Beginnings and Beyond
Practical Application Project 3 Mark D. Wells Director of Bands Laingsburg, Michigan
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Acknowledgements..................................................................................................4 Brief History of the Flute.........................................................................................5 LABELS Main Parts of the Flute.............................................................................................6 Getting started..........................................................................................................7 ASSEMBLY Flute Assembly‌....................................................................................................8 Lining up the Headjoint...........................................................................................9 Lining up the Footjoint..........................................................................................11 EMBOUCHURE Understanding Embouchure...................................................................................12 Forming the Embouchure......................................................................................13 Mouth and Lips......................................................................................................14 Incorrect Embouchure Examples...........................................................................15 Head Joint..............................................................................................................16 Rolling the Head Joint...........................................................................................18 BREATHING Breathing and Breathing Exercises........................................................................19 POSUTRE & HOLDING THE FLUTE 3 Points of Contact.................................................................................................23 Proper Standing Position.......................................................................................24 The Arm Swing......................................................................................................25 Correct & Incorrect................................................................................................26 SEATING Seated Playing Position..........................................................................................28 Playing in a Group/Ensemble................................................................................30
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FINGERS Key Labels.............................................................................................................32 Finger Placement...................................................................................................33 Fingering Practice..................................................................................................33 Right Hand Finger/Hand Position..........................................................................34 Correct//Incorrect Right Hand...............................................................................35 Correct//Incorrect Left Hand..................................................................................36 TONE PRODUCTION Producing a Good Sound.......................................................................................38 Sounding Better Immediately................................................................................40 THE TONGUE Tonguing................................................................................................................41 Articulation Tips....................................................................................................42 FINGERINGS ONLINE Online Help............................................................................................................43 PITCH Pitch Tendencies....................................................................................................44 METHODS Basic Warm-Up.....................................................................................................45 Super Scales...........................................................................................................46 Left Hand Only......................................................................................................47 CARE / MAINTENANCE Care and Maintenance............................................................................................48 HELPFUL STUFF Tips & Tricks.........................................................................................................50 Alternate Fingerings...............................................................................................55 Flute Accessories...................................................................................................58 BIBLIOGRAPHY Works Cited...........................................................................................................62
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to start by thanking those who have helped to make this project possible. I have learned so much during the making of this project and I am excited to share the information within to help other directors, students, and teachers, both new in the field and experienced. The first and most important thank you goes whole-heartedly to my wife; Yelena, who has supported me throughout this process by giving her time to look after our newborn son; Simon as I was busy typing away. Thanks, hun! I would also like to thank, in no particular order: My mother, Cheryl, for her many great ideas which you see incorporated into this book, as well as her willingness to model for the many pictures herein. Darlene Dugan, for the many hours of lending so much advice and picking through this project with a fine-toothed comb! My Father, David Wells, who helped jot down the numbers of each picture so I could keep everything straight. Max, Scott, and all of the staff and especially clinicians at ABC for their input, help and guidance on this educational journey. - Thanks and God Bless!
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FLUTE The flute appeared in different forms and locations around the world. A three-hole flute made from a mammoth tusk, (from the GeiĂ&#x;enklĂśsterle cave in the German Swabian Alps and dated to 30,000 to 37,000 years ago), and two flutes made from swans' bones excavated a decade earlier (from the same cave in Germany, dated to circa 36,000 years ago) are among the oldest known musical instruments. The flute has been dated to prehistoric times. A fragment of the femur of a juvenile cave bear, with two to four holes, found at Divje Babe in Slovenia and dated to about 43,100 years ago, may also be an early flute. Some early flutes were made out of tibias (shin bones). Playable 9000-year-old Gudi (literally, "bone flute"), made from the wing bones of red-crowned cranes, with five to eight holes each, were excavated from a tomb in Jiahu[4] in the Central Chinese province of Early flutes were made of bone. Henan. During the 16th and early 17th centuries in Europe, the transverse flute was available in several different sizes, in effect forming a consort much in the same way that recorders and other instrument families were used in consorts. At this stage, the transverse flute was usually made in one section (or two for the larger sizes) and had a cylindrical bore. As a result, the flute had a rather soft sound and limited range, and was used primarily in compositions for the "soft consort". During the Baroque period, (17th and 18th centuries), the transverse flute was redesigned. Now often called the traverso (from the Italian), it was made in three or four sections, or joints, with a conical bore from the head joint down. The conical bore design gave the instrument a wider range and a more penetrating sound, without sacrificing the softer, expressive qualities of the instrument. In addition to chamber music, the traverso began to be used in orchestral music, eventually occupying an exalted status amongst the woodwinds. Many composers, such as Frenchmen Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Michel Corrette and Michel Blavet, Italians Antonio Vivaldi and Pietro Locatelli, and Germans Georg Phillipp Telemann and Johann Joachim Quantz, wrote significant collections of sonatas and chamber works for the traverso. Quantz also wrote an important treatise on the flute and its performance pratice. Johann Sebastian Bach also contributed to the literature of the flute with his Sonatas for Flute and Continuo BWV 1034-35 and the Partita BWV 1013. The flute has been featured in many varying kinds of music. One short example from rock music is the ocarina solo featured in The Troggs' song "Wild Thing" in the mid-'60s; more recently, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame brought the flute to the world of rock and roll, playing a transverse flute as his instrument of choice for nearly forty years. 5
MAIN PARTS OF THE FLUTE
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GETTING STARTED Before we start, here are some names you need to know
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FLUTE ASSEMBLY Head Joint Where you grab the flute is critical. Hold the head joint on the end opposite the lip plate. Don’t grab the lip plate; this could come off or bend out of shape.
Body Hold the body of the flute at the tenon (barrel), not the keys.
Connect the body to the head joint Hold the head joint directly over the body. Use a twisting motion, don’t waggle or force it in. Push it all the way in as far as it will go. (You may need to pull out slightly for tuning – this is explained later)
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LINING UP THE HEAD JOINT There are 2 main schools of thought on this part of flute assembly.
Concept #1 The head joint is slightly off center, as seen in the picture below. This alignment is considered more correct because of the way the flute balances with when holding the flute using just the 3 contact points (shown later in this book). Since the flute has the majority of the key bars on one side of the flute, this makes the flute unbalanced when holding it correctly. To balance the flute properly, the head joint should be lined up slightly off center from the rest of the keys. The preferred way to line up the head joint
Concept #2 The second, more traditional option for the head joint position is pictured below. Line up the middle of the blow-hole with the middle of the first large hole on top of the body – not with the small hole. This method of alignment does not allow for balance when holding the flute using only the 3 contact points (covered later in this book) The easier way to line it up isn’t always the best way
You should try holding the flute with both alignments to see which one works best when holding using only the 3 contact points.
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FLUTE ASSEMBLY CONTINUED… Make sure to hold the head joint and body where they meet – at the place where there are no keys, like the picture on the left.
DO NOT HOLD THE FLUTE BY THE KEYS! This may cause the keys to bend or break! Now you are ready for the final assembly step!
Putting on the foot joint While holding the head joint and body where they meet, line up the long rod with the middle of the last key in the body. Remember to twist and push – never use a waggling movement. A close air-tight fit is essential.
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LINING UP THE FOOT JOINT Everyone has a different sized pinky. If the pinky goes beyond the line on the last joint - last joint on the ring finger, the foot joint must be adjusted accordingly
The foot joint can be adjusted after it has been attached to the body. Use your right hand as a guide as to where exactly the foot joint should go. Line up the right hand fingers on the keys, and use the natural placement of the pinky to find where the foot joint should go. ABOVE VIEW FRONT VIEW
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UNDERSTANDING EMBOUCHURE It is important to understand these concepts before we begin.
The flat line represents the mouth plate, or embouchure plate. The parabolic line represents the jaw line. It is the responsibility of the lip to make up the difference between the flat surface and curved surface. So the lip has to go out from the face to make up the difference.
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FORMING THE EMBOUCHURE The lips should NOT follow the teeth. The lips should reach for the lip plate. This ties in with the next step of the embouchure making process, the “whee too”
“WHEE”
“TOO”
Bring the corner of the lips out and flatten the lower lip which will be resting over the embouchure hole
Add a “too” following the “whee” to set the embouchure and give the feeling of starting the first tone.
The “too” diagram represents the role of the lips in making up for the curved jaw line and straight line of the flute plate/embouchure plate. 13
THE MOUTH AND LIPS The first factor is the shape of the hole in your lips. When first taking up the flute, the hole between your lips may be naturally perfect or it may not. Some of this depends on how much facial muscles are used in every day life. An animated face indicates frequent use of a lot of muscle. Notice in the picture that there are more separate muscles attached to this organ than anywhere else in the human body.
The most natural way to make a flute embouchure is to simply bring the lips together without forcing them. When air is blown through closed lips, it will instinctively exit between the upper and lower lips in the middle of the mouth. This can also be imitated by saying “Pooh�
Facing a mirror; practice moving your top lip up and down onto your bottom lip without moving the bottom lip! The Horse-Face Make your face long and horse-like as you push down. Try not to pull your lower lip against your teeth.
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INCORRECT EMBOUCHURE EXAMPLES The following are examples of common embouchure problems.
* THE SMILEY FACE * Usually caused by the excitement of playing the flute for the first time, the smiley face brings the corners of the embouchure back too far to allow for the lips to compensate for the curve of the jaw line and the straight line of the lip plate. The smiley face thins out the lips, and pulls the lips against the teeth. I feel compelled to mention that the individual in this picture is one of the most respected flute players in West Michigan. It takes a truly great player to showcase truly incorrect and true-to-life examples of bad embouchure. – Respectfully.
* THE PUCKER FACE * Usually caused by eating a raw lemon just before playing, or by smelling your parents hand-medown flute after it’s been sitting in their closet for the past 40 years. The pucker face brings the corners of the mouth too far upward, doing the opposite of the horseface. The cheeks pull up, the opposite direction that they should be going. If this is happening, consider switching the student to viola.*
* kidding! 15
THE HEAD JOINT Here you will apply the principles of embouchure to the head joint.
Put the head joint in the natural indentation of the jaw. The lip should feel like it is covering 1/4 to 1/3 of the embouchure hole. Move up and down until this feeling is achieved.
“WHEE”
“TOO”
Remember the Whee Too? Apply this same principle to the head joint.
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Air is being blown into the hole, NOT ACROSS IT. The more air in the hole, the better the sound. The air stream acts as a pointer to the blowing wall of the embouchure hole, this is called focus. Take a deep breath, reform the embouchure and “too�.
The last step is to attach the body to the head joint, still hold the head joint the same way as you did with just the head joint!
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ROLLING THE HEAD JOINT CORRECT
Experiment by rolling the head joint in and out as you blow until you make a strong, clear sound. The best sound will be when about 1/3 of the blow-hole is covered.
* TOO MUCH ROLLING IN
* TOO MUCH ROLLING OUT
Rolling in too much causes too much blow-hole to be covered, and the sound is flat and stifled.
Rolling it out too much uncovers all the blow-hole and the sound is weak, wooly and sharp.
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BREATHING & BREATHING EXERCISES Breathing properly is the most important part of playing any wind instrument, and this is particularly so with the flute. Unlike its neighbors in the band (the oboe, clarinet and bassoon, etc…), the flute has no reed, nor has it a small aperture or mouthpiece to blow through. In reed instruments and brass instruments, the tubing that is blown through creates built-in resistance, or varying degrees of back pressure. A flute player has to control the flow of air and its strength and speed entirely with the muscles of the embouchure and breathing apparatus. It is most important to understand that you never need to blow really hard to get the flute to “speak” either for very loud or very soft playing. On a sensitive flute, you can feel the vibration in your fingers. If you aim the air stream at the blowing wall, this will get the air inside the flute, which starts the air spinning through it. It is important not to squeeze the flute with your fingers, because this stops the vibration. A good flutist needs to vibrate the tube. A good player shows that it’s not the amount of air you blow that makes a beautiful sound, but the control of the size, speed and direction of the air-jet. This control is closely linked to correct breathing.
Try this exercise. Bend over your body, and breathe in slowly. As you breathe in, slowly use the air entering your body to move you upright. Use your hands to feel the air entering from the bottom up.
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Notice the position of the diaphragm in the picture below. The diaphragm is, roughly speaking, a membrane separating the thorax from the abdomen or belly. The thorax and abdomen are both sealed compartments; there is no connection between them, the diaphragm being the seal. In deep breathing the diaphragm can be moved down with the abdominal muscles so that it acts like a piston or plunger inside the body.
After breathing out
After breathing in
When you exhale, the lungs are mostly empty. The abdominal muscles push the diaphragm up. You are using the abdominal muscles to get out as much air in the lungs as possible.
Diaphragm Movement The movement of the diaphragm is controlled by the abdominal muscles which lie just under the diaphragm.
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It is important to note that the LOWER of the 2 hands is residing over the area of the body that is doing most of the work! The lower hand rests over the abdominal muscles, which are responsible for moving the diaphragm up and down. Breathing correctly starts with expanding the area under the lower hand, which in turn moves the diaphragm, and so on.
When inhaling, the abdominal muscles relax and expand downward and outward, which pulls the diaphragm down thereby replacing air in the lungs. The plunger-like movement of the diaphragm which is controlled by the abdominal muscles is the most important factor. These exercises will help you to breathe fully and correctly.
Most people only use a small fraction of their total lung capacity for ordinary “everyday” breathing. Think of how you breathe after a quick run, then stand still. You pant heavily, mouth open, with a heaving chest and expanding tummy and lower back area, drawing as much air in as possible to adjust to the body’s needs.
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Now try the same activity with the flute in playing position. Bend over and take in as much air as you can. Slowly rise up while playing a note. You should be able to make it all the way from the bent over position to standing upright. Take a piece of tissue, or a piece of note pad paper and try to hold it up against the wall using only your air. How far can you get from the paper before it falls? How long can you hold it in place?
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THEE POINTS POINTS OF CONTACT
You should be able to balance the flute between the lips, left index and right thumb. Try doping this while wiggling all the other fingers for practice! 23
PROPER STANDING POSITION
Posture is defined as the “position or arrangement of the body and its limbs”, or “characteristic way of bearing one's body”. The position you play in - either standing or sitting – makes a vital difference to breathing, tone, and technique. The posture of your whole body is important, not just the position of the head and arms.
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THE ARM SWING The purpose of the arm swing is to get the best understanding of the foundation for proper playing position. Do this exercise in front of a mirror. Start by standing up comfortably. The core of your body is aligned. The head is looking slightly to the left. Let the arms hang and dangle naturally down from the shoulder. Use a small back and forth swinging motion to make sure they are relaxed.
Think of this next move as an extension of the dangling arms. Continuing the swing, bring both arms up naturally together, swinging them forward and upwards together. Again, notice where the head is facing. This is just an extension upwards of the dangling arms.
Bring the arms up to the level of the face, as shown in the picture. This is all one natural, relaxed motion. Notice the natural bend of the elbow and the angle of the arms in front of the body.
You are going to have to turn your head. The alternative is to turn your back, and that will result in constricting of the air stream. So turn your head! The flute is designed to be played at an angle; for comfort and ease the instrument must be held well away from the right shoulder, the head turned towards the left, the trunk allows for adjusting to accommodate this position. Move your head with the flute, but be careful not to tilt to the point where air flow becomes restricted.
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CORRECT & INCORRECT
CORRECT
* INCORRECT *
The right arm is straight out from shoulder to elbow. The flute should be pushed away from the shoulder. The elbow should never be behind the shoulder.
The right shoulder is too far back. The right arm is back too far behind the body. Bring right elbow forward.
* INCORRECT *
CORRECT Flute comes out from mouth at angle just less than parallel with the ground. This is the result of bringing the instrument to the face.
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Flute angle is too far down, causing the head to bend to the left. This is what happens when the face moves to meet the flute. Remember, bring the flute to the lips.
* INCORRECT *
CORRECT The base of the cheek and base of the skull are on an equal plane.
The chin angle is tucked into the neck, closing off the throat.
Flute and body angle The flute should be pushed away from the right shoulder, the head turned towards the left There is an angle of about 40째 between the line of the shoulder and the line of the flute.
Flute and head angle Most flute players hold the flute at and angle dipping slightly downwards rather than horizontal, parallel to the floor. This dipping angle stops the arms from getting tired, and keeps the shoulders low and relaxed (best for good breathing) If the flute is held parallel to the shoulders, head held to the front (as seen in the diagram above on the right), neck and shoulder aches will develop, and the tone will suffer because areathing is effected. 27
SEATED PLAYING POSITION
* INCORRECT *
CORRECT The legs come out from the body at a slight downward angle, opening up the diaphragm. The core of the body is centered.
Where to begin? The elbow is too low and pushed up against the back of the chair, the back is curved and aginst the chair, the legs are crossed. Don’t do anything you see here!
* INCORRECT *
CORRECT Elbow is straight out from the shoulder
Elbow is behind chair and back is resting against the chair, hindering airflow.
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* INCORRECT *
CORRECT Elbow comes directly out from shoulder. Head is angled slightly to the left. Remember to push the flute away from the right shoulder.
The elbow twisting back from the shoulder, changing head direction to straight ahead rather than slightly to the left. Bring the right elbow forward to alleviate this problem.
CORRECT
* INCORRECT *
Flute comes slightly less than parallel to the ground.
The flute angle is pointing toward the floor. Bring the right elbow up to fix this problem.
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SITTING IN A GROUP/ENSEMBLE
The flute player’s face must be facing the conductor. This means that the chair will be facing the same direction that the legs come out from the body. Do not put more than 2 flute players on a stand. It is not possible to have more than 2 people on a stand with the proper chair & stand setup. A third person sharing the stand will not be able to see the conductor. Keep the correct posture and still see the conductor clearly. Your eyes, your music stand and the conductor should be in line, and the chair and your legs angled at about 40° to the right. 30
KEY LABELS
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FINGER PLACEMENT ON FLUTE LEFT HAND The fingers of both hands should have a curve. The contact point of the flute is on the left side of the base of the index finger joint. Notice the angle of the hand against the flute. The hand is not perpendicular to the flute, but because of the contact point of the side of the base of the index finger, the rest of the fingers then meet the flute at an angle. The pads of the fingers are placed on top in the middle of each key.
The right hand wrist should be raised far enough to that the fingers can reach over the top of the flute in a natural ark. The pads of the fingers should rest on top of the keys in the middle. The ring finger should be at a 90째 angle from the flute. The elbow should be at an angle which allows for the wrist and fingers to come up and over the flute.
RIGHT HAND
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FINGERING PRACTICE Fingering coordination exercise — anywhere!
Using the fingering labels above, try these Now try the same exercises with the exercises for coordination. Move the fingers in opposite hand. Remember, only lift the the order that they are listed. The other fingers fingers listed! The others must remain on must remain on the index finger. the index finger of the opposite hand. Exercise #1 (one finger at a time) 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 1, 3, 2, 4, 4, 2, 3, 1 Exercise #2 (2 fingers at a time) 12, 34, 13, 24, 14, 23, 12, 34, 13, 24, 14, 23, etc‌ Now make up your own exercises! Add more fingers, and more finger combinations
Right hand finger position
When you pick up a pencil, the natural tendency is to use the index and thumb.
When positioning the R.H. on the flute, the concept is very similar. 33
RIGHT HAND FINGER POSITION
Start with the right hand ring finger. It should remain at a 90° angle from the flute. Doing this will force the other fingers to align properly as a result.
Bring the rest of the fingers up, keeping the curve in the fingers. Notice how the ring finger remains perpendicular to the flute!
While placing the fingers on the keys, it is important to be aware of what your elbow and shoulder are doing. Don’t forget these very important factors as you work on finger placement. 34
CORRECT & INCORRECT RIGHT HAND FINGER POSITION
* INCORRECT *
CORRECT Tips of fingers curved, not flopping over keys. The meaty part of the finger is touching the middle of the keys
Right hand fingers not curved, flopping over the keys. Fingers should be touching the middle of each key.
* INCORRECT *
CORRECT Fingers curved, pad of fingers touching middle of the tops of each key. The elbow is at a natural level to hold the flute.
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Wrist is twisting, forcing the pinky to leave the vicinity of the Eb key. Make sure to keep the ring finger at a 90째 angle perpendicular to the angle of the flute. The elbow is being lifted too high, and should come down to a natural position from the shoulder.
CORRECT & INCORRECT LEFT HAND FINGER POSITION
*INCORRECT *
CORRECT The left hand thumb should have a slight curve to it.
Left hand thumb is touching the index finger. Keep the fingers curved to meet the keys
*INCORRECT *
CORRECT The left hand thumb should have a slight curve to it.
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The left hand thumb is straight. It needs to have a slight curve to it.
*INCORRECT *
CORRECT Pinky finger is hovering ever so slightly over the Ab key.
Pinky extended too far, not close to the Ab key. The wrist is bent almost perpendicularly from the forearm, which may result in cramping.
*INCORRECT *
CORRECT Contact point should be between the base of the index finger and the first joint.
Contact point #2 is not touching the flute! Bring it back home, and give it that loving it needs.
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PRODUCING A GOOD SOUND At a beginning level, it is important to keep the mouth hole smaller than the hole in the lip plate. The embouchure hole on the player should never exceed the size of the embouchure hole in the flute. You can track this with a mirror by spotting the vapor trail (on a cold day)
Vapor trail too wide
Say the word “Pure” – “pee-you-er”, this turns both lips slightly outwards. This will help to understand the concept of NOT turning the lips in, like most other instruments do when forming an embouchure. Tongue placement is important in producing a good sound. The tongue should be relaxed in the bottom of your mouth. Keep the tongue away from the roof of the mouth, or from moving too far forward or backward in the mouth. The tongue should not be touching the lower teeth. 38
For bottom octave and a half, it helps to have the upper lip protrude slightly. Be careful to listen for pitch as you do this.
Once you get above the staff, the lower lip should protrude out slightly. You embouchure is your octave key and tone modifier. One embouchure does NOT fit all.
There are 3 basic questions to always ask yourself, no matter what level of player you are: 1. How do you hold the flute so you don’t have to spend all your time worrying about holding it? 2. Where is the octave key? (The lip and air direction) 3. How do you get enough air to play?
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SOUND BETTER IMMEDIATELY Selections from the “Flute Spa” by Patricia George 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.
Check your flute Check you. Body alignment. Play some right hand scales (G and Ab) with the right hand on the barrel of the flute. Vibrate. Blow to left elbow bone. Thing about getting the tone “inside” the flute. Target practice. Plastic bag on headjoint. Scales: off the beat, dotted rhythms or tongue one, slur by 2s Third octave chromatic scales with 16, sixteenth notes per pitch-with thi, cka, hah, thicka and counted vibrato…. As loud as you can play. Don’t worry about tuning. Tonalization. Straw on the heajoint to find the “sweet spot” Position strip on headjoint to “look” at the vibrato. Center of fingertips to center of keys…like a magnet being drawn to another magnet. Raise the right hand index knuckle a bit. On a single pitch trace a design. Check to be sure that your keys are pointed to the ceiling. Go to the repair shop and try all the cheap crowns. Add a little weight at the end of your crown. Use plasticine to hold it in place. (Popcorn, lentils, etc…) Put a strip of Teflon or pipe tape around the end of your headjoint next to the crown. Put a piece of plastice in the end of your footjoint, extending about 1/8th of an inch. Think of the tone coming from the top (bony part) of your nose. Is the flute too high on your lip? The back edge of the flute should be where the skin changes from lip to chin skin. Practice some with your legs extended out in front of you.
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TONGUING The tongue is needed to make a clear, more precise beginning to the note, not as wooly or vague as in “huh” or “phoo”, more like “too” or “doo”. Say this: “tip of the tongue” or “he edited it”, and notice where the tongue strikes on the roof of the mouth. It should be hitting the top teeth about where the gums and the top teeth meet.
Practice a single note over and over. Be careful when you add the tongue to the equation that you do not mess up the embouchure when the tongue is added. Never use the tongue to stop the note. Start with “hoo”, then “koo”, then “doo”. The connection should be with the breath, not with the tongue.
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ARTICULATION TIPS 1. The secret to good articulation is to have proper breath support. The tongue will work more easily if it has a good cushion of air to interact with. 2. Use the syllable "tee" for single tonguing rather than "tah" or "too". The latter two syllables are both heavier and thuddier sounding, whereas, the syllable "tee" uses a lighter tongue stroke and less tongue surface when articulating. Save the other two syllables for accents or peasante-style playing. If you are an American, you might want to learn to speak French. American flutists generally have more trouble with tonguing too heavily due to the way we enunciate our language. French flutists, on the other hand, tend to have a lighter, cleaner articulation due to the way they enunciate theirs. So, try French! 3. The syllable "doo" is used for legato articulations or for soft tonguing in jazz music. 4. When tonguing, make sure to keep the tongue relaxed and retract the tongue downward to the bottom of the mouth. This way the tongue doesn't interfere with the air column you are blowing in between articulations. 5. If you think you might have a minor speech impediment that is interfering with your articulation, you might want to consider consulting a certified speech therapist for an evaluation.
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ONLINE HELP FINGERING SITES WEB ADDRESS
DESCRIPTION
http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/flute/
Excellent flute fingering chart
http://www.8notes.com/flute/fingering/
Click the note to display the fingering
http://www.musicked.com/musicked/pages/instruments /woodwinds/Flute/Flute-Fingerings.htm
Hover mouse over the note to display the fingering
http://www.musicracer.com/
Interactive flute fingering game See if you can beat level C!
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/flute/virtual/main. html#fingering
The Virtual Flute 3 Different ways to learn fingerings
http://www.larrykrantz.com/flpicfgr.htm
This is part of the site Patricia George calls, “One of the best flute sites in the world”
http://www.connselmer.com/content/resources/charts.php
Fingering charts for all instruments
ONLINE METRONOMES http://www.metronomeonline.com/
http://www.8notes.com/metronome/
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Easy to use, professional interface With click options: Tick, Pop Beat, Swing Beat, Rock Beat & Samba Beat
FLUTE PITCH TENDENCIES Most modern flutes have tone holes that are equal in size, whereas in purely acoustical terms they should be graduated. It is therefore wise to be aware of potentially off-key notes. This helps to make the necessary embouchure adjustments or employ alternative fingerings whenever they may be needed. The most seriously off-pitch note is usually C sharp in the treble staff and - to a lesser extent - C sharp above the staff.
Flutes tend to play sharp in louder sections and in the high register, and flat in quieter sections and in the low register. Similar to the flute, the piccolo is an instrument whose intonation tendencies have more in common with the clarinet than the flute. A piccolo’s middle register tends to be sharp, while its upper register tends to be flat. Because sound wavelengths on high notes are very short, even small pitch variations within the flute sections can produce a good deal of interference. The result can be much more annoying than if a group of bass clarinetists, baritone saxophone or even tuba players are slightly out of tune with each other. So it is safe to say that notes in the high register usually need less adjustment or movement of the head joint to get the note in tune than would a note in the staff. The use of a tuner is critical when adjusting for correct pitch! If a note is indicated by a tuner or heard by the ear as being sharp, the flute should be rolled in until it is in tune. Direction of air stream also plays a part in intonation. Experiment with different airstreams when notes are out of tune depending on the octave or range of the note. Conversely, when the note indicated is flat, the flute should be rolled out until the pitch is in tune. Each player must get used to just how much rolling is necessary.
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BASIC WARM-UPS Finger coordination warm-up Play the first 5 notes of any scale. Then move up the scale diatonically. Each note of the scale is a new scale. How high this warm up goes depends on the level of each student.
Octave slurs Without changing fingering, use all lip with a little bit of jaw. The point is to try to make a seamless sound, and to get the sound so it is hard to tell when the notes move from one octave to the next. (It only takes about 8 or 9 years to get this right!)
One Note piano-forte Embouchure Warm-up Start with soft sound on one note, and then make it loud on the same note. Just to keep one note in tune with itself at different dynamic levels requires a lot of change in the embouchure. You MUST use a tuner with this exercise.
Notice there are not pitch tendencies above the notes in this exercise. This is because when playing from soft to loud or loud to soft, each note must be adjusted individually. Chromatic Scale Play a chromatic scale up as high as currently capable.
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SUPER SCALES
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LEFT HAND ONLY EXERCISES LEFT HAND SCALES
LEFT HAND MELODIES
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CARE & MAINTENANCE Always dry the inside of the flute after use to prevent moisture from making the pads spongy or sticky. Use a cleaning-rod, not a mop (which has fibers that come off). Thread a piece of silk or cotton material through the eye of the rod and pass it up the sections of the flute before replacing the flute in its case.
Keep the outside clean with a soft cloth, and occasionally polish with a cloth impregnated with silver polish, not with liquid polish that might clog up the mechanism. The cleaning-rod should have a line at one end for checking the cork position – a wrong cork position affects tone and tuning quite drastically. Place the rod inside the head joint till it touches the cork – the notch should appear half-way along the blow hole. 48
Keep the joints clean, and NEVER grease the metal – grease attracts dust and dirt, which act as abrasives. Always store the flute in a dry, humidity-free environment. Don’t leave the flute in your vehicle! The pads are made of a material that will break down faster in humid climates.
Keep you pets away from your flute. It makes for a very expensive chew-toy.
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TIPS AND TRICKS! PROBLEM - Not Enough Air
TIP - TOY WINDMILL
Student not playing with enough air? Hold a toy windmill in front of the student, see if they can blow the windmill while producing a sound.
Make sure to sound a note on the flute, at the same time there must be enough air going into and across the head joint to move the windmill
PROBLEM – conceptualization of air stream angles
TIP - STRAW & HEAD JOINT
Air stream placement issues? If the student is not conceptualizing the air & mouth plate relationship, try a straw!
Use a common straw to help the student conceptualize the importance of controlling the direction of air on the lip plate. 50
PROBLEM – Fingers Leaving key vicinity or far away from keys
TIP – THE FINGER GARAGE
When the fingers are pointing away from the flute, and you are having trouble keeping them closer to the keys, try the finger garage!
The finger garage is a simple device that snaps onto the flute to keep the fingers under control.
PROBLEM – Air Stream Angles
TIP – PNEUMO PRO
The air stream angle you use for a high Ab pianissimo is a much different than the air stream you use for a fortissimo low C. Where do you aim and what do you do with the upper lip?
This device has propellers spaced out at different areas, to make changing the direction of the air stream a game! See if you can get each propeller to move separately from the rest of them, one at a time!
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PROBLEM – Cheek and Teeth or lips and teeth touching
TIP – “FLUFFIES”
Play 3 different notes using the same fingering – low, middle and high register. Focus on the separation of the mouth from the cheeks and teeth from the lips.
“Fluffies” may sound terrible, but they help to get the embouchure familiar with the feeling of separation between the cheeks/lips and the teeth.
PROBLEM - Fingers Too High Incorrect Hand Position
TIP – 2 RUBBER BANDS TOGETHER
Tie 2 rubber bands together and attach one end or both ends to different parts of the flute. This will help with different hand and finger position issues using the variations you see in the pictures. Using this method is much cheaper than the finger garage to keep the fingers closer to the keys.
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PROBLEM – Air Stream Angles
TIP – STRAW IN MOUTH
Another simple tool to help the student visualize the differences in angles of air. No hands should be used when trying this!
Have the student change the angle of the straw from lower to higher. Notice how the relationship between the lower and upper lips in each picture.
PROBLEM – Finger angles and pLacement on keys
TIP – MIDEVIL FINGER PLACEMENT DEVICE
If you can find this thing, it might help with finger placement….or cause carpal tunnel. * * author does not take responsibility for any physical damages which occur as a result of following through with ideas in this book.
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PROBLEM – Hand Position
TIP – bo pep
When student is having problem with different hand placement issues, the bo pep is a small clip-on device which helps to alleviate band hand and finger postitions.
The Bo Pep products eliminate cramping and help to correct hand position for both hands. They come in sets for many different functions for both left and right hands
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ALTERNATE FINGERINGS Solid aqua keys = depressed keys Yellow keys = trilled key
Lowered Middle C Adding 5 & 6 also works well for lowering the pitch on middle C#.
Soft High E This fingering makes it possible to play high E natural softly on the flute or piccolo without going flat. Don't use it for louder dynamics or you'll go sharp.
Lowered High Ab/G# This fingering helps high Ab/G# to respond more easily and lowers the pitch. It is the primary fingering for piccolo since the regular flute fingering doesn't respond as easily on the piccolo unless you are playing fortissimo.
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Soft High Bb This high Bb fingering responds easily without going flat in soft passages.
Alternate High G - A Trill For this trill, start from the regular high G fingering and go to this fingering, over-blowing to A and trilling 3. This trill is particularly good for the piccolo since you can't overblow the middle G-A fingerings like you do on the flute.
Alternate High F# This fingering lowers pitch, responds more easily and is easier to finger in fast passages. Using 5 instead of 6 for the lower two octaves of F# is not recommended except in fast passages as the pitch is flat and the tone color dull.
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C - D Trills Lower C - D Trill:
Higher C - D Trill:
Raised 3rd Octave C The addition of the G# key in this octave of C helps to keep the flutist from going flat. Adding the G# key to B natural and C# below and above this C also does the same thing for those notes.
Alternate High F - G Trill This fingering is used on open hole flutes and is helpful for sustained trills since it's less tiring than trilling the thumb. The G is also much better in tune than the regular trill fingering. The trick with this fingering is to depress the 2 and 4 keys only on the rings where the X's are marked and trill the ring on 4.
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FLUTE ACCESSORIES Cleaning Rod The cleaning rod servers 2 purposes. It is mainly used for holding the cleaning rag in place, but can also be used to adjust the cork in the head joint, which is covered later in this book.
Cleaning Rag The cleaning rag is used in conjunction with the cleaning rod. The rag is fed through the hole in the rod, which allows the rag to move back and forth in the flute.
Flute Flags The flute flag is similar to the cleaning rod. Flute flags absorb and remove moisture from the inside of flute. A flute flag is made with an ultra suede material, and does a much better job of cleaning the flute than the rod and rag.
Portable Flute Stand Flute stands hold your flute safely upright to keep it from being stepped on while you are away. The portable flute stands are very small and easy to travel with. The legs for the stand fold up to fit inside the stand, allowing it to fit in smaller areas, sometimes even the flute case!
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Wooden Flute Stand & Piccolo Stand The wooden flute stands are very sturdy but are not as convenient to transport. They are available in many configurations, such as the flute and piccolo stand together in one.
Chromatic Tuner & Clip-on Microphone A tuner is an electronic device which is used to help aid in getting the instrument in tune. Tuners are available at all music stores, and can run from under $20 to over $300, depending on the number of bells and whistles. Tuners work best when there is no interference from other instruments. That is why, when playing in a larger ensemble, the clip-on microphone is recommended. This allows tuning while in a group setting. To find out more about tuning the flute, see the “Tuning the flute� section in this book.
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Cleaning Paper / Cigarette Paper When the pads of the flute get sticky, it is important to have either cigarette paper or paper designed specifically for cleaning flute pads. How this is accomplished is covered in the “care and maintenance� section of this book.
Polishing Cloth This cloth is designed specifically for nickel and silver plated finished instruments. This will do the best job for cleaning joints. See this cloth in action in the “care and maintenance section of the book.
All the fingerings are CORRECT!
Finger Fax One of the most important flute accessories. This is a bookmark-size mini-fingering chart that fits inside the flute case. Fingerings on one side, trills on the other!
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Small Mirror A small mirror that fits on the music stand is very important in keeping an eye on everything you are doing involving embouchure, air flow, posture, breathing, and much more!
Pad Saver By removing moisture from your instrument's bore and pads, it will save you money on repairs and extend the life of your instrument!
Metronome Old or new style, electric or wind-up, a metronome is a necessary tool to help you keep time as you practice. They range from the very cheap (around $5 for a clip-on stand model) to hundreds of dollars (like “Dr. Beat” pictured on the right) Audio Recorder This is the H4 - Handy Recorder from Samson. http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901 Any audio recording device that records digital will be more than adequate for recording yourself during practice. Some have nice features such as slow down – without changing the pitch of the notes. This is very beneficial to find out which notes are out of tune, or which notes were missed all together.
Flute Case Cover Case covers are a nice extra if you can fit them in your budget. They are great for carrying around those often times handle-less flute cases. They also allow for more storage space with extra pockets.
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WORKS CITED WEB SITES HTML WEB ADDRESS
http://www.larrykrantz.com/ www.derm.net www.drlarrysmith.com www.musicshowcaseonline.com www.quickbits.net http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://members.glis.net/kjt/tealflutestudio/FluteTips&Tricks.html http://www.theconcertband.com/Band_training_intonation.htm http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1901
CONTENT USED Patricia George Articles Face muscles diagram Posture diagram Flute diagram Horse face image Brief history of the flute Articulation tips and Alternate Fingerings Pitch Tendency Info H4 Handy Voice Recorder Info
BOOKS TITLE The Do’s & Don’ts of Flute Playing The Breathing Gym Building the Flute from the Bottom Up: A Guide to Lip Flexibility Illustrated Flute Playing Flute Spa
AUTHOR(S) Janet Bergman & Thomas Filas Sam Pilafian & Patrick Sheridan Robert K. Webb & Kathryn Webb Thorson Robin Soldan & Jeanie Mellersh Patricia George
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PUBLISHER M.M. Cole Publishing Company Focus on Music
YEAR 1967
C.L. Barnhouse Company
1989
London Minstead Publications ABC Summer 2006 Notebook
1986, 1993 2006
2007