Grunting

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jim stone
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Grunting

Post by jim stone »

My vocal cords sometimes get engaged when I'm playing flute.
I think this is a problem for a number of people. I wonder if anyone
has advice about how to end it. Exercises, whatever....
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Casey Burns
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Re: Grunting

Post by Casey Burns »

They had to resort to intubation when I got my knee replacement done a week ago, as the epidural was apparently not working. If anything, this has made my grunting worse.
tstermitz
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Re: Grunting

Post by tstermitz »

Yeah. It's a thing. See Jennifer Cluff here:

https://www.jennifercluff.com/throaty.htm
jim stone
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Re: Grunting

Post by jim stone »

Thanks to all. The Jennifer C site is especially interesting.
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Re: Grunting

Post by benhall.1 »

I do this. A lot. It gets much worse if I don't practice for a few days. Conversely, it tends to disappear if I manage to practice a lot for a few days.
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Re: Grunting

Post by mendipman »

According to my wife I have a tendency to grunt when not playing the flute.

I find the pub helps alleviate the grunting. :lol:
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bradhurley
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Re: Grunting

Post by bradhurley »

tstermitz wrote:Yeah. It's a thing. See Jennifer Cluff here:

https://www.jennifercluff.com/throaty.htm
The thing is, that's a site for mainly classical players, who are going to be articulating by tonguing rather than glottal stops. The grunting we hear often in Irish flute players (including me!) is mainly related to glottal stopping since you're actively using your throat to stop and release the flow of air. I'm not sure Jennifer's technique is relevant in this case. The grunting in Irish players happens mainly at the beginning and end of notes, since that's where you're using glottal stops to separate them.

I mainly find grunting to be an issue when I'm in the second octave, but it happens in the first octave too, especially as my playing style now is more percussive and less smooth-and-flowy than it used to be. I used to think grunting was a problem but at this point I don't worry about it. It's probably distracting to some people, especially on recordings; I read somewhere that Matt Molloy worked hard on developing a technique for avoiding it in his playing.
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an seanduine
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Re: Grunting

Post by an seanduine »

Is this issue related to being 'gruntled'? :) As in 'dis', 're', or 'un' :D

:twisted: Bob :twisted:
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Re: Grunting

Post by Nanohedron »

bradhurley wrote:I read somewhere that Matt Molloy worked hard on developing a technique for avoiding it in his playing.
Could be a diaphragmatic stop, which is something I worked on myself, not that I would ever hope to be counted in Molloy's constellation. It must be stressed that it's a very delicate technique, and it has the virtue of allowing the throat to remain open. It's been a while, so I can't recall how successful I was at it, but it's definitely doable.
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Re: Grunting

Post by tstermitz »

@bradhurley.

I'm pretty sure the OP was referring to vocalizing while playing, which can be an issue for classical or ITM flute players. For me I had this problem when playing first register notes in the same range as my singing voice. Jennifer Cluff's suggestions helped me remove it.

The OP can clarify if needed.
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an seanduine
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Re: Grunting

Post by an seanduine »

On a more serious note :lol: Conal Ó Gráda often uses a cut (tap) to get a clean articulation plus a breath pulse. I've found that I can get by with more of a 'huh' breath pulse than a glottal plosive and still get a clean attack. This tends to lessen the grunting.

Bob
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gariwerd
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Re: Grunting

Post by gariwerd »

Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull made grunting a very distinctive and successful feature of his flute playing. Dare to be different! You too can have a locomotive breath.
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Re: Grunting

Post by Giovy Maz »

[Thread revival. - Mod]

I really loved Ian Anderson's technique and expressiveness and tried to study it. I share this interpretation with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbKsICppkno

Sorry, since I'm really new to the forum, can someone tell me if there is already a topic about interpreting rock and pop songs with the flute or if I could create it? Thanks for your help!
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Re: Grunting

Post by PB+J »

I feel obliged to point out that Ian Anderson owes a LOT to Roland Kirk, whose song "serenade to a cuckoo" Jethro Tull covered. I recommend Roland Kirk. he was weird and cool--he would often play with two horns in his mouth at once, for example, sometimes even three, showing that he appreciated the drone

https://youtu.be/_q8Ye58uL5o


But grunting--I certainly have trouble with it but find the better I know a tune the more relaxed I get, and the more it goes away
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Juan Pablo Plata
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Re: Grunting

Post by Juan Pablo Plata »

Glottal stops/tonguing are not grunting, and the practice of these techniques are not related to this problem in any way.

Grunting happens to some players when they are beginners or have been without playing for much time. It simply disappears with practice, so dont worry, just play and have fun.
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