Remember when you were in high school and thought the flute went up to high C only? The one with five ledger lines? Of course flutists are expected to be able to play above this range on a regular basis: we find many examples of C# and D in symphonic and solo literature, and high E as well. My favorite fingering for high D is Left Hand, double thumb, Right hand F# key (RH3) and pinky....that is all. This fingering is lower in pitch than many other choices and requires firm support, but I recommend it!
Sometimes working with a metronome is not enough! Staying perfectly even between the beats, or insuring each finger change is equally spaced, is difficult to hear. Listen very carefully: even if downbeats are right with the click there can be untidy moments. Emphasize the note you are skipping over by adding a little tenuto, and slowly make that tenuto disappear as you resume playing in exact rhythm. Play 'red light/green light': play two notes and stop, add a third note, stop, add one more, etc, until you have all the notes in the beat strung together and even. Happy Practicing.
When working on technique, the basic concept is that the fingers should remain close to the keys, but more importantly, try and insure that ALL fingers remain at the SAME low level. Many students have an issue with the index finger of the right hand (a very dominant digit) rising particularly high. Remember that the motion initiates from the knuckle joint and always, slow practice first, without tension, insures fast secure technique that is effortless and accurate.
Having a beautiful tone is a goal for everybody who plays flute. But, the definition of beauty.....so unique depending on the musical context, and the player...and truly, beauty varies from performance to performance. Here are three ideas that are basic to creating an open, focused tone: 1. Make sure that your flute is lined up exactly as you wish. Most professionals use a mark made with nail polish to line up the headjoint and body so there is 100% consistency from day to day. Also, double check the footjoint. A millimeter can feel like a chasm if it is in the wrong spot, creating a different angle. 2. Support is a moving air column: Since the tone is made with air, not the lips, it is critical to have a good solid support concept in place. Breathing and blowing are basic to creating tone 3. Embouchure: Tone is focused with the lips, made with the air. Make sure that the aperture is the appropriate size/shape for the octave you are playing in. Keep some space between the top lip and the top teeth: likewise, keep an open oral cavity (experiment with different vowel shapes) and keep height to the aperture: never press the top lip down toward the bottom lip. Remembering always to project the tone to the back seat in the hall is a good metaphor for projection: likewise, setting the air around you in motion is another helpful mental image. Enjoy your long tones!
I'm required to play bass flute in the orchestra every now and then...what a difference from the piccolo! In order to make life a little easier, and quite literally lighten the load on hands, arms, and wrists, there are a couple of things to consider. A bass flute lap crutch literally cradles the end of the instrument and the post supporting it is attached to a brace that fits over your right leg. This helps you from holding the entire weight of the instrument in your right hand. Some manufactures make the instrument with this feature built in. AND, there are people out there who manufacture different crutch sizes to better fit your left hand! My flute came with a bassoon crutch, which honestly is not all that comfortable. My new crutch is SO much better at distributing the weight in my left hand and therefore, increasing finger dexterity. Never shy away from finding a great solution to a problem! I reached out to Chris Potter for help and she was able to steer me in the right direction as a low flutes specialist...thanks Chris!
Keeping the thread from last month's post, I thought we could discuss the role breathing plays in technical passages. ALWAYS make breathing a choice: a choice from a musical/phrasing standpoint, integral to the music. Mark your breathing spots, and be consistent about taking them. Whenever we make an error, what do we do? We stop and we breathe, so make SURE that your brain is not fooling you into taking a breath by causing a mistake, so that you WILL stop and breathe. Mark breaths, take what is marked, and enjoy the consistency with the technique that you will gain.
Great technique is something we all want! How to get faster fingers? Not necessarily by just practicing slowly, and certainly never from just practicing fast. The key is to figure out which finger connection is not working, where the stumbling block is, and how to smooth that over. Some of my favorite ways to fix problems are: 1. Playing a passage at tempo, then decreasing the tempo so as you repeat, it gets slower each time 2. Red Light/ Green Light practice: Play one beat plus a note and then stop, start on the next beat plus a note and stop, etc, 3. Play the phrase from the last pair of notes flawlessly, and add one more note working to the beginning of the phrase, so now you are playing 3 notes, etc, until the whole passage is played. Notice how many of these solutions involve breaking it down into smaller sections! Look in the mirror to 'see' the fingers that are out of synchronization. For piccolo, make sure to pick up the fingers a bit more since the instrument is smaller: adding more curve to the fingers. These tips should help you get your fingers flying!
When teaching, tell students what TO do as opposed to what NOT to do. I constantly hear teachers telling students negative commands: Don't tongue sloppy, Don't breathe there. How much easier is it to learn when a student hears: "Try tonguing like this" (and then show an aural example and explain what you are doing) or " Consider breathing here because the phrase is longer, if you need a catch breath, try this spot instead." Another positive comment about breathing might be "consider playing softer so you can make the long phrase and as you get confidence, play a little louder". Notice the difference in your own reaction to reading a negative command based statement versus a positive solution based statement. Good teaching is positive and supportive, and does not break down the student. There are times to 'wake up' a recalcitrant student, but again, keeping it positive and kind is always the best choice.
Vibrato is a characteristic of flute tone, and styles of vibrato change with general shifts in musical taste. If my ear is drawn directly to vibrato, there is usually some kind of problem: maybe the vibrato is forced (produced with a closed throat) or it is too wide and disturbs the pitch. Tasteful vibrato often depends on the musical result desired, but in general, vibrato is integral to the tone itself. It enhances the beauty of the tone and does not draw attention to itself. Vibrato gives spin, color and motion to the more static notes: i.e, we don't generally vibrate on moving 16th notes. I find a slightly more shallow vibrato that is also a bit slower is useful to aid projection in tutti orchestral passages: a more tightly wound vibrato is less appropriate in this circumstance. And sometimes on big tutti chords, no vibrato is the correct choice.
Think of vibrato as a musical paintbrush and apply different intensities according to the musical demands. There are lots of pedagogical articles advocating 'the right way' to sit and stand. It is always interesting to note that most players never consciously think about their posture in the creative moment: what is practiced every day just happens as a matter of muscle memory. When we teach, we need to remind students about ergonomics so that they learn how to sit/stand in the most efficient and relaxed manner when they practice and perform. For lesson and solo performances , as well as daily practice, standing is the preferred stance. Rather than focusing on which foot to place forward, I like to find a comfortable, tall balanced posture: relaxed and efficient. You must consider all the angles of the arms, head, neck, flute and torso. The legs and feet need to support the body weight. There are plenty of options for 'correct' posture that work, and lots of players change stance (shifting foot placement) mid way thru a performance. When seated, it's all about finding the correct angle of arms, neck, head, flute, and torso, with the additional angle created at the hip joint. Hyperextension of the lower back is not desired when sitting. Keep reminding your students about good posture at every lesson so that their bodies learn great position naturally without paying attention to dogmatic ideas. Consider Alexander Technique or Body Mapping to become more aware of these issues in your own playing. Use a mirror, and encourage students to listen to their bodies so they can 'self correct'.
|
Archives
August 2018
Categories |