flute tutorial

[Conal O Grada]

Hello Lads
Conal O Grada here from Cork & Scoiltrad. The recent discussion about teaching embouchure echoes my own experience as a young fella and also that of my current students starting out on the flute....it has to be the most frustrating aspect of flute playing to both teach and learn.
My own approach is to explain the mechanics of how a flute makes a sound in the first place and then try to get the student to focus all their efforts in that direction...its fairly impossible to describe the tiny adjustments necessary in any meaningful way so the most important thing to impart to the student is what they should be aiming for....that and the fact that it won't occur overnight
I also agree that breathing and development of breathing patterns, breathing adjustment on the fly etc. is an essential part of learning the flute.
Lastly folks, it should not be forgotten that the most important part of learning is practicing....the teachers job (apart from general encouragement & feedback) is to ensure that the student knows what and how to practice...after that its up to the student.
Beir Bua
Conal O Grada
http://www.scoiltrad.com
...the virtual music school

[Jim_B1]

This might be a dumb question but, does the beginner's course on scoiltrad have all 11 individual lessions or are the 11 individual lessions to be taken after the beginner's course as further instruction? I can't tell by the website.
Thanks

[Tyghress]

As a newbie to flute (got it a few months ago, was horrified at how difficult it was, back tracked for a while, and just did exercises, and found out this week that I can finally manage to play slow tunes whoo hooo!). . .I just went to the Healy site and it was GREAT!

But the first part...getting the tone...that is rough. A few people advocated just getting a tone, holding it, tightening the embouchure to learn what it does to the sound, then doing it all over with another note. I started on B A and G, and worked up and downward from there. I still can't reliably hit the high B and A.

Anyway, my advice is to just start with a note and figure out what this embouchure thing is all about. One note at a time...hold it for as long as you can. Take a breath and try it on another note. Then try going from one note to the next. Slow slow slow. Doing it right is better than doing it fast.

Lastly folks, it should not be forgotten that the most important part of learning is practicing....the teachers job (apart from general encouragement & feedback) is to ensure that the student knows what and how to practice...after that its up to the student.

Conal, this is an intriguing line. Can you expand on it a little?

[Cathy Wilde]

Yes, I am convinced just about anything musical was invented by the same mind that spawned golf, dressage, housework, and Catholicism. (yeah, I'm Catholic)

Anyway, I completely agree with the Esteemed Mr. O. Grada. It's hard to imagine, especially when you're just starting out, that this lumpen, unresponsive block of wood across which you're blowing your everloving lungs out is ever going to sound like anything less than a Coca-Cola bottle (and a cracked one at that).

(This is why so many people go/are pushed into this when they're children; that way you can't remember the initial pain later.)

However, it will get better. It's a very Zen thing; it's in the process. In the meantime, take advantage of whatever tutelage you can find (we're so blessed to have things like scoiltrad & mad for trad & all the learning CDs today!), listen to great players, get to any workshop/clinic/seminar you can (even it it's not, say, Conal O Grada teaching), talk to people, take what you like and leave the rest, and above all, GET MILEAGE. Play, play, play. Get to know your flute inside & out. Fool around with how bad you can make it sound; then work backward from there. Play long notes, play short notes. Play the D scale, jumping octaves (a great warmup always). Play while you're looking through the junk mail. Play with your lips loose, then tighten them and see what happens to the sound. Aim your airstream down, up, left, right, all over. Try to mess with the flame of/blow out a candle while playing a note. Just be curious and experiment! Observe other players, but remember they're doing what works for THEIR flutes & embouchures. Find a session or start one. (We actually have an Irish/Bluegrass/old-timey session here, and it's a blast. I'm continually amazed at what I learn from not only better players and other disciplines, but also from players who are less experienced than me)

You will continually reach amazing levels of "conscious incompetence" -- usually the day after you think you've mastered something at last! -- but just keep plugging away.

Also, a suggestion: even if it means taking a few lessons from a classical -- gasp! -- player in your area -- embouchure control is, basically, embouchure control, lip exercises are lip exercises, and a good teacher is a good teacher.

If it helps, I've played classical flute semi-professionally for about 30 years and trad flute for too long not to be better at it ..... and it never ceases to surprise me what there is to learn -- or alas, un-learn and re-learn -- next.

Aw, darn. I'm sorry for the rant. Honest, it's just because I care.

Cathy.

(And I agree about these crazy wooden flutes. Talk about temperamental! They have their cloddish days -- the odd leak? lack of humdity? -- but I know my embouchure and brain have plenty of cloddish days, too.)

[Conal O Grada]

Tyhgress
In relation to the point I made about practice being the most important aspect of learning, I'm not sure there is much more I can add. Musical technique must become instinctive in order for the musician to be able to exeucte flawlessly...this only comes with practice (assuming that the techniques are being practiced correctly). Its fairly easy to attend a class once a week, its a bit harder to play EVERY day in between and honestly apply the feedback/direction received at the class and address the evidence of your own ears.......this is what leads to improvement. Playing in a session is a great way to practice but is only effective in leasding to improvement if you listen to your playing while doing so and work consciously on the different aspects of your fluteplaying.
I hope this answers your query Tyghress...let me know if it doesn't.

Jim
The Scoiltrad course consists of 10 classes. It is aimed at the complete beginner. The student will be introduced to different tune types and techniques in each class with each class building on the learning of the previous class. Techniques covered include cuts, pats, glottal stops, breathing technique & patterns, triplets and rolls. The student also gets to submit several mp3's of their playing for assessment throughout the course.
The other 11 classes are seperate from the course and you a right..this is not clear on the web-site....I'll get this fixed.

Just a quick word on "bad tone days".....if you are a regular player, who normally (i.e. 99% of the time) gets a reasonable tone from your flute, then in my experience these off days generally are due to variations in the instrument (leaks from the slide/joints/ keys, misplaced or leaky end-cork, poor oil maintenannce etc). Mind you a trip to the dentisht can caush dis az well.

Beir Bua
Conal
http://www.scoiltrad.com
....the virtual music school

[Tyghress]

the point I made about practice being the most important aspect of learning

Ah...I see...you're original statement was about a teacher tell you 'what and how to practice', and I took that to mean 'do thus and such for 15 minutes, then proceed to XYZ', but I think what you were trying to say was that a teacher should point out your specific practice needs and show you how to not practice flaws.

Musical technique must become instinctive in order for the musician to be able to exeucte flawlessly

<moan> I can't even execute my own name flawlessly sometimes. Thgy, TTgy. . .Tyggy...there, that's better.

Thanks for the response, Conal. I'll keep going for awhile, until I can get a reliable tone, run scales and broken chords and such, then look into a more formal tutoring.