There is actually a recipe for how to have pretty high notes on flute. Let me walk you through some of the skills you’ll need to consider and learn about so you can feel better and sound better as you are playing your instrument. The high register of the flute is where we are heard the best, especially in band and orchestra, but it tends to be super sharp in pitch! So the questions is…how […]
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More and more, fresh, young composers these days will use extended techniques for the instruments they are writing. In this article, I want to explore three of the more commonly used techniques that you might come across in higher level band, orchestra, chamber music, or more advanced solo repertoire. Any sound made by using the flute in unusual ways. First of all, what is an extended technique? I like to think of extended technique as
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E in all the octaves are one of the famous problem notes. But is doesn’t have to be that way. This article will teach you how to improve the note E on the flute. The fingering of E acts kind of like an overtone, that’s why it’s much harder to control. Middle E: We need to treat E like we would treat a higher overtone. An overtone is when we blow a note too hard and
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I recently had a student ask me that they have troubles hearing pitch on the flute. They explained to me that they play other instruments and have no troubles. This quick article will help you understand what it takes to really learn to hear pitch. First of all, let’s define pitch as being the ‘exact tone’ you’re aiming for. When people say they need to learn to play on pitch, they are actually saying they
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Playing fast is one of the great loves of all flute players. The problem is that often we like to play fast right away, before the music is even learned all the way. We sometimes expect to go faster than we can, so we get angry, embarrassed, frustrated, or we lose confidence. All of these hurt our playing so much more than they help. When learning how to have faster fingers for flute playing, two
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We have some cool terminology in music. If you’re not well versed you may not know what these words all mean. What is vibrato? Let’s get scientific today and explore a super important term called ‘vibrato’. Vibrato is basically a slight fluctuation of pitch that occurs when the air speed is fast enough that it oscillates. Whew! There are a lot of big words in there! Fluctuation is when something doesn’t stay steady. Oscillation describes
I was asked by a student why their shoulder hurts so much when they practice. Great question! Here are some of my answers: Sometimes it just means you need to take a break. You might be new at holding your flute up for that amount of time. Just put your arms down for a few seconds and then you can start again. You’ll get stronger within practice and time. But, if your shoulder hurts when
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[headline style=”1″ font_size=”24″ font_font=”Shadows%20Into%20Light” font_style=”bold” font_color=”%23f96f4d” align=”left” headline_tag=”h2″]How To Fade On The Flute[/headline] The fade away of a long note can be one of the most effective musical techniques in the playbook. But it also can be a little tricky, because it’s really easy to go flat, or dive bomb the longer you go and the softer you get. Here are three analogies that explain some crucial principals about good flute playing and will
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Finger a low C and find your best, beautiful sound. Now blow a little faster, see how a higher, smoky sounding note pops out? Now experiment a little bit. More air, less air, direct it higher up toward the ceiling, then down toward the floor. See all the different notes you can play with just one fingering? You can do this with almost all of your fingerings. These are harmonics. Harmonics for flute are mystical,
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I have students ask me questions along the lines of “Why should I practice scales?” or “Why should I practice arpeggios?” It’s possible that it may not be as exciting as your new shiny solo, or as they say in German “langweilig” which basically means possibly tedious and repetitive, but scales and arpeggios are not only important, but super-duper CRUCIAL. Let me use some analogies to put into perspective. “Scales are brick foundation for your flute playing.” When
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