Flute – How Flute Scales Can Transform Your Playing

Posted on June 17, 2018June 17, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – How Flute Scales Can Transform Your Playing

Flute – Just mentioning flute scales to a student can make them shudder! It’s a shame, but so many players waste valuable practise time blundering through their scales as quickly as possible. But given the right care and attention, scales have the power to contribute to your flute playing in a way you never knew possible! By learning scales you are learning the language of music. And by making your flute scales beautiful, the pieces you play will automatically reflect this beauty. This article will explain how scales help to create music as well as the specific benefits they can provide in developing flute tone, a flexible flute embouchure, intonation and smooth, accurate fingering. Watch as I walk you through an example of how to approach learning scales in my video below…

What are scales?

Scales are simply collections of notes in each octave, and are the building blocks of music. In Western music, each octave contains 12 notes but typically only seven are used at a time in a piece of music. This is called the heptatonic system. Composers use a given scale to create melodies and harmonies. You can see the seven-note scale a piece is based on by looking at the key signature at the beginning. The collection of flats or sharps written in the key signature shows all (or most) of the notes that are contained within the piece (of course you need to watch out for exceptions!). Scales are usually written and played first in ascending order (each note increasing stepwise in pitch) and then back down again in descending order. Scales can be played within just one octave or repeated over two or even three octaves.

The first octave of the C major scale

Types of scales

The spaces between notes used in heptatonic scales can either be whole steps or half steps which are known as tones and semitones. A tone is equal to two semitones. An example of two notes that are a tone apart are the notes G and A. The first semitone is G to G# and the second semitone is G# to A. the 12 notes in each octave are all one semitone apart from one another. Playing each of these notes in sequence is known as the chromatic scale. The patterns of gaps between the notes (called intervals) help to create different categories of heptatonic scales. There are many categories however for simplicity I will mention the two you will most likely encounter as beginner players – major and minor.

Major Scales

Major scales are often thought of as the ‘happy’ sounding scales. They are constructed based on the following pattern of tones (T) and semitones (S): T-T-S-T-T-T-S. There are 12 major scales (that begin on each of the 12 notes in any octave). The simplest major scale is C major, which has no sharps or flats in the key signature and is one of the first scales that beginners learn.

Minor Scales

Minor scales are often thought of as the ‘sad’ sounding scales. The minor scales are a little more complex than major scales, as there are three separate variations of them – Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor and Melodic Minor. Each of these minor scales has a different pattern of intervals that they are constructed upon. The natural minor interval pattern is T-S-T-T-S-T-T. Hang on, you say… that looks familiar! You’re right – the natural minor scales follow the same interval pattern of major scales, but just starting on the 6^th note. The A minor scale is the relative minor of the C major scale and vice versa, C major is the relative major of the A minor scale. They both share the same collection of sharps and flats, their key signature is the same and you’ve just learnt two scales at once!

C major – c d e f g a b c (the 6^th note is A)

A minor – a b c d e f g a (starting on the A, we use the same pattern of tones and semitones to play the A minor scale)

The harmonic minor interval pattern is T-S-T-T-S-A2-S. Just to confuse you, this scale includes an augmented second (A2) interval (which is a gap of three semitones). The melodic minor scale is even more complex, having one interval pattern on the ascending notes (T-S-T-T-T-T-S), and a second interval pattern on the descending notes (T-S-T-T-S-T-T).

Technically, once you know the interval patterns of each type of scale, you can work out the notes you need to play. A handy resource that visualises the relationships between the 12 notes on the chromatic scale, their relative major and minor scales and their key signatures is called the ‘Circle of Fifths.’ (Google to have a look, but we won’t cover that in this article).

Variations on flute scales

Once we know a scale we can modify how we play it by leaping from note to note. Arpeggios, broken chords and scales in thirds are three ways we can do this.

Arpeggio is an Italian word that means ‘to play on a harp’. In a sense we ‘pluck’ selected notes from a scale that make up a chord – usually the first, third, fifth note (and eighth note or octave). Being a flute we can’t play chords like a piano or guitar – we can only play the notes one by one. Using C major scale as our example again, the arpeggio would be played as follows. C major – c d e f g a b c (the first, third, fifth and eighth notes that make up the C major chord are highlighted)

Broken chords go one step further and play the arpeggio notes over and over again, beginning on each step of the arpeggio – so cegc, egce, gceg, cegc. For scales in thirds, an interval called a ‘third’ is inserted between each note of the scale ce, df, eg and so on…

These variations of the scales really make us think of the scales in different ways, and prepare us for the leaps we would likely find in our music. As beginners these scale variations are slightly more advanced so we will first concentrate on learning the base scales themselves. If you plan on progressing through flute exams, these will be gradually introduced into the technical work you will be assessed on.

What are the benefits to practising your flute scales?

Because all (or most) of a piece of music is based on a scale, practising your flute scales and arpeggios means that you are practising the patterns of notes that you will find in your pieces. Don’t view scales as a burden on top of pieces that you are learning, but each scale is assisting you in playing your pieces better. Specific benefits include

Learning new music will take you less time and sight-reading (playing an unknown piece ‘on the spot’) becomes easier.
Ear training – as you learn the intervals between notes, you’ll be able to tell when they aren’t played correctly. For example if you make a mistake (accidently playing a sharp/ flat instead of a natural note) or if you are playing out of tune, which you can correct by adjusting either your playing technique of the configuration of the flute
Muscle memory – by playing flute scales over and over again you will be able to make the finger movements almost unconsciously. All the little individual details you once had to think of when you were first learning to play notes in sequence (which fingers are up or down, balancing the flute, tonguing the note, timing of moving multiple fingers on both hands simultaneously) will morph into one fluid movement
Co-ordination – scales allow you to bring multiple musical concepts together such as rhythm, articulation patterns, vibrato and dynamics. Once again, essential in making beautiful music.
Improved sense of internal rhythm – by practicing to a metronome and by rewriting scales to include lots of different rhythms, counting will become second nature
Improved flute tone – particularly by practising scales slowly you will learn which notes require more attention to produce better tone. This goes hand in hand with working on your embouchure shape and size over the scale. You will learn the adjustments you need to make to maintain good tone over the entire range of notes (from very low to very high).

How to approach practising flute scales

There are really no ‘rules’ when it comes to practising scales. Whatever your method, the outcome should always be to produce your best sound and to link in other musical concepts to make them more like a piece of music. Quite often it’s the mechanical way scales are practised that can make people dislike them so much! I’ve collated some of the methods used by players that may help you tackle them in a way that’s melodic, enjoyable and most productive. Watch below as I give an example of learning the F major scale. I recommend spending up to 20 minutes of your practise time on scales to get the most out of them.

Flute tone colours: How to Find Your Flute’s Voice

Posted on June 17, 2018June 17, 2018 by Cristy

Flute tone colours: How to Find Your Flute’s Voice

Flute – So you’ve managed to make a sound on the flute. Fantastic!! But now there’s more work to do! Your sound or ‘flute tone’ needs to be refined to become clear and focused. And this means for every note and over all dynamic ranges! Good tone is often one of those things kicked to the curb by beginners, simply in their excitement to learn new notes and start playing melodies. However, months or even years of playing without an understanding of what affects your tone will mean the musicality of your playing will suffer. You’ll be able to play the flute, but you won’t be able to play it beautifully.

In this article I’ll explain what is meant by flute tone and what major factors contribute to your instrument’s unique ‘voice’. In my quick video below, I’ll show you how some simple mistakes could be sabotaging your flute tone and how to correct them.

What is meant by flute tone?

Flute tone or flute tone colour refers to the quality of sound a flute produces. In general, tone colour helps to distinguish different musical instruments apart, even if they play the same note at the same volume. It can go to a level deeper and is even used to describe the subtle differences of the same note played by two different flutists or by the same player on two different flutes. The player’s ability to modify the ‘voice’ of their instrument helps to add expression and create a personalised performance of a piece of music. Just as if you were reading a fairy tale to a child and voicing different characters, your flute should be communicating a story to your audience (even if that audience is just you for now!).

How sound works in the flute

To understand flute tone colours we need to understand how sound is produced in the flute. The vibrating air inside the instrument produces sound waves. The number of waves occurring each second is known as the frequency. High notes are produced by high frequency waves, and low notes are produced by low frequency waves. When we play a note, we are actually playing several note frequencies at set intervals from the original note (called overtones) all at once. This collection of frequencies is known as the harmonic series of each note.

The overtones within a flute note

An example harmonic series of low C. Source: Wilcocks (2006)

These overtones are blended together so that we really only hear one dominant note (known as the fundamental). The differences in tone colour between musical instruments are due to characteristic combinations of overtones from this harmonic series. So is there a ‘perfect’ combination of overtones? The answer is not really because studies show we all have rather unique tone preferences. But overall, a note that either lacks the upper harmonics or has one harmonic that is overly excessive are considered the least pleasant for listeners.

Describing flute tone colours

You’ll hear lots of different words used to describe flute tone such as dark, bright, singing, rich, dull, airy… If you’ve done any reading on flute playing you’ll have come across a frustratingly large number of ways to describe tone. Playing with a variety of flute tone colours requires some imagination as well as player skill. Visualising the sounds as colours of the rainbow spectrum or by using emotive describing words (such as ethereal or veiled) can help players achieve some tone ‘personality’. The extremes of tone such as ‘breathy’ and ‘clear’ are relatively easy for listeners to distinguish. But some descriptions of tone are more subtle and require an ear that has been trained by listening to many examples of flute playing. As a general rule of thumb words such as dark or mellow describe sounds that are rich in the lower overtones. Bright, edgy and hard typically describe sounds that are rich in the higher overtones.

A study examining consistency of tone descriptors found that it’s a highly subjective area. Participants were given a series of long tone notes played by various flutists and simply asked to listen to and describe the quality of the sound without any guidance. Ten common descriptors were identified by the group. Some of the long tone notes played were easily categorised as either great quality (described as focused, clear and rich) or poor quality (described as unfocused, airy and weak). But other sample notes were far more difficult and showed a confusing mixture of tone descriptors by the participants. Interestingly, the more experienced flutists showed they preferred different tone colours to the student group.

Spectral analysis of flute tone

A spectral analysis of the same note played by two players. The harmonic overtones within the note are represented by the coloured lines. The left note was judged as ‘poor’ quality by listeners and shows an imbalance of the upper and lower overtones and one excessive overtone. The right note shows a more even balance of all overtones and was judged as ‘great’ by listeners. Source: Yorita (2015)

How flute tone is affected

Subtle differences in flute tone colour can be modified by emphasising either the lowest or highest overtones. There are two major factors overall that contribute to the strength and number of these overtones

The embouchure shape of the player; and
The quality of the materials and cut of the embouchure hole itself.

The role of the embouchure in flute tone

The vertical and horizontal placement of the instrument against your chin as well as the shape and size of your aperture are crucial to a well-formed embouchure. They influence the angle, distance and speed of air striking the embouchure hole, which are key factors in good tone production. Slow air speed favours lower overtones producing a darker, fuller sound. Faster air speed favours the higher overtones producing a brighter tone. Air directed at a shallow angle across the embouchure hole favours the higher overtones. Playing with different aspects of your embouchure is the primary way tone is influenced.

(Struggling to find your own unique embouchure and hit that flute tone ‘sweet spot?’ Try the simple steps I outline in my 5-part “How to Play Flute” video series.)

Resonance and flute tone

A resonator is a hollow cavity that vibrates with and amplifies sound waves. Essentially it acts as an echo chamber that adds volume and enhances the combination of overtones within a sound. The flute tube acts only as a partial resonator, meaning the body of the flutist must also act as one. The vibrating column of air that travels back and forward between the flute and the body’s resonators are responsible for sound production. The flutist’s largest resonator is the mouth and throat cavity. The position of the tongue, jaw, soft palate and cheeks are all factors that the flutist can control to influence its size and shape. The size of the resonator needed to produce the purest and most intense sound depends on the pitch of the note. Higher notes require smaller resonators and lower notes require larger resonators. Adjusting the size of these body resonators appropriate to the pitch of the note being played will produce a fullness to your sound over the entire note range.

The role of flute materials in flute tone

Flutes can be made from a vast array of metals and alloys that range significantly in price and quality. Many professional players swear that certain materials have very distinctive ‘tone colours.’ For example the tone of silver flutes is often described as bright whereas gold is described as warm and deep. Do more expensive instruments sound better? Most experienced players would say yes! But it’s difficult to pinpoint whether the improvement in sound is due to the higher quality materials used or the more precise craftsmanship of a handmade flute.

Studies to determine whether material really influences flute tone colour have been conducted. One such study tested whether experienced players and listeners could identify the material a flute was made of, and describe the tone of each. A passage of music was played by various players on instruments made from seven different materials. The sound spectrums were analysed and found no statistically significant difference in tone between the instruments played by each player. However, the sound spectrums differed greatly between players. This suggests that unique player factors (i.e. embouchure, breath control etc) are really responsible for flute tone colour. Once again, the tone descriptors used by the listeners often contradicted one another, showing the subjective nature of stereotypes players have of flute material types.

Experimenting with flute tone and resonance

Whatever your instrument is made of and the playing level you’re at, your objective should always be to produce a sound that is pleasant to the listener. So take some time experimenting with aspects of your embouchure and note the changes in your tone. Play one note (such as a low G) for this exercise, close your eyes or record yourself and slowly work through making changes to

The vertical and horizontal position of the flute
The positioning of your arms
The amount of lip coverage of the embouchure hole
The length and depth of the aperture and
The angle of the air jet by moving your jaw and/or lips back and forward.
The speed of air

Watch as I give this exercise a go…

Pick one of these flute tone colours that sounds the best to you (remember – focused, rich and clear). Can you match that same tone when playing higher or lower notes?

Next, you can attempt to enhance these different tones by playing around with the idea of resonance. Practise by forming the vowel sounds A-E-I-O-U, dropping your jaw, yawning with your mouth closed as you play to make changes to the shape and size of the throat cavity.

Have fun as you learn to make your flute ‘speak’.

Flute – How to Beat Music Performance Anxiety

Posted on June 16, 2018June 16, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – How to Beat Music Performance Anxiety

Flute – Music performance anxiety (also known as stage fright) affects musicians of all ages and abilities. Studies of thousands of musicians have found that most suffer some form of music performance anxiety. And most of these have had performances that they felt were affected by their anxiety. For some people it can be so overwhelming it prevents them from pursuing a career as a professional flute player.

Flute – Signs of music performance anxiety

Have you felt one of these anxiety signs before or during an audition, exam or performance?

Trembling hands
Rapid and shallow breathing or hyperventilation
Nausea
Increased sweating
Negative thoughts of fear and failure
Feelings of panic
Increased heart rate
High blood pressure
Dry mouth.

For flute players, these can be big problems as we need steady hands and control over our breathing to perform well. In particular, our ability to form and maintain the shape of the embouchure is vitally important. Breathing more rapidly or tensing our lips and cheeks from nerves can mean our tone quality and playing endurance can be severely affected.

Flute – What causes music performance anxiety?

There’s generally no single cause of music performance anxiety. But there are several scientific models that have tried to describe how music performance anxiety works. One suggests that it’s a relationship between arousal (stimulation/ stress/ anxiety) and performance. So both low and high stress can produce poorer performance results, but medium levels of anxiety actually benefit performance. Another widely accepted model suggests three factors contribute to music performance anxiety. That distressing thoughts lead to automatic stimulation and behavioural responses. In other words, music performance anxiety can be expressed on emotional and physical levels, as well as on the levels of thinking and behaviour. The person, the task and the situation can all contribute.

Flute – Anxiety is a natural response

On a really basic evolutionary level, we’re all born with the ‘fight or flight response’. If we see something that looks or feels threatening, our body releases chemicals that help us to either speed away in the opposite direction or fight our way out of the situation. A music performance is rarely a life or death situation. But what matters is the way we allow our brain to perceive it. So, if we can recognise when we start to interpret an event as negative and determine whether these thoughts are actually true, we can retrain ourselves to think differently. We can remove those unhelpful thoughts and change our behaviour.

Flute – Can music performance anxiety be prevented?

Whilst it’s difficult to completely prevent music performance anxiety, concepts of dealing positively with it ideally should begin during childhood and adolescent music education. Adolescents are particularly psychologically vulnerable and this can be a time when memories of negative performances can be stored permanently in our brains. It’s also a time in our lives when self-esteem and self-confidence can be low. The most beneficial thing that teachers can do is to ease students into positive performance opportunities to ‘normalise’ performance from an early age, reassure them that MPA is very normal and equip them with a range of techniques to cope.

Flute – Managing your music performance anxiety

The scientific literature is full of strategies to manage music performance anxiety. I’ve reviewed many research papers and the following strategies have been shown to significantly reduce it in performers. By harnessing one or more of these, you can give yourself the best chance of overcoming anxiety and performing at your best.

Flute – Turn your anxiety into excitement

Naturally, most people try to counteract their feelings of anxiety by trying to ‘calm down.’ The difficulty with this is that you are trying to move from a state of automatic high stress and stimulation to one of deliberate low stimulation. Research suggests that it’s actually easier to instead move from a state of anxiety to a state of excitement because both are states of high stimulation. The difference is that excitement is a positive, pleasant emotion that can be harnessed to improve your performance. Excitement may also make it easier to maintain motivation and concentration than being in a calm, relaxed state. By simply saying something like ‘I’m getting excited’ before a performance, a study found increased personal experiences of excitement and improved performance in singing, public speaking and maths.

Flute – Adopt an opportunity mindset

People in a positive, excited state are more likely to interpret performances as ‘opportunities.’ Anxious people interpret them as a ‘threat.’ It’s natural to view tasks where you are evaluated as automatically threatening. By slightly reframing your outlook to excitement, you open yourself up to all of the positives that can come out of your performance.

Flute – Recognise unhelpful thoughts

Thoughts are constant and rarely noticed, but they’re powerful enough to create intense emotions like worry. Your thoughts might include fears of making a mistake, fear of being judged by others or over-estimating the likelihood and consequences of a negative evaluation. Anxiety in a high stress situation is natural, and this produces changes in our thinking. It’s all part of our flight-flight response. But unless you can get on top of them quickly they can lead to physical and mental changes that leave you distracted and unable to focus.

Flute – Positive self-talk

Use this technique to help you block unhelpful thoughts. Tell yourself to ‘Stop’ and redirect your thoughts back to a state of excitement and concentration. Reassure yourself with positive and optimistic statements like ‘I have practised and I am well prepared for this performance’

Flute – Mental Imagery

Have some quiet time leading up to a performance and vividly picture yourself performing. Imagine people settling into their chairs, programs rustling, the heat of the lights on stage, the sound of your footsteps walking on stage and the weight of the flute. This can also be helpful to prepare yourself for any distractions during your performance. Do a complete mental run through of the key elements of your performance. Use this to set your desired pre-competition feelings and focus. Don’t focus on the outcome itself but on the actions needed to achieve it.

Flute – Breathing

Taking deep breaths sounds so simple but is so difficult in stressful situations. Use slow, deep breaths to reduce the sensation of breathlessness, which can effect your playing stamina. Relax into a state of excited anticipation.

Flute – Practice

It’s true that MPA can strike even the most prepared musicians. However, making sure that you are familiar with your piece will only ever improve your chance of a good performance. There are three phases we go through when learning a new piece. The first is the cognitive phase where we learn all the small details (such as how to place each finger). Eventually we move into the associative phase where these smaller details come together and playing begins to feel more natural. We feel like we are finally ‘getting it’ which encourages more practice. Eventually we reach the final autonomous phase where the playing action is more or less unconscious. Also known as muscle memory, this leaves you able to pour more expression into your performance when your fingers know where to go!

Flute – Play in a group or ensemble regularly

A study of Australian flute players found weekly playing in a group was related to lower performance anxiety. The frequent playing in front of peers and conductors (in a supportive environment) helps familarise young musicians with performance assessment.

Flute – Adequate preparation on the day

Keep it really simple! Use Google Maps or similar to plan your journey to your performance and make sure you’re there early. Look up the venue online and check it out on Google Street View so you’ll recognise it. See if parking is close. Will it cost you money and you need a credit card or spare change? Call the venue for the room number, floor or building you’ll be in so there’s no delay on the day.

It’s clear that music performance anxiety is a widespread problem. And it’s important to remember you aren’t alone in your struggle. Including performance psychology skills like these into lessons from a young age is essential in supporting emerging flute players into their future careers.

Flute – The Flute Tuning Crash Course for Beginners

Posted on June 16, 2018June 16, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – The Flute Tuning Crash Course for Beginners

Flute – As a beginner, you might not know that your instrument technically needs to be tuned every time you play it. But what does it mean to be ‘in tune’ and how do we do it?? This blog will get a bit scientific and look at how ‘sound’ works, explain why tuning is important, what affects it, and includes my personal step-by-step video guide to flute tuning.

How sound works

Musical instruments produce many sounds (musical notes) that each have a unique frequency heard by the human ear. Sound travels in waves and is produced when an instrument vibrates. For flute, it occurs when we blow across the embouchure hole and make the air blown into the tube vibrate. Frequency (measured in Hertz or Hz for short) is the number of waves that occur in one second. It’s also referred to as the pitch of a sound. A high frequency sound wave produces a high pitch and a low frequency sound wave produces a low pitch. When a musician plays any note, it’s possible for the note to vary or ‘bend’ slightly in sound wave frequency to be either higher or lower than its correct value. Playing notes higher than their correct pitch is called ‘sharp’ and playing notes lower than their correct pitch is called ‘flat.’

Reference pitch of flutes

To calibrate our instruments to play at this correct ‘reference’ value and play notes at their intended frequencies, it’s necessary for us to make some minor adjustments both in our own playing technique as well as to the instrument itself. We call this process tuning our flute. Every flute is designed to play all of its notes, relative to a reference pitch. However, there is some confusion if you search online as to the reference pitch of flutes. Many modern flutes are now designed to play a low octave A note at 442Hz. The old pitch standard was 440Hz although it’s unclear when the change actually began. This means an A played at 440Hz is ever so slightly lower than an A played at 442Hz. And all the notes played on a flute with a reference pitch of 440Hz are slightly lower than a 442Hz flute, and so on.

Depending on the needs of the player (such as which country they perform in or whether they play in orchestras), professional flutes can be custom designed to reference pitches, often between A440 and A446. It’s worth checking with your flute dealer or the manufacturer for the pitch of your flute if you are unsure. In reality the difference in these two most common frequencies (A440 andA442) is almost undetectable to the untrained musical ear. But its’ worth noting in case you come across tuning difficulties down the track.

How your flute produces sound

A modern flute has precisely placed holes covered by pressing down on the keys. The positioning of these holes relative to the embouchure hole and each other, as well as their height and size is known as the scale of the flute. The Boehm scale is the basis of the flute scales used today. Flute makers have made modifications to this scale over time. The Powell, Cooper, Bennett and Deveau scales have all been developed in an effort to improve timbre and the ability of all notes to play in tune with one another over all octaves. Using different fingerings, players change the length of the column of vibrating air. A longer tube produces lower pitch and a shorter tube produces higher pitch. It’s this concept of lengthening or shortening the tube to lower or elevate pitch that forms a large part of the tuning process.

What can affect flute tuning?

There are lots of factors that affect tuning. Overall these factors fall into three main categories – you (the player), the instrument itself and the environment you’re playing in.

Environmental factors

Arguably the most important environmental factor that affects tuning is the temperature of the room or area you are playing in. As the temperature grows hotter, the flute has a tendency to play sharp. As the temperature gets cooler, the flute has a tendency to play flat. Cold air inside a cold flute is denser than warm air inside a warm flute. The colder air provides greater resistance to the vibrating sound waves, slowing them down and producing a lower pitch. That’s why it’s important to warm your instrument to ‘playing temperature’ before tuning as well as tuning in the performance location immediately before you play. Because flutes are relatively small instruments, they can heat up and cool down relatively quickly in response to changes in temperature. Larger instruments take longer to change temperature. So if you’re playing in a group, tuning multiple instrument groups together is a challenge!

Player factors

Variability in how individuals play the flute can also greatly affect flute tuning. To name just a few, changes to the embouchure shape and size, air speed and air angle all have the ability to sharpen or flatten playing.

Air speed/ volume – Not using enough breath and playing with a slow air speed results in playing flat. This is often a problem when beginners try to play softly. Over-blowing and using too much air is another common mistake that results in playing sharp. This often happens when trying to play loudly. Playing in tune over a large dynamic (volume) range will take practice. It’s not a result of blasting more or less air into the instrument, but controlling the speed of your air through the size of your embouchure lip opening.
Embouchure coverage – Covering too much of the flute embouchure hole will result in playing flatter. Rolling the flute in towards your face, pressing it into your chin too hard, or positioning it too high or low on the lips can also change the pitch.
Air direction – Directing more or less air into the flute can be controlled by moving your jaw and lips. Directing air lower by dropping your jaw slightly lowers the pitch and directing air higher over the hole by pushing your jaw out slightly raises the pitch.

For all these reasons it’s important for flute players to settle into their natural playing embouchure before tuning

Instrument factors

The configuration of the instrument is one of most important factors affecting tuning. The head joint, body and foot can be independently moved in relation to each other. By changing the distance between these parts, it changes the length and therefore its pitch (as I mentioned earlier). Flute players can alter the length of the instrument to tune it to the correct reference pitch by pushing in or pulling out the head joint from the body. It’s normal for your instrument to need adjustment like this every time you play from few millimetres up to 15 millimetres. Depending on the environment you are playing in, it can be slightly different each time. Another way the length of the flute can be changed is by adjusting the cork inside the head joint. This should rarely require adjustment and should only be done by an experienced teacher or technician.

Why is flute tuning important?

A player’s performance needs to accurately reflect the sound that the composer originally intended. And so the instrument must produce notes at the proper frequencies. Also importantly, when we play with other instrument or in an ensemble or orchestra, all of the instruments must be properly tuned (or calibrated to the same reference point) so they produce the same frequency notes when performing together. Otherwise, the sound waves travel at slightly different speeds and they clash to produce a ‘waah waah’ effect. In theory, musical notes are in tune when they have the same frequency. In reality, we try and get as close as we possibly can (taking into account all the other factors

How to tune your flute

What you’ll need for flute tuning:

Your assembled flute
Your tuning rod
A tuner. This can be a physical tuner, an online tuner or an app on your phone

Beginning in tune is one thing, but continuing to play in tune is another! Playing over a range of dynamics and octaves while remaining in tune is challenging for even advanced players. Modifying your playing technique to control tuning during playing will be the subject of a future blog… so stay tuned…

Flute – 7 Simple Steps to Ensure Playing The Flute is Right for You

Posted on June 16, 2018June 16, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – 7 Simple Steps to Ensure Playing The Flute is Right for You

Flute – The benefits of playing a musical instrument are well documented for both young and old. At the Flute Coach, I want to help you discover a passion for playing! If you’re considering playing the flute, but still have some hesitations, here are 7 practical ways to help you make your decision. They’ll help to keep you playing for the long term, avoid the frustration and cost of switching to another instrument later on or prevent dropping out of music altogether.

Consider renting or buying a flute second-hand.

A good quality new student flute can cost anywhere from approximately $400 to over $1000. Luckily, there are now so many options to get your hands on a student flute without spending a small fortune. For school students, most schools offer affordable rental programs for use of an instrument for a year (fees depend on the school).

If your school doesn’t have a rental scheme or if you are an adult student, there are many musical retailers who hire out new or used instruments. They charge a monthly fee, typically for terms of 3 to 12 months which often includes servicing. Depending on whether the flute is new or used, the level of the flute (student versus intermediate), and the contract length, monthly fees can range from approximately $15 to $150 per month. For more advanced players who are looking to upgrade to an intermediate (prices start from around $2000), renting for several months to get a real feel for a specific flute is an invaluable investment. (Just think – you wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it first!)

If you are a parent of a music student, use the purchase of a new flute instead as an incentive for persistent practice or for performance and examination achievements. By this stage you will feel more assured about investing in an instrument when playing skill and motivation have already been established.

Attend in-store demonstrations or have your teacher demonstrate playing the flute to you.

Music store personnel are great resources – most are talented musicians who are familiar with the brands and special features of the instruments they are selling. They will allow you to hold, feel and test a range of instruments before you buy or rent. The quality of the tone can be distinctly different between different flutes, depending on the material it’s made of and in particular, the type of head joint in use. That’s why it’s so important to hear these subtle differences for yourself. Very cheap low quality flutes can be difficult to play and may actually be detrimental to your learning, as you struggle against an unresponsive instrument. As you hear and try different flutes, do you like the way they sound? Your timbre preference might be telling you that playing the flute is for you!

For young and small musicians, a flute-alternative may overcome difficulties with physical size.

Teachers may sometimes exclude certain instruments from the selection process (for a number of reasons), but most often based on the physical size of the student versus their desired instrument. Whilst this may seem slightly unfair, there is a very practical need for arms and fingers to reach the most distant keys on an instrument to succeed in playing. But don’t despair if size is your biggest barrier to playing – there are some great options for budding flute players to begin on before upgrading to a full sized flute when the time is right.

Fifes and recorders

The fife and recorder are simplistic versions of the flute, share many of the same note fingerings and are easy to play. Like the flute, the fife is held across the body and air is blown across the lip hole, meaning you get a head start at forming the mouth position also needed for playing the flute. The pitch is more like that of a piccolo. The recorder is held in front of the body and air is blown directly into the instrument. There are many types of recorders, however most people would be familiar with the soprano which is commonly introduced during primary school music lessons. Both instruments lack keys, and require players to cover a series of holes with their fingers instead. The good news is they are very cheap (prices start from around $15 new for plastic models)

Recurve flutes

Another alternative may be a flute with a curved head joint which may assist the littlest flute players until they can handle the length and weight of a full size instrument. The benefit of playing an actual flute is that students can practice their embouchure (the shape of your mouth needed to produce a sound). This is often considered one of the most difficult aspects to nail for beginners. The cost of these ‘recurve’ flutes are in a similar range as standard student flutes and the straight head joint is included so the student can upgrade as soon as they are ready.

Listen to lots of different kinds of flute music.

Jump on YouTube for flute performances that vary in cultural background, time period (such as classical or 20^st century) as well as group or orchestral performances. If you don’t enjoy listening to it, it’s unlikely you will enjoy playing it! Even better, try and get along to some live performances. Really soak up the atmosphere and watch how players interact with their audience as well as the other players on stage. Local eisteddfods, live music in cafes and amateur performances at local markets are generally free and showcase hidden local talent. If you have the opportunity, the opera and ballet have live orchestras playing in the pit which are fascinating to watch as well!

Mix it up!

A Canadian survey found that we all associate musical instruments with being either feminine or masculine. The flute is considered one of the most feminine. Encourage prospective flute students (particularly males) to watch videos of both male and female flute players. This will help to demonstrate that it’s acceptable to play any instrument, regardless of gender. In fact, many of the world’s best flute players are males! Ian Anderson and James Galway are incredible male players, who are sure to inspire and encourage potential students.

Parents, really listen to your child’s musical preferences.

Is your child protesting against a particular instrument or from learning music altogether? It could be for a number of reasons (see my last blog). Forcing your child to play often leads to disappointing examination results and a total reluctance to practice and perform. Talk to your child to get to the root cause of their resistance. It could be as simple as low self-confidence or performance anxiety (stage fright). Many of these fears can be overcome with lots of encouragement from parents and teachers. Participation of friends is also a great motivator, so encourage your students to join a school band. For adults, join a social playing group. With school and university aged learners, there so many opportunities for travel to extracurricular competitions and performances. In my own experience, bus trips to music events were highlights of my schooling years!

Got the time?

School aged students often need parents to be actively involved in monitoring practice time several times per week. Adult students – do you study or work full time? Allocating enough time to practice in your week is necessary to build momentum in your learning. If you work unusual hours can you attend traditional lessons? Or would the flexibility of online learning options suit your situation better?

I hope these tips help you to have greater confidence in moving forward with a decision to begin playing the flute. Get excited about playing! Let me know if you have other questions you need answered before you begin playing in the comments section below!

Flute – Instruments: Choosing an alto or bass flute

Posted on June 16, 2018June 16, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – Instruments: Choosing an alto or bass flute

Budget

Budget is usually an important factor choosing a low flute. For many people, low flutes are secondary instruments and a limited budget might be available. The good news is that there are good instruments at all levels and entry level instruments can usually be sold second hand without too much trouble if you find you’re ready to upgrade (feel free to contact us if you’re interested in buying or selling second hand instruments – we might be able to help). No matter what your budget is, it’s important to find the right instrument for you.

Curved or Straight Head

For alto flutes, the type of headjoint is an important consideration. I have often seen advice that suggests a minimum height for playing on a straight head, but my experience is that these suggestions are not necessarily helpful, as body proportions can vary! I’ve taught short people who can handle straight heads easily, and tall people who need to play on a curved head. Curved heads can sometimes be more difficult to play in tune than straight ones, and the response can also be less good, but shop around as they can vary between makes. When choosing if you need a curved or straight head, remember that the alto flute needs more physical strength to play, and be careful not to confuse muscle weakness with an inability to reach the keys. You can expect some fatigue at first (I did 6 months of weight training before my first hour long alto flute recital) but be careful not to cause physical strain by overdoing it. Gently build up practice time as you become stronger, and remember to adapt your hand positions to playing a bigger instrument.

Ergonomics

The positioning of the keys can be an important factor in comfortable playing positions, and different people will need slightly different key placement, so pick an instrument which suits your hands (taking into account the need to modify hand positions from C flute). Make sure the instrument is well balanced and that you can move relatively easily around the foot joint keys. There’s no sense in having a great sounding instrument that you can only play for a few minutes at a time because of key placements that don’t suit your hands.

Bass flute crutch

Many bass flutes come with a hand support crutch for the left hand. If this is not ideally suited to your hand, try playing without it, or use a lump of blu tack instead, moulded to suit your hands.

Bore size

Low flutes are made at different bore sizes, and it is important to know the differences between them in making your choice. In general, a big bore instrument will have a stronger low register and a weaker high register than a small bore instrument. Bigger bores also tend to have a slightly slower response and more difference in tone between registers. Big bores are ideal for playing in flute choirs (especially for the bass) but can be heavier and need more air. Small bores are ideal for solo repertoire, where the demands can require more agility and a stronger high register.

Tone

I am a firm believer that low flutes should sound like low flutes, and not just an extended range of the C flute. If it’s your first alto or bass, remember that you won’t have adapted your playing techniques to low flutes yet, so be wary of going for the instrument that feels the easiest to play straight away. You’ll find as you develop your low flute playing skills that you can get more out of an instrument, so look for the potential for a deep, rich tone in the low register.

Response

Response can vary considerably according to the cut and style of the headjoint. Try different makes, and even different instruments of the same make, to find a headjoint that suits you

Materials

Materials make less of a difference on low flutes than on C flutes. If your budget allows it, a silver headjoint or lip plate will make a difference to the tone and response, but the rest of the instrument can be silver plated without making a difference to the sound. Lighter-weight materials, such as brass, can even be preferable to precious metals.

Other options

Bass flute – Vertical or horizontal?

Upright bass flutes are beginning to appear on the market. A good quality vertical instrument, such as those made by Eva Kingma, is ergonomically designed for comfortable hand positions. Upright instruments need careful key placement (ie not just a standard bass with a modified headjoint) and well-designed hand rests and supports. Remember you need to be able to play sitting and standing, and avoid anything that involves needing to support a bass flute with a neck strap.

Open holes?

Open holes can be extremely useful for playing contemporary repertoire. The holes can be positioned to suit your hands, and being able to operate the keys directly, rather than through additional levers, can make the mechanism lighter. Open holes can also improve the response of the instrument.

B foot

B footjoints are a useful addition to low flutes, and several makers offer them. Although they add a little extra weight, the additional key can stabile the balance of the instrument and give a richer low register.

Flute – Fluting Stars Book 1 and Fluting Stars Book 2 by Ana Kavcic and Blaž Pucihar

Posted on February 17, 2018June 16, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – Fluting Stars Book 1 and Fluting Stars Book 2 by Ana Kavcic and Blaž Pucihar

by Ana Kavcic and Blaž Pucihar

Flute – This is the top end of the market price wise, so what do you get for your money? A first rate composer in Blaz Puciher for a start and most of the material is original. You are also paying for very high quality books that are beautifully produced in full colour. The illustrations are sumptuous and any young player will surely love looking at them! The scope in terms of notes covered is wider although progress is made via musical complexity in Book 2, the third octave being left for another day. Piano accompaniments to all the tunes are available as a download.

Clear and Attractive Diagrams

This book is also aimed at the younger pupil so curved head flutes take their place alongside the straight head ones. The drawings and photos are really clear, making assembling and blowing very easy to follow. Breathing and embouchure set-up are covered in detail and here the colourful illustrations really help lift this information off the page. The extensive headjoint section in this book includes the use of the Pnuemo Pro blowing device which is interesting if you haven’t seen it in action before – again there are some lovely photos. Tone quality is right at the heart of the first section of Book 1. A radical departure from the norm is the introduction of singing and playing, single, double and triple tonging, and vibrato before the use of the whole flute. Now that really is interesting! Another unique feature is the initial lack of notation. The first note learned is middle register D followed by low and middle G, A and B. This is done together with a box for naming objects starting with those letters. It is only then that ‘How do we write music?’ is broached.

Kep Leaps

The rest of the books are laid out in Key Leap sections:

Each of these introduces new notes, and contains a variety of other items such as theory, finger fitness exercises, dance forms and chamber music. These sections are also supplemented by:

The Fluting Star Magazine for more music theory
Treasure Chest of Sparkly Tones for tone development
Ear Detective for aural awareness,
Notes in a Minute and Finger Fitness for technique
Cherry on Top which sets a new challeng
Stellar Student which uses puzzles to master the theory

This is really quite comprehensive! The format of the second book is the same except that there are more notes and fewer illustrations.

These are impressive books written by committed educationalists who have a great deal of experience of the flute and a wealth of knowledge of teaching. It’s an investment purchase but they really are quite beautiful!

Flute – Get Set! Flute by Hattie Jolly and Ali Steynor

Posted on February 17, 2018February 17, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – Get Set! Flute by Hattie Jolly and Ali Steynor

by Hattie Jolly and Ali Steynor

Flute – This is the most modest of the three books but the only one to include a backing tracks CD with printable piano accompaniments. It’s marketed as suitable preparation for the Prep Test and pre-Grade 1 so it’s great to see a curved head flute included in the opening photos. There are some lovely illustrations throughout and the book is quite colourful generally. Picture signs signal Listen up! games, Rhythm Time activities and Find, Say and Play games which are designed to help accomplish various tricky tasks such as the difference between B natural and B flat, or memorising a simple piece.

Starts Simply

The first things the beginner meets in this book are pulse and breathing, before it moves on to some quite extensive work for headjoint only. There is nothing ground-breaking here but everything is explained clearly with an emphasis on rhythm skills, listening skills and tonguing. Basic theory is covered also using the headjoint, so that blowing and reading are already in place before the topics of putting the flute together, holding and cleaning the flute, and posture and balance are introduced. There are more clear instructions here and even parents will be able to see whether or not these elements are being put into practice!

Colour-Coded

Notes are introduced using diagrams, with different colours used for each hand – blue for the left and red for the right. The material used is almost all original and extremely well written, and each skill or musical point covered is logically laid out. There are plenty of written activities too and these will deliver theory by the back door. Inevitably the pages appear busier as the music becomes more complex but as the range reached at the end is only one octave from low to middle D this is not too much of a problem.

Supporting Book

Supplementary repertoire is available in Get Set! Flute Pieces Book 1 which has a printed piano accompaniment and another backing track CD. Although not directly linked to the tutor, running both together will provide a really thorough work-out!

Overall these are lovely books for enthusiastic little ones and it won’t break the bank!

Get Set Flute! Sample Page

Flute – FLUTE TUTOR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS 2017

Posted on February 2, 2018February 2, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – FLUTE TUTOR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS 2017

Flute – The Flute Tutor market is crowded and often bewildering. There is almost too much choice, with different approaches, starting notes, rates of progress, type of repertoire and even the basic quality of the publication all jostling for our attention. Here are three lovely books which are aimed at the younger end of the market, and all are written by flute players. They may just help!

This is brand new to the market. It is written by two experts who are passionate about the whole flute teaching process and it really shows. At its heart is a clear desire to encourage and nurture young players, keeping the development of a good musician to the fore throughout. They are astute enough to price it well too, so it’s excellent value for money.

This book has several major advantages. Firstly the layout is relatively simple and uncluttered with no gimmicks. The black and white illustrations are usually pertinent, and if they are decorative they add to the page rather than detract from it. There are no photos to illustrate posture – that is left to the discretion of the teacher.

Secondly, progress is steady. Each chapter introduces a single note and each tune or exercise has a clear purpose. Some pieces use practice bars to help with the learning, and encouraging downward scales at such an early stage is extremely useful. Playing from memory, experimenting with articulation with evaluation of the results, improvisation and basic writing skills will all stretch the imagination of a young player and make the learning process much more varied. The anticipated grade at the end of the book is Grade 1.

Thirdly, and most importantly, rhythm, making a good sound and aural awareness are given a very high priority throughout, ensuring that the core aim of musical development never gets lost. This makes total sense but is quite often missing in the dash for learning ever more notes faster.

A further plus is that this book is designed for both individual and group tuition. This is supported by the excellent Flute Perfect Teacher’s Book which is a great resource for all of us but is especially useful for new teachers and those for whom the flute is not their main instrument. It’s multi-tasking with comprehensive teaching notes, ensemble parts and piano accompaniments all included. There are tips and suggestions to help with each chapter including group activities such as warm-ups and improvisation. These are clearly outlined and can give a welcome structure to a lesson as well as providing material that can be used elsewhere. As the main focus here is on learning through ensemble playing it’s really helpful that the arrangements are flexible and that all the parts can all be photocopied. Piano accompaniments are included too and can also be purchased separately.

At the very least you will find these books a useful addition to your teaching bag and they may end up as the only tutors in it!

Flute Perfect by Doris da Costa and Anastasia Arnold

Flute – Flute Lesson: Four Keys to Effective Long Tones

Posted on January 14, 2018January 14, 2018 by Cristy

Flute – Flute Lesson: Four Keys to Effective Long Tones

Long tones are a vital part of not only learning how to play the flute, but playing at a high level. The tone you produce is the essence of everything you do as a flute player. Because of this, long tones should be the primary activity for your daily flute practice.

Even Juilliard Instructor and Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Flute, Jeffrey Khaner starts each practice day with long tones. “I may have had a wonderful concert last night. Played great. Really enjoyed myself,” says Khaner. “But the next morning, it’s a whole new day. After having slept the night, I am simply not where I was the night before and I have to work back up to it.”

So how long should a long tone exercise be? As long as you can make it! In reality a long tone exercise should be long enough to be challenging for your breath capacity (which will expand over time). As for breathing, you want to breath as low as possible and fill in as much air as you can.

In addition to breathing, you should focus on controlling the air so the tone is the same from the beginning to the end of the exercise. No diminuendos, accents or swells.

The third aspect of a long tone exercise is support for your breathing to produce the different octaves of the same note. The goal is that every octave should be equally obtainable. There should be no octave that is “harder” to hit than another.

Finally, your best friend in this long tone exercise is the metronome. The metronome is an objective post against which we can measure yourself and determine whether you are improving. This is the whole point! You need to feel good that you are progressing, otherwise your long tone exercises won’t be fulfilling and you won’t be motivated to continue to use them as the bedrock of your practice.

So do those long tone exercises regularly just like Jeffrey Khaner. Focus on breath capacity, control and support, and above all, use your metronome to measure your progress.

Flute – How Flute Scales Can Transform Your Playing