Restarting flute after a break
If you choose not to pursue playing the flute as your career, there are likely to be times in life where music takes a back seat. This is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. I have had several times in my life when I went long stretches (even a few years) barely touching the instrument. My longest break from playing the flute occurred from about 2013 to 2020—whoa, that’s about seven years!—when I was working full time as an attorney late into the nights almost every night and often on weekends and lacked time to play flute (or take basic care of myself), and then when I had kids and neither of my children as babies tolerated me playing the flute. (My guess is that it was too loud.) They were fine with piano, though, so I added that to my now too long list of hobbies and happily play along still.
Coming back to the flute after a long break can be daunting, so here are my tips on how to return to the instrument you love:
Pay a visit to your flute technician. If you have taken a break from playing, you have likely been neglecting your COA (short for clean, oil, adjust), and your flute is likely in need of some love. Have it checked over and repaired by a skilled technician. One additional benefit is that my flute is always so shiny and beautiful after COA! Who can resist playing then?
Let go of the perfectionist fantasies. You may have visions of jumping right back into playing every day and showing off your hardest repertoire pieces, but try your best to put those thoughts on hold for awhile. If you hold yourself to an impossible standard, you are going to feel defeated when you fail to meet it and are likely to give up and let the flute sit idle in its case for months (or years) again.
Build up slowly. This is the most important point. While I found that even some difficult repertoire was still firmly under my fingers after not looking at it for many years, my tone quality and endurance have taken a lot of time to recover. Go back to the basics. Play daily exercises slowly and listen to intonation and smoothness of your technique. Find some shorter pieces, such as etudes, to play as you build back up.
Find someone to play with. Although not mandatory, finding a local wind ensemble, pianist, or small chamber group to play with will keep you accountable and practicing. Not to mention helping you find the joy in playing again!
Breaks are normal and you absolutely can be just as good as you were before (or better) if you take it slowly and enjoy the journey.