2nd octave trouble.

Slainte · Post by **Slainte** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 5:55 pm

Hello, Ive been piping for 8 years, and took up the whistle 2 years ago, now im slowly working on the flute. It took me awhile to get a full sound out of the lower register, but i can now aquire a fairly decent tone in the lower register. However, the passage im trying to learn requires me to play a high A and B. I can sound an *alright* high D and E, but sometimes i cannot sound even those with a full tone. Im having a bit of trouble with the 2nd octave........ anyone have any ideas/suggestions to help make this problem a thing of the past for me?
Thank ya.

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:08 pm

Well, the easy answer is: keep trying. You need to develop your embouchure. Work on tightening your lips in the upper octave, and experiment with turning rotating the flute as you are playing, for tone production, so you can see where it sounds best. When your lips get tight enough and you are in the right spot, the second octave will seem effortless. Good luck.

Slainte · Post by **Slainte** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 7:10 pm

Thanks Jessie, thats pretty much what i have been attempting in order to get the 2nd octave. I guess it sjust practice practice practice.

Ro3b · Post by **Ro3b** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 9:26 am

The right way to play in the second octave is to raise your airstream slightly. If you're blowing at 4:00 in the bottom octave, your airsteam should point at about 3:30 in the second.

Try this: with the flute in playing position, point your airtream way up, as though you were trying to blow your bangs out of your eyes. Then bring your jaw in and lower your airstream till you hit your embouchure hole. If everything's as it should be, the first note you hear will be in the second octave. As you continue to lower your airstream, you should drop into the first octave.

Resist the urge to blow harder in the second octave. To play in tune you need to play the highest notes with significantly less air. Counterintuitive, I know, but that's how the machine works.

Oh, and relax.

Dana · Post by **Dana** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 11:08 am

Good advice. Sometimes flute newbies become so tense, it is counter-productive. Often, your upper lip muscles clamp down, forcing the air too far down into the embouchure hole. The second octave comes out clearly when you are blowing a bit more across the hole (rather than down into the hole). You may have to relax your upper lip, particularly in the center, to allow this to happen. A good flute teacher, even a Boehm flutist

could give you some good pointers. There's no substitute for up-close and in-person lessons.

Dana

Added: One thing I've told beginning flutists with trouble in the second octave: Remember that your tone emanates from your diaphragm. Keep your lower abdominal muscles tense, and push the air out from there. (You're only allowed to be tense there). Your throat is simply a channel that the air passes through. Your lips act to focus the air. A good embouchure requires more finesse than strength.

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:37 pm

A good exercise that might help:

Start with a low G, hold it for a second or two, then without any break in blowing, tighten your lips until you jump into the second octave, hold it a second or two, then relax your lips until you drop back into the first octave.

After G, do the same thing with F#, then E, and finally D.

This is a good exercise for centering the embouchure (which reduces hiss and helps you use air efficiently), and it also should help you with hitting those 2nd octave notes.

When you do this, you are actually overblowing into the first harmonic, which is the octave. Later, after you get really good at this, you may want to try overblowing farther up into the harmonic series...when you can get several harmonics up, then you know you have a really tight, efficient embouchure.

--James

P.S. Ok, maybe "tight" isn't the best word...I don't mean a "tight" embouchure as in "I can lift a 10 pound weight with my lips!"...I mean "tight" as in a small, well centered embouchure that can get the maximum sound from the minimum amount of air.

Dana · Post by **Dana** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:42 pm

I prefer to call it a focused embouchure (rather than tight).

Added: Ha, James, I posted just as you edited!

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:45 pm

dhigbee wrote:I prefer to call it a focused embouchure (rather than tight).

Focused is a good word.

To further complicate this issue, there may come a point where you actually want to add some lip muscle into the mix. Many fine trad players use a very muscular, physically tight embouchure to really drive the sound.

--James

U2 · Post by U2 » Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:09 pm

Play a lower octave G and hold the note, then try pushing your lips out (farther from your face). I participated in a demonstration once where seven people did this. All jumped immediately to the second octave. As suggested, it has to do with the relationship of the airstream to the hole.

Dana · Post by **Dana** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:30 pm

Good tip!