by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Apr 12, 2018 | Finger Placements, FluteTips
When you play a high C# does it feel like you can’t quite hold onto the flute? How do you stop that flute bobble? By using the correct hand positions which give you 4 balance points, and enables you to hold the flute with confidence. Balance Point 1 – Left Hand Shelf...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Mar 29, 2018 | Embouchure, FluteTips, Intonation, Tone
Playing in tune is one of the most important aspects of playing the flute. It is also the bane of our existence. Wouldn’t a perfectly in tune flute be a wonderful thing? However, until that beast is invented we must use every tool in our toolkit to play in tune. One...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Mar 22, 2018 | FluteTips, Practice
The technique of the crescendo and diminuendo is about much more than what I ever thought it was. I used to think that it was just blowing harder or blowing less. Or pinching to a teeny tiny embouchure to play soft especially in the high register. That’s not it at...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Mar 15, 2018 | Flute Purchase, FluteTips
What do I mean? When you have just purchased an open hole flute and now you are trying to figure out what to do with those plugs. Do you take them out one-at-a-time? Or, do you plunge in all-at-once, much like ripping off a band aid? Here is what I do with my students...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Mar 8, 2018 | FluteTips, Practice
Sometimes when we look at our music, we see it says piano, and in thinking piano, we tend to squeeze, instead of thinking, “What if I kept that sound glorious and beautiful, but just used a different adjective to describe it?” In the Cantabile et Presto,...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Mar 1, 2018 | FluteTips, Practice
Have you ever taken some time off from playing flute, then when you pick it back up… YOU SOUNDED TERRIBLE?! Well, I have! Everyone has those times every now and then. Sometimes it’s because work has taken over your life. Sometimes it’s because you were sick or had...
