Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi, I've been playing flute fo around a 15/16 months. I practice quite a lot and am fairly happy with my progress. I play a Garry Somers Pratten which I like. My current problem is my 2nd octave tone is sometimes a little hard and reedy, especially when playing at faster tempos. I play long tones and overtones. Any other exercises to improve this, or should I just keep at it?

Thanks,

Russ

Keep at it. As you play long note exercises, try altering your embouchure on each note to get a feel for how the changes affect the note. If you find that you're not liking the tone as you play fast tunes go back to a couple of long note exercises.

Definitely keep at it. Also it may be helpful to practice playing second octave notes
more softly than first octave notes, this as a matter of course. Ultimately i think flute playing
is like singing--one needs to shape the notes with one's embouchure
as one plays them, not just let the flute
play them. This may be especially helpful in the second octave.
At the beginning it can be tempting to let the flute soar in the second octave.
Best resisted, I suggest. I try to get quieter the higher I get, since the pitch of the
note will get it heard and the 'sung' note sounds more lovely. FWIW.