Doctor Flute Blog
Musings on the Flute
So Lets Talk Technique
What do you do to improve your technique? Do you play the plethora of scale exercises? Technique books - there's a myriad of them too. So How do you know which ones to use? Every teacher you have ever had, has a different favorite. Is one better then the other? And so...
Tonguing Problems – Noisy Tongue
One of the problems that I hear with my students is a flapping or thunking sound when they’re tonguing a piece. This occurs even with my college students. It comes out very clearly when they’re double-tonguing a piece. That thunking flapping sound is clear to me. But...
Fixing First Finger Problems
Why is the lowly first finger a problem? Because often that first finger is down for our D and our Eb, and it shouldn’t be. The only time your first finger is down for D is when it’s below the staff, low register and Eb. When you’re on the 4th line D, or Eb on the 4th...
Support Part 2
The most monumental concept that I learned about support is when I finally understood this one thing: Support = Pressure It is an equation that I could understand. When put into those few words, it all made sense to me. Now some of you will say "of course, that's what...
Double-Tonguing: How to Practice
The 2nd movement of Bach’s C Major Flute Sonata is all double-tonguing. It’s a lot of fun! You should practice it. Here's an important tip about how to begin practicing double-tonguing. Double-tonguing all starts with where you put the tip of your tongue. You place...
What the heck is support?
SUPPORT. It's one of my biggest pet peeves. I've heard about support my whole life and it was many years into my flute playing life when I figured out what it was all on my own. Too many teachers don't have a clue how to teach this concept. They use the term support...
Articulation: Tonguing Too Far Back
Many people tongue too far back on the roof of their mouths. You want your tongue to be as far forward as you can get it without being on your teeth. Feel with your tongue on the roof of your mouth. There’s a knob that’s right in between the two front teeth. Then...
What About Fingers?
How do you put your fingers on the keys? Do you keep them low or do you allow them to be above the keys? How about that G# pinky finger? Does that one stay on the key or does it hang below? We all can agree that fingers that stay close to the keys are more efficient....
When bad flute days are here…again
As I have written about before, bad days come. They are unwanted, unlooked for and, lets face it, depressing. I have never gotten a "get out of jail free card" when it comes to bad days. Believe me, I've had my share. The worst is when I put my flute to my lips and I...