The most helpful thing I've learned about flute playing is..

[Wormdiet]

When your friend played the Hammy, did you notice the same thing?


Just curious

M

Can't say I did - I believe the flute itself is "in tune" for a practiced player.

[DCrom]

True confessions time: one of the things I was most anxious about on taking up flute was glottal stopping. I vaguely knew what it was, and certainly knew what it sounded like, but didn't really know how to do it. Beyond the basic mechanics of "how do I make a sound?", this was my biggest worry about the transition from tinwhistle to flute.

For the last year or so of fooling around on my old Dixon 2-piece, I've been using cuts and taps when I needed to separate notes, but I broke down and ordered the Mad For Trad tutorial when I bought my Burns.

So I was going through the tutorial and working on the recommended exercise when I had an Aha! moment: the glottal stop used in playing flute is exactly how I articulate notes when (mouth) whistling.

Tinwhistle playing is fairly recent for me - I started less than 4 years ago. Flute's even more recent. But I've been mouth-whistling all my life - I whistle when I walk, I whistle when I'm thinking, I even (apologies to Disney) whistle while I work. To be honest, I probably drive my friends and family a bit crazy with my whistling, especially when I'm using it to work on a new flute/tinwhistle piece and repeat the same tune ad infinitum. And - not even knowing it - I've been working on glottal stops most of my life.

So I've still got lots of things to work on - embouchure, timing, more fluid fingering, adding more tunes, you name it. But glottal stops, at least, no longer worry me. Whew!

[Cathy Wilde]

Tuning is a big issue. I've learned that I can tune on the fly by altering the position of the blow-hole relative to my lips (turning the flute in or out) and just by focusing the air differently.
We all know that blowing too hard in the upper octave makes a flute go sharp, don't we? And that we should save our big, forced blowing for the low notes rather than the top notes, right?
The nature of our instrument is to be out of tune. It is up to us to blow the flute into tune with itself.

And in my Hammy experience, that particular flute required MAJOR backing off in the second & third registers, starting about middle D or E in fact. Fortunately it held clear and pure tonewise -- nicest 3rd octave I've ever played -- and seemed much happier once we got up to A .... as long as I kept my wits about me, that is!

It took me a long time to learn not to overfill that flute.

[Cathy Wilde]

Which, speaking of, probably brings me to at least the truest piece of advice I ever got: "Expect to spend a long, long time getting to know your flute....that time spent, and the flute itself, will teach you a lot."

[jim stone]

One can't play flute with a mustache like Nietzche's.
In fact, you can't even eat, except if you use a straw.

[Whistlin'Dixie]

Tuning is a big issue. I've learned that I can tune on the fly by altering the position of the blow-hole relative to my lips (turning the flute in or out) and just by focusing the air differently.
We all know that blowing too hard in the upper octave makes a flute go sharp, don't we? And that we should save our big, forced blowing for the low notes rather than the top notes, right?
The nature of our instrument is to be out of tune. It is up to us to blow the flute into tune with itself.

Aaarrrrrrrrr...... That's what I like to hear....

And what I strive for, tuning on the fly. I think it helps to play along with recordings (like WFO, for example) as well. The tuning doesn't seem to be the same between one track and the next.... But it can be kind of subtle. So you need to make tiny adjustments as you go. (FWIW, I am using the Slowdowner on about 70% speed, I am certainly not up to playing along at speed)

a friend also told me this one.... Take out your tuner (groan) and close your eyes. Play a note ( G, for example ) When you get what you feel is a nice strong G, open your eyes and look at the tuner. See where you're at. Train your ear to "hear" if you're blowing those notes in tune on your own flute...


M

M

[peeplj]

I remember when I first got my Seery, which was my first large-holed Irish flute, I thought the flute was horribly sharp in the second octave.

To make a long story short, the problem wasn't the flute, it was me. I was not correctly supporting the lower octave.

I find both my Seery and my Hamilton are quite well in tune without my having to do "lip gymnastics."

--James

[monkey587]

Indeed I agree about the challenging flutes being good for one to play. But the hardship must also have some sort of a reward waiting in the end, which Hammy's flutes definitely do.
I reckon if it were just "the harder, the better", I'd personally be still tooting out with just my Delrin Seery and a random old German "Nach-Meyer". By the way, after the aforementioned, when I got my hands on the Hamilton flute, it felt very easy to play!

I did most of my learning on a german flute with a poorly cut embouchure. I've played a hamilton once, and it felt easy as well

I still play that same flute, but it has a Jon C headjoint and plays wonderfully

[Blackbeer]

Well..............not to get back on topic or anything but I haven`t heard anyone mention listening. When I am having a bad flute day I consintrate on listening at my lips. I know, that sounds odd but I can`t think of any other way to discribe it. I change my embochour all the time during a tune and if I focus on the sound at my lips everything gets better. Another thing I do is try not to think about my fingers. If I am playing a tune I know well and am having trouble with it nine times out of ten I am thinking about what my fingers are doing enstead of just letting them do it.
Now I am woundering if any of you Hammy players have ever played one of Jon Cs` Pratten models. Selfish reason for that question.

Take care

Tom

[Ro3b]

One of the coolest tips I ever got was actually from a student of mine: he casually mentioned that he though he sounded best when he visualized projecting the sound about twenty feet away, rather than obsessing about what was going on close up. It's like aikido for the flute.

I've also benefitted from Robert Dick's "throat-tuning" technique. I.e. blowing long tones and singing the pitches that you're playing, really focusing on getting the note you're singing in tune with the note you're playing. According to RD this trains you to go beyond "keeping your throat open" by shaping your mouth in a way that accoustically appropriate for each note. I'm not sure about that, but what I have observed is that it really cleans out the tension in my whole oral cavity; my tone is worlds better when I warm up this way.

[tin tin]

Throat tuning is a great technique to learn. A minor correction to the above: it's not your mouth you're shaping for the note (mouth shape is for tone color); you're tuning your vocal chords to resonate with the note. It really does make a difference in tone. The other big value is that you sing the tune in your head while playing it: the player makes the music, not the flute.

[peeplj]

Well..............not to get back on topic or anything but I haven`t heard anyone mention listening. When I am having a bad flute day I consintrate on listening at my lips. I know, that sounds odd but I can`t think of any other way to discribe it. I change my embochour all the time during a tune and if I focus on the sound at my lips everything gets better. Another thing I do is try not to think about my fingers. If I am playing a tune I know well and am having trouble with it nine times out of ten I am thinking about what my fingers are doing enstead of just letting them do it.
Now I am woundering if any of you Hammy players have ever played one of Jon Cs` Pratten models. Selfish reason for that question.

Take care

Tom

Tom, great post!

Continually listening and adjusting is one of the best ways I know if to come out of a "bad tone day."

And your advice on not thinking about your fingers is right on, as well. The more you worry about your fingering, the more tension will be in your hands and fingers, and the slower and less accurately you will play. The more relaxed you can keep your hands the better you are likely to play.

I've never had a chance to try one of Jon's flutes, but I do hope to have the opportunity some day.

--James

[flooter1979]

In the words of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, "No big deal."

[pkev]

Basics, Breathing, timing/rhythm, aperture to develop tone dynamics & expression.

pkev

[greenspiderweb]

Many of you probably know about this, and might have mentioned it somewhere along the way on this topic, but it probably bears repeating.

I just discovered this today, and for me, it seems to have worked some magic on my tone and playing, and it's very simple, but overlooked by me until now: stand up to play, and it can help immensely!

I imagine it frees your diaphragm and your air passages, and I seem to play with less effort, and better tone too by standing. I will still sit and play if I feel like it, but now if I want the best out of my flute, I will stand up and play.

And if you combine this with bringing the flute to your lips so your head is not bent forward, it will help even more.