Consistency

[Rob Sharer]

I just posted a long-winded reply to the thread about nerves while playing, and thought it might deserve its own topic. I'm speaking here of the notion of consistency, and how focusing on being consistent can lead to improvements, especially in those critical moments when others are watching and the pressure is on. I do harp on about this in lessons, but I'll thank you to leave the hobgoblins out of it! That's a 'foolish consistency,' not my sensible suggestions. With no further ado:



I like to watch how fluthers get into their initial 'crouch,' both beginners and experienced players. Watch an old hand over the course of an evening, and you're likely to see him go through the same little routine every time the flute goes to the lips. I'm thinking now of a particular gent who plays around Doolin, name withheld. This man puts the flute to his lower lip before forming up his embouchure, and in the process of forming up he sends his tongue out and over the embouchure hole several times, maybe four in quick succession. I'd wager it's well-nigh unconsciously done at this point, but it's the routine, every time. Other players have different sequences, but it seems that each has a way of setting up that preceded the first note, every time.

What's going on here? Whether consciously or no, the best players have developed a way to quickly position the lower lip relative to the embouchure hole, form up the embouchure, and get on target for their best tone, starting with note one.
The less variation there is in the routine, the less chance of a bad set and the resulting performance problems. I'd say that a bad initial setup leads to many of the problems a less-experienced player will encounter when under stress. Any inconsistencies, uncertainties, or deficiencies are going to be much more likely to cause problems in the pressure-cooker of a session than at home in comfort. The key, I think, is to work during practice to develop consistency, so that when the critical moment comes the player will be, at the very least, properly set up to do their best under difficult circumstances. Nothing helps confidence like thorough preparation, and feeling like you have a firm grip on the task at hand. Suggestions for improving consistency:

1) Know Your Flute - All the flutes I ever played came in sections, and how these are aligned is critical to consistency. Find what works, then memorize it or make marks (Wite-Out is a non-permanent option). I start with the center section, speaking now mostly of flutes with independent sections for each hand, then align the head for maximum flexibility. You should have a clear idea of how rolled in/out you need your embouchure hole to be, and make sure the flute goes together this way every time. This can really make the difference!

2) Posture - Do you sit the same way every time? Legs crossed/uncrossed? Back in the chair, or on the edge? This may or may not contribute to alignment issues, but there certainly are confident postures one can strike that help with feeling grounded and assist in tone production.

3) Address The Flute - Dear Flute: never mind that! By address, I mean how you present the flute to your lips. This should be done the same way every time. I like the classical idea of a Concert Rest position, with the flute across the lap when not in use. When it's time to play, lift the flute from your lap in a slow, smooth motion (helps the arm muscles stay relaxed - no kidding) and bring it to your lips. Align the embouchure hole in the roll in/roll out and slide up/down axes the same way every time. Form your embouchure the same way every time. Practice the whole routine by going from concert rest to blowing your best low D as your first note; keep repeating the sequence until you can nail your best tone with your first issue of air.

I left out how the hands sit on the flute, but add that to the pile of consistency concerns. Meanwhile, do the Concert Rest to Playing Position exercise 20-30 times in a row, and see if you don't get better at getting set up correctly to play your best from the first note. Won't that be a confidence builder? Cheers,

Rob

[Cork]

Whew! That post covers a lot of ground.

In the first place, I can entirely see how the (unnamed) player you mentioned could have a routine as to how they put the flute to their face. For instance, I have a similar routine, where I first roll the flute inwards, to then put the flute's embouchure on both of my lips, in order to then help correctly locate my lower lip onto the flute's embouchure, before then rolling the flute back outwards, to its normal playing position. After all, getting the correct relationship between a player's lower lip and the embouchure of a flute is critical!

Beyond any such technical consideration, however, perhaps getting ready to play before an audience could come down to a frame of mind. For instance, when I begin my daily practice first thing in the day, I strike a tuning fork and then treat both of my ears to it, and then I "match" the tuning of my flute to that reference pitch, with my understanding that it's not just me who could hear it, but that EVERYBODY on planet Earth could also be hearing it, too. Similarly, I also assume that everybody on planet Earth could also be listening to all of my practice, such "pressure"! Of course, that's only a fantasy, but when it comes to actually performing in front of a live audience, to anybody and to everybody, it's not just that I'm simply prepared to do so, but, rather, I'm more than ready to do so, willing, and looking forward to it! Hello, everybody!

Looking more deeply into the matter, however, it seems there could be two, unique perspectives for a flute player to consider. First, there's the matter of learning to "speak" in an instrumental "voice", quite unlike speaking with one's much more familiar human voice. And then, moreover, it happens that music represents human emotion, which simply can be difficult for some players to confront, but which somehow must be done, for human emotion is at the root of music. Accept it, get over it, and then get on with it! After all, most people simply enjoy music, and that's what they expect to hear. So, be the musician!

Perhaps flute playing could be a rather long and complex topic, but one well worth considering, and thanks for bringing it up, Rob.

[crookedtune]

Some may consider such observations to be 'analysis paralysis', but I'm not one of them. Veteran players often forget how difficult it was to train their bodies to manage the intricate subtleties of music-making. Beginners are often starting from ground-zero, without a clue, and often without an experienced guide.

Indeed, finding things that work and then establishing ways to consistently duplicate them are key to the learning process. Most early successes will come from trial and error, so when things work well, you really want to capture the data! There's value in spending the extra mental energy to be aware and 'in the moment', particularly when starting out.

As an aside, one consistent pattern that I've noticed in my playing is that, even after a few years of pretty much daily playing, it takes me about ten minutes to get a strong embouchure. I'm probably not playing my best until thirty minutes into my session, and I tend to go flabby after a couple of hours. I'm seeing progress in the endurance area, but not in the time it takes to warm up. I'm just wondering if the stronger players among us experience this ---- or do you eventually get to where you can throttle right on up to your best playing level?

[Cork]

...As an aside, one consistent pattern that I've noticed in my playing is that, even after a few years of pretty much daily playing, it takes me about ten minutes to get a strong embouchure. I'm probably not playing my best until thirty minutes into my session, and I tend to go flabby after a couple of hours. I'm seeing progress in the endurance area, but not in the time it takes to warm up. I'm just wondering if the stronger players among us experience this ---- or do you eventually get to where you can throttle right on up to your best playing level?

Frankly, I never "throttle right on up" at the beginning of my flute playing day, never! Ouch, that could physically hurt!

Actually, my day begins with a thorough warm-up, and it could take about ten minutes or so for me to get back into the saddle, my muse and I...

:-)

[BrendanB]

As an aside, one consistent pattern that I've noticed in my playing is that, even after a few years of pretty much daily playing, it takes me about ten minutes to get a strong embouchure. I'm probably not playing my best until thirty minutes into my session, and I tend to go flabby after a couple of hours.

It's pretty common to have this experience. While some of it may be about your embouchure, I think it's more likely a function of the flute warming up. After about ten minutes, your flute is starting to get warm and have some moisture in it. Thirty minutes in, it's all set. If you ever sit your flute down for about twenty minutes and then pick it up again, you might notice the same sequence. Might be one of those rare cases where it really is the flute and not the player.

B

[Flutered]

I have heard Fintan Vallely comment too that it takes a period of time to get the best tone and keep in tune etc. Also lots of people seem to have a little flutter or phrase of notes before they launch into a tune - it's the same phrase they play each time though. Sort of serves two purposes - to check tone and also to other musicians that they're about to start a set. Bit like clearing your throat before launching into speech or song!

[jemtheflute]

Consistency? Kinda like Far Breton - smooth, firm, creamy, fruity in places yet still just a little wobbly when pushed..........

[johnkerr]

Also lots of people seem to have a little flutter or phrase of notes before they launch into a tune - it's the same phrase they play each time though.

Catherine McEvoy calls this the jingle. Every flute player has their own unique one, and it's usually something they do unconsciously but it is indeed the same every time they pick up the flute. As she says, there are three flute players in her house (herself, her husband Tom and their boy Fergus) and you know instantly which one it is playing off in some other room as soon as you hear the jingle.

Another consistency-related thing that a lot of players do (in particular the older ones) is to ease their way into the tune, ramping up the pace for a bar or two before they hit their cruising speed. This allows for more consistency and control than a jackrabbit start straight into warp speed does. And the good thing about it is that it's entirely traditional!

[Julia Delaney]

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mr. Sharer is of course talking about a wise consistency....

[Irish Marine]

I just want to say thanks to all of you for posting your thoughts on this topic. I'd been struggling with this very issue when Rob posted this yesterday. I've noticed that I've been trying many of the strategies listed, and guess I need to be more consistent with my consistency strategies Anyway, also appreciate Brendan's thoughts on the flute warming up b/c I've noticed that about myself too. Now, time to get cracking...

[Clinton]

Sometimes, when I start out, I can start right away with a cracking rich tone. Those are the days I treasure. More often though, what happens is that I start out with a fuzzy, breathy, anemic tone. So I work on fingering for a few minutes, do some long tones, harmonics on low D etc. Then I dry the flute out, put it down and do something else for a few minutes. More often than not, when I come back, I have "found" my embouchure and the sun shines again!

The consistency in setting up the embouchure is a key point, I think. It only makes sense as it is key in so many other physical endeavours.

Clinton

[celticmodes]

I'm having a problem along these lines. I'm playing about 9 tunes with a fiddler and guitarist at church around St. Paddy's day. Si beag Si mhor is our pleasant piece. Originally we were going to duo flute/fiddle with guitar backup but because of tuning issues and interpretation on a slow piece, we decided to split it up. I take first A with whistle, then switch to harp while fiddle plays second A part and first B, then I switch to flute and play last B part for the spectacular finish.

That's the vision. Now the reality. I record the other parts so I can practice the shifts (both mentally and physically) between instruments at speed. So at this point my parts sound like this:

A(1) - cold flat brass whistle
A(2) - nice pleasant harp
B(1) - nice pleasant harp
B(2) - cold flat flute with an embouchure that takes 2 measures to tighten up

Thoughts? Have I bitten off too much?

[crookedtune]

Pre-warm the whistle, and lip the flute up to pitch the best you can. Remember that your audience has a lot less awareness of any inconsistencies than you do!

[Clinton]

Two Christmases ago, I was still playing whistles instead of flute for the choir. We had a half hour of carols before mass, plus all the in-service music, and I was using high D, low D, A and high C whistles. My solution was to get a large cloth bag, roll up a hot water bottle inside a wool blanket in the bag, and nestle the whistles inside. It worked very well to keep them nice and toasty and clog free, even the condensation happy Copelands.

Clinton

[Julia Delaney]

celticmodes- Sorry- but this sounds like a recipe for chaos and subsequent embarrassment. Can you imagine the Chieftains switching off instruments? In the middle of the tune? What would be the point? This is the nuttiest ensemble I've ever heard of. If you can't work out playing together then you shouldn't be playing together.