by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Jan 13, 2024 | Embouchure, FluteTips, Tone
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...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Jul 29, 2023 | Embouchure, FluteTips, Intonation, Support, 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...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Apr 1, 2023 | Embouchure, FluteTips, Harmonics, High Register, Low Register, Middle Register, Practice
You need to be thinking about your low register as the foundation for everything that comes above it. If your low register is thin and not filled out and rich, then your upper register is going to suffer. There are some things that you can do to work on your low...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Dec 10, 2022 | Embouchure, FluteTips, High Register, Low Register, Middle Register, Support
When you play from a low C to a high C, just two octaves higher, what do you hear dynamically? Play it right now. Play from the low C all the way up the octaves to the high C. What do you hear? A lot of times what I hear from my students is they start off with a...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Oct 8, 2022 | Embouchure, FluteTips, Tone
Have you ever lost your low notes during a recital, or solo festival, or even in an ensemble? It is very common for flutists to be able to get a really rich low register in the practice room right before a performance only to lose those bottom notes on stage. It is so...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Sep 17, 2022 | Embouchure, FluteTips, Middle Register, Practice
I really detest cracking notes. It is one of those pet peeves that drives me crazy. Really, I do not ever want to crack again. But you know what? It happens! One of the areas where it happens a lot is in the middle register: C, C#, D and Eb. Those notes can often be...
