times when there are no pupils - evenings, weekends, holidays, etc. Churches often have rooms that could be used. There have been several questions revolving round 'where to practise'. If/when you find a teacher, they may have ideas. – Tim Apr 25 '22 at 07:52
  • Is the flute muting problem because the air column, not the instrument, is what vibrates the most? If you can nearly plug up the bell of a trumpet, why doesn't the same work at the open end of the flute? – Michael Curtis Jul 08 '22 at 12:50
  • I don't agree with. It is not impossible. Saxophones and flutes share the same issue about muting. And there exist solutions for the saxophone, such as the SAXMUTE ONE, the E-SAX WHISPER MUTE, ... – lvr123 Apr 16 '23 at 20:48
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    @lvr123 The difference is that a large part of the sound of a flute comes directly from the embouchure hole, and you can't put that in a box without putting your head in there as well. – PiedPiper Apr 16 '23 at 22:10
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My way of playing "muted" is to barely blow in the hole. For sure you can't practice your sound quality, but you can practice everything else. I'm doing this quite regularly without anyone noticing it !

lvr123
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You can construct some sort of vocal booth (that's what my friend did), with some sound isolation and couple of vents for the air.

Mitya
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