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 | Nov 12, 2022 | Breathing, FluteTips, Intonation, Support, Tone
Do you find that you go flat at the end of a long phrase? It’s quite common when you run out of air or lose your support. But you can keep those notes on pitch even when you’re running out of air by working on tapers, keeping the airstream up, and keeping up the...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Oct 29, 2022 | Brands, Extended Techniques, FluteTips
We all have intonation problems, and they can occur at the worst times where you feel like you’ve been playing in tune and then suddenly, you’re out of tune. And that might be because the people you’re playing with are different and you don’t...
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...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Sep 3, 2022 | FluteTips, Performing, Practice
We all have pesky problems in our music that are difficult to solve. We work on them and then that same problem comes back to haunt us again the next day. Do you have a method to fix these spots and more importantly, how is your method working? Sometimes you can go...
