How many notes can you play on a flute? I get this question of how many notes a flute can play every so-often in my inbox from one of you awesome online-flute-learners. During a student’s first few flute lessons, I like to give students a visual of what is to come. It is exciting and fun to find out there are so many notes on this beautiful instrument. I play the chromatic scale for them …
Five of the keys on an open-hole flute are just that, open holes in the keys. When purchased new, these flutes usually come with little rubber corks in the holes. After a player is brave and ready, they can remove these corks all at once or one at a time. At first, it takes a little adjustment to make sure the finger-tops can properly seal off the entire hole. Until the holes are sealed well …
There’s a strange phenomenon that sometimes happens when flutists are playing, and you can actually ‘hear’ them humming or “gk-gk”-ing inside their throat. Not real pretty. What to do? Here’s the fix:
Recently I had a fellow flute student tell me that they just have too much spit when playing the flute and it gets in the way of their sound and ability to play. Is this something you have noticed as well? It’s hard to play the flute well when you have a river running through it. We want to sound our best all of the time, and having excess spit in our mouth and airstream …
Why is it so hard to play the flute when my hands are cold? What can I do about it? This is the question for today and no worries, I have the answers. If you’re here reading this today, I’m going to assume that you’ve had an experience trying to play the flute when your hands were cold or frozen. It’s hard isn’t it? This article is all about why it is so difficult and …
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In this article I want to answer the question, “Are flute head joints different?” And the answer is – yes actually. They do come in slightly different sizes and shapes as well. Student model flutes are usually factory stamped out, so they aren’t very different within brands, but different brands and models have their own signature sizes and shapes for sure. Once you start getting into the higher level flutes- like the advanced and professional …
Recently I received a question from a flute student who asked, “Should I keep the plugs in my open-holed flute?” You may know a bit about these plugs mostly found in Intermediate level flutes, or perhaps you don’t even know what I’m talking about. No worries, let me explain in case you’re kind of clueless right now. The student model flutes almost always come with regular (closed-hole) key tops that are solid metal (no holes), …
Most music relies on keeping a steady beat. It just feels good to us. We feel rhythms and patterns all day long from brushing our teeth to playing games like jump-rope and basketball. Many people aren’t perfect when keeping the beats perfect. Let’s explore the benefits of practicing steady beat with your body. This morning I have been noticing the natural rhythms around me. The first sound I heard was my son padding up the …
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Did you know that there are so many different styles of flutes? Beyond the original silver flutes, I’ve seen gold flutes, rose gold, red, blue, and all different colors of plastic flutes as well. I’ve also seen flutes that are so unique and intricately styled with designs and additions. Today I want to talk to you about different flute designs and whether or not they effect your sound. A new flute can make a big …
Are you planning on (or are already) being a dedicated music student? In the flute world there are many really great scholars. Are you one of them? Let’s find out as you learn today how to grade yourself as a music student. I recently had one of my non-formal students ask me to please give them an official grade just as if they were one of my college students. Interesting? Here’s some of the criteria …