I am looking for some advice from those in the know. What is it about a wooden flute’s design that affects ease of accessing the upper octave? The reason I ask is that I have a D flute and a B flute (different makers). The B flute plays the second and third octaves with ease, but I need a bit more control in the first octave, whereas the D flute only plays the second octave with a lot of force and finessing, and I can’t hit the third octave at all. So I am trying to figure out if it is my inexperience, is it the particular maker’s design, or is it the nature of flutes that the lower/larger the flute that it would play easier. I cannot afford to buy more and more flutes as some here seem to do, so I would like to know if I really need to look for another D, or just learn some tricks to get it to play easier for me.
A B flute will typically be much easier to play in the second and third octaves than a D flute. Probably your troubles with the second and third octave of the D flute are due mainly to inexperience…the more time you put into practicing and playing, the easier it will be to get up to the second octave.
djm, sometime the secret to the 2nd octave is laying of the flute. I’ve changed the way I play my hammy within the last few days and I’ve found I get much more enjoyable playing from my flute if I ease of and let the hammy do all the work. If I had a was to post it I’d give you a sample. I recommend trying to play the flute softly and sweetly in the 2nd octave.
I received some good advice recently re: the Hammy and I have tried it and it works. Just take it out and start off softly, but with good tone. Keep tone your focus. The flute just seems to naturally take off that way ~ I guess you are unconsciously finding the sweet spot. Once you have it, you can put it in gear, so to speak.
Do you practice the harmonics? That’s a good one for getting in the upper octaves…
Seriously though, long tone practice can do miracles, especially when combined with octave shifting (holding one long note in the lower octave and shifting to the upper octave using only embouchure and breath).
Marcel Moyse books are a great source of this kind of excercise, but you can save the money and just play every note on your flute as a long tone. 4x per note, with each note held as long as (comfortably) possible. No articulation/glottal stopping allowed. No vibrato. Over time, this makes quiet, easy, and controlled 2nd octave notes.
Even though these techniques (like Moyse) were developed for the gas pipe, they’re valid embouchure and tone builders for wooden flutes.
I don’t know many instruments, except maybe piano, marimba, and snare drum, where the player’s tone won’t benefit at every skill level from the practice of long tones. It’s also very meditative (at least on the notes on which you already sound good), though it might drive cats, dogs, and spouses to distraction.
That said, every low flute I’ve played has had tricky bits in the lower half of the 1st octave, and all have played quite easily into the 2nd. I think it’s just characteristic of D flutes that they require more embouchure and breathing development to produce 2nd & 3rd octave notes easily–and many designs seem (warning: unsubstatiated anecdotal data & personal experience) to compromise the 3rd at the expense of the 1st, or vicey-versey.
Oops, I thought this was about dimensions, not playing! My advice, novice at that, bring your flute to a session and have some one you think can play and ask if your flute is good before getting a new one. Make sure it doesn’t leak (although from what Mr. McGee found it may be your fingers!) and that the cork is where it should be.
Other than that I have found that practicing scales has helped the most. They are boring, but the lack of frustration of having a few notes out of reach has made up for that. I found that my worst habit was tensing mussels that I didn’t need to. I use to be sore playing the second octave, and after I started to concentrate on how I blew rather than how hard, I am in the third octave without being sore.
Side note.
My square hole fife was being repaired, and so I have been using a round embouchure one. I found that my embouchure was not focused and have been playing it for the past month. Now my other is back and I can play it much better. I can now hit the third octave B (once in a great while).
Thx. I have had my D flute (Casey Burns ergonomic) about a year. I can reach the 2nd 8ve by simply thrusting the lower lip out to cover 3/4 of the blow hole. But I really have to thrust the lower lip even further and blow harder to reach a’-d’', and it sounds screechy and breathy. The B (Terry McGee Rudall Perfected) jumps to 2nd 8ve by just thinking about it. The difference in ease is what prompted my question. I don’t have a local session or fluter to compare or lean from, so I am teaching myself.
If you’re pushing/moving your lower lip out without the rest of the embouchure following, that might be one reason. I used to play very much on the front edge of the blowhole, but had a late-in-life revelation watching Grey Larsen play up close and noticing that compared to me and my first flute teachers, he played with his embouchure much further advanced across the hole. I’ve noticed other players with the same approach since.
If it’s not carried to an extreme, and depending on the shape/quality of your own embouchure, it can provide a notable extra degree of control and versatility. I suggest it might be worth trying, for a couple of days, to advance not just your lower lip, but your whole embouchure straight across the hole – mebbe 2/5 to halfway? Without rolling the flute in. Really relaxed but very focused seems to help with this one (long tones!). I can also make this work with a broad/flat embouchure to get a reedier tone, but for my particular phiz, it’s less versatile. YMMV, but could be worth a try.
I’ve played CB flutes for a while, and have not noticed a significant difference (at least not a positive one) in 2nd octave response WRT embouchure or air compared to other maker’s flutes I’ve tried (Wilkes, an Rudall & somethingerother or two, FirthHallPond, McGee, Healy, Noy, Ormiston). In fact, I rather prefer the CB’s standard.
I don’t know, that seems like a blame the equipment fix. I vote for just practising and experimenting. Over time it will get better and that way you don’t have to mess around with your flute (especially when the maker probably knows better).
Good luck djm, the flute is a long frustration process.
It’s not that hard to reverse this cork fixing thing though. I’m all for messing with the cork. As I have said before, each players approach to a flute is different, that’s why the cork is adjustable. The maker tunes it for the way he blows, but you are meant to find the position that works best for you. Move it, and experiment, but keep track of the original position.
I’ve played CB flutes for a while, and have not noticed a significant difference (at least not a positive one) in 2nd octave response WRT embouchure or air compared to other maker’s flutes I’ve tried (Wilkes, an Rudall & somethingerother or two, FirthHallPond, McGee, Healy, Noy, Ormiston). In fact, I rather prefer the CB’s standard.
I spoke to CB about this very thing and he told me that he plays with the embouchure hole turned in so that the far edge of the hole is iln the center line or less of the finger holes. And he advised me to play his flute this way as it was designed that way. It worked for me.