help on tone?

[chayim]

HI. I have been playing flute for about 2 or 3 months. I have a Sweet Key less flute in D that I really like. I had played fife for about a year previously. I have been working on my embouchure to get a nice tone. Seems like the edgier, and more reed like tone is the way to go. I think I am getting it for the lower register down to G or F#, but I am having trouble getting a solid hard sound out of my low D and E. I have heard that the low E can tend to be weaker ob/c of the flute design. But I know (from listening) that you can really make the Low D honk and get a big sound out of it. Does anyone have some advice or pointers for me to get a good, solid tone out of the low D and lower register in general. Thank you.

[ImNotIrish]

Hi. Well, people tell me that I have a good solid tone. I'm not sure how that happened really, but I do know that I spent a lot of time practicing long tones. I also experimented with playing a note and pushing it to the point at which it almost breaks into the harmonics. For the low 'D', I sometimes try a quick snap with the L3 finger to help lay into the note. Harmonics and overtones are also helpful. Try playing an A to D, G to D, F# to D, etc. as well. Hope this helps a bit.
Arbo

[piperman07]

Hello,
one of the things that I find for the fundamental octave is to play very relaxed in your embouchure, relax lips, open throat, use your diaphragm to push the air. It will come, but takes some time to get that low register to play like you want it to.

Cheers,
Steve

[LorenzoFlute]

one of the things that I find for the fundamental octave is to play very relaxed in your embouchure

Strange, i would say the opposite.

[jim stone]

Keep practicing. Play long tones on the low D.
You might see what happens when you roll the flute out
and blow down into it, when you roll the flute in and blow over
it with a tight embouchure, aiming for the outer edge. Just
try different ways of blowing the D.
It's OK to spend a lot of time working on that note.

I think you will find that embouchure really comes online
and gets a lot stronger
in the next several months and things like this
get sorted out pretty naturally.
Meanwhile patience, practice, patience.

[Denny]

I really liked Cathy Wilde's suggestion of working on B first.

[chayim]

Thanks for the advice. Here is another question while we are on the subject of the low D. Is it OK to blow the note so hard that it starts in the 2nd octave? How do you get the Low D to "honk"?

[joshD]

There are so many possibilities when it come to tone. in my experience with myself, my approach was dard low D or die!!! Long, short, hard, fat and over and over and over! My image that I used while trying to play this low D was imagining myself blowing a hole through the back of the head joint. Fast, tight and efficient air were the concentration points in my madness. Arbo said some really good stuff


Good luck and don't get fed up. I am always getting frustrated instantly when I can't learn something fast. Give yourself some time but never become forgiving of not being successful in your practice. The fact that I was un-happy with my progress just pushed me harder to succeed in my playing. Don't get me wrong, I have things to work on and will always have things to practice. Keep us posted how it's coming.

[chayim]

Thanks for everything that you all wrote. It has helped me a lot. The sound clips are helpful to get an idea of the sound i can achieve. I especially liked what josh dukes wrote about blowing a whole through the back of the head joint. It definitely helps to visualize things of this nature. Anyway, I think I am getting a better tone as i practice and again, thank you all that responded.

[celticmodes]

I'm still a new player and I've run into the same problem. Relatively good tone down to F# but E and D are elusive. I've gotten a lot better by having "D" days.

When I have only 15 minutes to practice I will sometimes dedicate it to the low D. First I play long tones moving my embouchure around until I find the sound I'm looking for. I take it nice and slow like a breathing meditation. I go from soft to loud and play with the diameter of the embouchure and direction of airflow. I'm kinda like a kid with finger paints...there is no wrong sound, just different sounds.

Once I feel comfortable with my exploration, I start doing overtones or intervals to practice switching into and out of the low D kung fu lip posture. These kinds of exercises really helped and got my mind away from the "oh no, here comes the D...wonder if I'm going to hit it this time....".

[Jennie]

When I started out, I'd inwardly scoff at the workshop descriptions which stated that those in the advanced category should have been playing for three to ten years at minimum. I'd say to myself, "I'm sure I don't really need three years to become an advanced player!

Now it's been about three years. And guess what. I'm thinking it may be about thirty, if I'm lucky enough to be still playing that long... but looking back, my playing has definitely gained in tone and depth and facility.

So I think that the first stage, of finding out everything you can about what can help your playing, and knocking yourself out to try to do it all and learn the entire compass of flute playing, is a crazy and wonderful time. Enjoy it! And then get some good walking shoes and settle into stride for a long journey. As long as you keep going, you'll improve. There are also some very fine people and tunes to meet along the way.

Jennie