Tips for Flutists Katherine Borst Jones Professor of Flute, The Ohio State University

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1 Tips for Flutists Katherine Borst Jones Professor of Flute, The Ohio State University OPENING EXERCISE: Breathe in and out - reach to the sun; swim; embouchure variables; trombone breathing ex.; Darth Vader breathing ex.; blow on hand up and down; head nods with finger below lip; PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS: A. Flutes should be carefully checked for the following: cork placement and seal pads closing and joints tight head and foot joint alignment - Put the flute together carefully-line it up the same way everyday - KEYS to the SUN! Position of the headjoint - straight on or turned in abit. Do not turn it out if pitch is flat. ex. for headjoint and footjoint B. Chair placement and position Front row, right or left side? Enough space? Projection issues Sound comes from the head joint, not the end of the flute C. HEAR THE NOTE FIRST, Sing it, then play it!! Intonation is in the ear of the player D. Cleaning rag outside of the case. Flute never on the music stand. THE FLUTE I. Innate characteristics and Balance issues Each octave is progressively louder - Push through changes of direction Slurred notes sound louder than tongued notes Long notes sound louder than short note II. Body Position and Balance Body position: lengthen and widen, butt bones, feet on the floor, feel tall, take up space, lengthen and widen, proud to be flutist, fingers move from the behind the knuckles, thumb from almost to the wrist Check for BALANCE and RELAXATION and NO EXTRA MOVEMENT Right Hand Position - hold a pop can, pick up mug, write on blackboard Left Hand Position - cradle the flute, push the heel of the hand to the end of the flute, keys to up towards the sun Head on top of the spine (AO joint) - Watch for turtle position; flute to you Blow towards the LH elbow - elbows down 1

2 JAW - SIRENS TRICK: feet off floor for breathing Introduce Herbert (LH 1st finger - up for D and Eb), George (LH pinkie - lazy, Percy (RH pinkie - the weight of the flute) III.Tone and Vibrato Headjoint only exercises - tunes Harmonics with long tones Breathing tips: finger breath, inhale using only the foot joint, trombone arms Placement: in/out, up/down, forward/back, side to side Embouchure variables: pout, lip, jaw Throat tuning, whistle tones, vocalization Drop the Adams Apple to open the throat MOVE the AIR To work on blend, experiment with saying different colors. RED relates to EDGY YELLOW relates to MELLOW Vowel sounds help find different tonal colors Vibrato - from the vocal folds, not the diaphragm (involuntary muscle) Width (pitch and volume change) and speed. Exercises: use metronome, soft to loud and back, the train Vibrato narrows for soft playing and widens for louder playing In large groups teach students to hide their vibrato, except for solos IV. Intonation tips, exercises and fingerings EAR FIRST, SING FIRST-Listen for beats and difference tones To roll, or not to roll? That is the question! Bends, sirens, jaw, lips, eh-oh Teach FLEXIBILITY - smile to fish face - Octaves and diminuendos - the relationship Tendencies: by register, number of fingers, tapers (lips together), dynamics Harmonic series and exercises/octaves and intervals V. Articulation and annunciation Move the air, interrupt the air, tongue placement, la-la-la (da-da-da) laughing; tongue is a valve, da, du, ta, ti, te multiple ways to start a note tongue-less/breath attacks "forte air, pianissimo tongue" 2

3 VI. Technique LH/RH finger trills fingers close and relaxed make sure the is flute working SCALES, major, minor, chromatic, whole tone, blues, modal etc. VII. Piccolo tips Every flute player should learn to play the piccolo, the sooner the better. Playing the piccolo improves intonation control, air speed and it teaches one to use a smaller aperture. CHECK THE POSITION OF THE HEAD JOINT CORK. Place it according to the pitch of the D3. The cork often needs to be pushed in so the third octave is not flat or hard to play. VIII. The role of Flute choir/ensembles in a Wind program Sectionals, outside playing opportunities and literature improvement of ensemble skills and intonation; friendship and support IX. Let s Review - the TOP TEN TIPS (what to say) 1. Feet off the floor (support)/sit on the fence 2. Hear the note first...move the air 3. Keys to the sun 4. Herbert (up for D and Eb) 5. Drop the Adams Apple (instead of open the throat) 6. Nod your head (up for flat, down for sharp) 7. Keep the flute down and turned out for a big tone 8. Fortissimo Air, Pianissimo tongue 9. Push through changes of direction 10. Balance the flute and SING! X. Visual Aids Different sizes of straws to demonstrate the principle of the octave (move the straw/lip closer to the outer edge of the embouchure hole) Bread or plastic bags to blow into to show the use of our air in articulation and vibrato Pinwheels to put in front of a flutist to help them keep the air moving Blocki device to show the direction of the air. 3

4 XI. MORE Piccolo Pointers Pitched in C or Db, the piccolo is the smallest member of the flute family serving as an extension to the flute range. The range is from D5, 4th line on the staff, to C8 three octaves higher, sounding an octave higher than written. Piccolos are made of various materials, including wood (professional models), plastic or metal. Most piccolos are conical bore. Cylindrical piccolos are best for beginners (metal Emersons and Jupiters). Keep a look out for old Haynes cylindrical piccolos. Burkart, Keefe, Haynes, and Powell are fine professional brands. Gemeinhart, Weisman and Yamaha make fine student level piccolos. When purchasing a piccolo, check the highest B fingering to make sure it is playable. Experiment with the RH pinkie if the note doesn t come out. (True for other high register notes as well). Play it like a little flute with a faster, narrower vibrato, appropriate for its range. Place the piccolo higher on the lip. Remember to place the flute lower on the lip when returning to the flute. Use breath as if playing the flute, don t pinch with lips. Pitch is a sensitive issue for piccolo players. Every instrument has different tendencies which usually are different for those of the flute. Experiment with alternate fingerings. There are many fine piccolo fingering charts available. (Burkart, Krell, Tanzer) Piccolo players should be encouraged to warm down on the flute after playing the piccolo for any substantial amount of time. Students with an excellent ear for pitch, more narrow lips who are risk takers make fine piccolo players, although any fine flute player is a candidate! Use slow movements of baroque sonatas, the Maquarre Daily Studies, Drouet etudes, and adapt other fine flute methods for the piccolo. Check out the Tulou Piccolo Method and Learning to Play the Piccolo by Clement Barone. Use the Wellbaum Orchestral Excerpts and the Patricia Morris Piccolo Excerpts Books. Marching Band tip: keep a plastic baggie handy for rain protection. 4

5 INTONATION GENERALITIES: 1) first octave notes tend to be FLAT 2) third octave notes tend to be SHARP 3) the longer the tube, or the more fingers down, the FLATTER the pitch 4) the shorter the tube, or the fewerfingers down, the SHARPER the pitch 5) levels of greater dynamic or intensity tend to be SHARP 6) levels of lower dynamic or intensity tend to be FLAT 7) during crescendos, one becomes SHARP 8) during decrescendos, one becomes FLAT 9) ascending passage, intervals are stretched SHARP 10) descending passages, intervals are stretched FLAT TO SOLVE (Remedies): 1) Check headjoint cork position with your cleaning rod 2) Check headjoint alignment, in too far - FLAT, out to far SHARP. Check basic body position. 3) Tune flute with tuning fork or tuner to As and Ds - pull if SHARP, push in if FLAT 4) Check breath pressure - move the air maintaining air speed (airplane analogy) 5) Use flexible embouchure - bends - ee - ohh 6) Check the variables of embouchure placement: sharp flat up on lip vs. down on lip (keep as low as possible) forward vs. back (against shoulders) rolled in vs. rolled out on lip 7) Hold flute still, duck head to play FLATTER, raise head to play SHARPER. Avoid rolling the flute in and out once a good tone has been established. 8) Check aperture size; to FLATTEN, open it, to SHARPEN close it 9) Practice pear analogy - sharp to flat, insert a pear into the mouth 10) Practice octaves, then diminuendos - notice the motion is the same 11) Practice harmonics, matching the harmonic fingering to the regular fingering, know the harmonic series 12) Know alternate fingerings, including half holing on open hole flutes Soft to loud we: a) Say ee--ohh b) Distance of air stream goes from short to longer c) Direction of air stream goes from high to lower d) Aperture goes from smaller to larger e) Pear analogy-bring pear from out of mouth to the lower back of mouth f) Bring jaw forward - Drop lower jaw g) Lift head - Duck head h) Rollout - Roll in Loud to soft we: a) - h) do opposite of above h) Move flute forward with hands at the ends of phrases to bring pitch up 5

6 i) INTONATION -- tendencies and fingering solutions: NOTE TENDENCY SOLUTION 3rd octave C sharp play 3rd octave B with LH thumb up (B trill fingering) OR add gizmo and add RH B sharp add gizmo and add RH 2 OR F#, both trills A sharp add RH 3 and/or 2 G# sharp add RH 2 3 G sharp F# sharp use RH 2 instead of 3 F sharp add RH 3, OR overblow Bb (very flat) E sharp lift RH pinkie E to sharpen and guarantee soft entrance, add RH 2nd trill D# sharp RH pinkie plays both D# AND C# KEYS (try this on other pitches) D sharp same as D# C# sharp add RH nd octave C sharp add RH B sharp add RH A# sharp add RH 2 3 A sharp add RH G F# can use RH 2 instead of 3 F can use RH 3 E flat add RH 2nd trill D# flat add RH 1st trill D C# very sharp add RH st octave C sharp B down to flattens during descend B FOR SECOND AND THIRD OCTAVE NOTES, EXPERIMENT WITH HARMONIC FINGERINGS 6

Class Notes MUS 733 Flute. Craig Heydenburg

Class Notes MUS 733 Flute. Craig Heydenburg Class Notes MUS 733 Flute Craig Body Mapping and Balance (CP 10 & 11) Alexander Method mysterious but hands on Don t get in your own way Barbara (& William) Conable developed Body Mapping Makes playing