LFP 003 |Finger Coordination Tips

Podcast Transcript

Welcome to the Learn Flute Podcast- episode 3

Well Hi, and welcome back here for episode 3 of the Learn Flute Podcast. My name is Rebecca Fuller and this is where you find answers to your flute lesson questions.

On my website; Learn Flute Online I have literally hundreds and hundreds of video tutorials that walk you through how to play the flute step by step.

I have a pretty good system, and there are loads of busy-bee flute learners in there every single  day getting it done.. and loving it.

Today on this episode I”m going to be giving answers to one of the most common questions I get from beginner flute students.

“Why do My fingers feel so slow and uncoordinated”?

When a person first decides to learn to play the flute, they oftentimes have been listening to someone else who has already been riding the learning curve road of playing flute for quite some time. So, it’s easy to get the perception that it’s going to be as simple as the music sounds.

When they actually get started, they find out that there are a few surprises along the way.

The first thing people usually notice is that holding on to the flute feels crazy uncoordinated until you get some skills.

In the online video lessons I teach I show you how to combat this awkward feeling and get your hands in the right position so they feel more natural. This is one place where it definitely helps to have an experienced teacher in your pocket.

I always tell new students that all instruments are definitely not created equally. Take the piano for example; there are thousands upon thousands (if not millions) of piano students on this planet. There are several reasons for that – one being that the very first day a person walks up to it they are able to reach out, poke a key and make a perfectly clear tone- with no prior knowledge at all. 

If that same person were to open a flute case with intentions of learning on the first day – they wouldn’t get past how to put it together without some troubles let alone figure out how to make a tone on it.

That being said, the piano uses one finger per note – you have ten fingers .. so even though you have a  lot of early success the piano will then complicate itsself later on when you have to start reading and playing chords with many notes at one time etc etc etc. Whereas the flute uses all 10 fingers to create combinations for each note we stay always with a single note -always… because we only have one mouth! 🙂 So the reading of the music is definitey a lot easier.

Anyway, back to the important question we are discussing today;

“Why do my fingers feel so slow and clumsy”?

Well, it’s an easy one to answer – because you have to ‘teach’ your fingers to move one at a time first before it’ll feel easier.

So if you think about this you’ve seen a baby or a really small child coloring in a coloring book the basically have the crayon folded inside all of their fingers. Because babies spend their first few months and years ‘grabbing’ with all of their fingers.. it’s not until a later age when they can start picking things up with just a couple of fingers. That’s why we don’t teach writing with a pencil until a later age.

So, one exercise I can give you for this week is to practice using ALL of your fingers one at a time in different ways.

Get a bowl and fill it with marbles. Take some time each day to empty the bowl while using your thumb and one of your other fingers. Alternate hands. This is a really good start to creating the brain pathways you need for this type of coordination.

ANother exercise for you is to use your lap or your desktop to practice lifting one finger at a time. This sounds easy,.. but I’ll assure you it really is not. You’ll no-doubtedly have some troubles with some of your more ‘uncoordinated’ fingers.

Be sure and keep your palm down, and your hand relaxed so your fingers are slightly curved. Then keeping ALL fingers on the table or your leg, practice lifting only one finger up and then relax it back down.

Move through all of your fingers on your left and right hand – then try some combinations with two fingers at a time. This sounds really easy but I assure you it’s really not.

Try playing some games with yourself like; “can I lift both of my thumbs at the same time”? Or “Can I lift my pinkies and thumbs at the same time”? “What about my index fingers?

You can get as complicated as you want.

Don’t get frustrated here, It sounds super easy but it’s not

I think you’ll find it a challenge, and if you do this regularly you’re going to become more and more fluent at the art of ‘finger lifting, pushing, and relaxing’.

Well, there’s your big tip for today.

I hope you enjoyed it. It’s for you and your learning.

I want to help you with your goal of becoming a good flute player. Remember, if you haven’t already come over to the Learn Flute Online website and gotten yourself signed up for the email list and some free lessons to get you started – it’s time to do so. You won’t be sorry!

See you next time.