Doctor Flute Blog
Musings on the Flute
Playing the First Notes of Your Solo
Do you plan the very first note of your solo performance? What you do with that first note is crucial. It sets the tone for the whole piece, literally and figuratively. Start with the Sound You Want Your goal is to have the first note come out with a fabulous tone,...
Why Are Professional Flutes So Expensive?
Let me begin by assuring you that professional model flutes are well worth the money that you pay for them! Professional flutes are an absolute joy to play on. They are so much better than even the best intermediate flutes, even if that intermediate has a handcut...
Tight Embouchure No Problem
You might be confused to read that a tight embouchure is not a problem, because you know, or at least you have heard that a tight embouchure is a problem. It is true that you do not ever want to play flute with a tight embouchure. It will give you a tight sound and it...
Failure to Plan for Your 3rd 8va Notes is a Plan to Fail
Have you ever played in band or orchestra, or played on a flute solo where you were aiming for some third octave note, high B, or B flat, and when you got there, you totally missed it? Maybe it cracked or didn't come out properly. You moved on because probably no one...
Arm Placement for Better Tone
Have you ever really thought about your arms when playing flute? What do your arms do? Some people let their arms hang, some bring the left elbow up some look like their arms are barely holding the flute up and some keep them rigidly out marching band style. Did you...
Flute Articulation – Focus on Your Tah
How is your articulation? Do you feel that your tonguing is precise and clear? Or do you sometimes have articulated notes that are unfocused and airy? There are differing ideas on tongue placement, and I think they can all be used for various reasons. But I want to...
Resonate to Improve Your Tone
Do you resonate your tone? What does that really mean? When we think about our flute sound resonating, we are talking making a tone that is vibrant and alive. When you use resonation to improve your tone, you will be surprised at how much you like it! A tone that...
Experiment with Your Tone
Sometimes I have bad tone days! Don’t you? Even when I am in good shape from a steady diet of practice, rehearsals, and performances, I can still have a bad tone day. So what can we do to pull out of the doldrums and make it a good tone day? I remember during my...
Trill Fingers
Have you ever just worked on your trills? There's a really good exercise in Taffanel and Gaubert’s 17 Grande Exercises at the very end of the book that you can use to work on your trills and to learn your trills. But today I just want to talk about the fingers that...