There are some things that you can do to work on your low register and know that that is also helping your high register. Now, that does not mean that you can stop work at anything in the high register because your low register was nice and rich. You still need to be thinking about how you are playing and how your low register reaches that upper register, and even just taking the high register out all on its own.

Round & Full

But let’s just talk about the low register. So, what are some things that you can do to fill it out, to make it strong? Long tones, of course, down in that low register, just doing from B down to low C is a really good place to get started for building your low register. And what you are thinking about is how round and full can you make this low register. You are not thinking about playing softly. You want to fill it out, to make that low note really round.

You also want to think about:

The shape of your embouchure
Opening your jaw wider
Putting air in your cheeks

These are things that will help you make it rich and resonant and full.

You also want the sound to come from behind your sinus cavity. So, the back of your tongue should be down, and the roof of your mouth is arched up. This is how singers have the sound resonate. And then that sound can be rich and full all the way down.

Low to Middle to High

Now, if that is tenuous or if you crack a lot, or if it just does not stay there, you know that there is probably going to be something that is affected above it because that roundness, that fullness, that resonance can move into your upper register. This is why when you do long tones for the third octave, we actually start on middle B and we go up instead of always descending. Because if you can get a round full low register, then middle, then do long tones going up.

So, you keep what is full in the low, move it to the middle, and then take it higher.

Keep it really full. You are not trying to play really softly. There is a time and a place for doing your long tones with diminuendo and trying to play really softly. But right now you are not trying to do that. You are trying to get your high register to be rich and full and beautiful, just like your low register. So, you are going to work from a low note to a middle note as in those octave slurs, and then work to keep that resonance all the way up.

If you start with a good low note, you can match those registers and it becomes a beautiful sound that you can work with and build on all the way up.

A Word on Hearing Loss

If you are going to work your long tones in your third octave, wear ear protection so it does not damage your ears. You can just use those foamy things if you do not have real kind that allow sound in, but keep out the higher harmonics. If I am going to work in the third octave, I usually wear ear protection same as if I am playing piccolo.

So that is how you can fill out and strengthen and make your third octave be so much more resonant and beautiful. You start with a low register that is fabulous. That is the foundation that pushes up and holds up that third octave. Then you can make it just as glorious as your low register.

Have fun!
DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this:

You Can’t Have a Good High Register Without Having a Really Good Low Register – FluteTips 172

FluteTips 66 Easy High Notes

Getting Spin on Your Third Octave Notes – FluteTips 171

Putting Air in Your Cheeks to Lower Your Pitch – FluteTips 32

Resonate to Improve Your Tone – FluteTips 178

The post You Can’t Have a Good High Register Without Having a Really Good Low Register appeared first on DoctorFlute.

Now, these are probably my younger students. My college students have learned to work this out a little bit. Sometimes the compensation to not be forté is to make your embouchure really tiny. If you do that so that your third octave, and the top of your second octave is not a forté or a double forté, you are not going to get the tone you want in those octaves.  When I play through these octaves, I want them to be even all the way up. Now, there is going to be a difference in timber because the sound wave is faster, or the wave lengths are closer together as you get higher.

So don’t get confused with the sound of the timbre and forté. As you play through the octaves, flutists tend to either blow harder for the 2^nd and 3^rd octave or they squeeze their embouchure. If you are not blowing harder, you are tightening up your embouchure to compensate for getting those high notes out. What is the key here to getting your high notes out and not blowing harder?

Air pressure

Air pressure is the answer to so many problems we have with tone on our flute. If you maintain that pressure all the way up, you free your embouchure to be loose, and to get those notes out with the best tone quality, while not being forté. Do I have to do some adjusting of the embouchure too? Certainly, we must adjust our embouchure as we go higher or lower. Your job is to listen to yourself as you play through the octaves. As you are playing through your music ask yourself; am I changing my embouchure getting tighter? Am I blowing harder or am I compensating by getting tighter in my embouchure? Or am I allowing my air pressure or support to hold up those notes which then frees up my embouchure to be nice and open?

When I play a high note, I aim to have quite a loose embouchure. Now, I might be a little more firm right here in the center of my embouchure. But it is still very loose and relaxed. However, each note that I move up to, I have to push more from my stomach muscles. There needs to be a little bit more pressure to hold those notes up. When I do this correctly with air pressure, I get evenness of tone through the octaves. It doesn’t get louder. It doesn’t get softer or buzzier. I also kept the same color all the way up and all the way down.

So, record yourself then listen and see what you are doing through those octaves. What do you think you are doing with your embouchure or your pressure? And are you maintaining the same dynamic level?

Have fun!
DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this idea:

Evening Out Your Registers – FluteTips 169

Getting Spin on Your Third Octave Notes – FluteTips 171

FluteTips 11 Support – Ribcage Air

FluteTips 71 Tapers

How to NOT Go Flat at the End of Notes – FluteTips 168

The post Evening Out Your Registers appeared first on DoctorFlute.

As you may already know, in July of 2018, I conducted my very first test of the LefreQue by playing my professional Haynes with a Rose Gold LefreQue and then a Silver LefreQue. The resulting blog and video of this test included a blind test and became one of my most viewed videos. Additionally, this test spurred a lot of questions and comments about the LefreQue from the simplest of questions desiring to know the correct pronunciation of this musical accessory, to the most cynical charge that it is nothing more than the proverbial snake oil.

At the end of that test, I was not certain that the LefreQue improved my tone and increased the ease of performance in the way that the inventor suggested. But I knew it did do something positive for me.

So, this time around, I wanted to dive a little deeper by demonstrating how the LefreQue Sound Bridge can actually change the sound (and feel) of 3 levels of flute; to answer some of the most commonly asked questions that I have gotten about the LefreQue; and to include some details about an independent test conducted by a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Will this finally put to rest the question of whether or not YOU should get a LefreQue because it is THE solution that you have been searching for to improve your tone? Of course not! But what I can say with certainty is that if you get the correct LefreQue for your instrument, and attach it correctly, that it will in fact do for you – at least some of – what the inventor claims it will do. That is, in many ways it will improve your sound, and make it easier for you to play, especially the high notes and low notes.

The real question, that only you can answer is whether you like what it does for your sound. And whether the cost is worth it for you. It all comes down to preference. Do you prefer your sound with a LefreQue or without a LefreQue? I do hope that you will test them out and let me know your results.

In my opinion, if you have outgrown the flute you own, and cannot afford to upgrade your flute or headjoint, then a LefreQue is a much more economical option to extend the life of your instrument by helping you to produce a better tone and to have more enjoyment from performing. That is, the intermediate player stuck on a beginner flute, or the music school candidate looking for an edge with their intermediate flute would do well to look at the LefreQue.

Promises Made

The LefreQue is composed of two small pieces of metal that are bent in such a way to produce a small hump that “bridges” the lip between the segments of the flute: flute body and headjoint, body and foot, headjoint and crown. The LefreQue is designed to overcome the acoustical impact of these segments by allowing the tone to move with less resistance through the flute.

LefreQue promises you will achieve the following:
• Purer overtones
• Accurate tuning
• Clear response
• Smooth intervals
• Surround projection
• Extended dynamics

Promises Kept

On June 12, 2021, an independent article was published in “Acoustics” which is a peer-reviewed journal of acoustics science and engineering. This article is helpful in that it validates that the LefreQue Sound Bridge actually has an acoustical impact on the sound produced. It also describes the claims made by performers and conductors. Further, it provides an excellent definition of how the thing works.

Here is their definition, followed by a heavily edited quote about their results, and a link to the article for those who wish the read the somewhat technical jargon. As of the publication of this blog post, that article has had over 1,700 views.

“It is shown that a gold-plated device mounted… can change two characteristics of the radiated sound… thus, being beneficial for live performances in small halls with minimal acoustic optimization. The data further indicate that the occasionally hearable “rumble” [from playing out of tune with each other] of a wind instrument orchestra… might be reduced (or avoided).”

“The general concept of the sound bridge is to facilitate the transfer of vibrational energy from one part of the instrument to the next connected part. It is assumed that, at the first loose connection between the mouthpiece and the body of the wind, a loss in the transfer of vibrational energy occurs, which can be reduced through the use of a metal bridge, which is designed to transfer vibrational energy.”

The Magnitude of the Frequency Jitter of Acoustic Waves Generated by Wind Instruments Is of Relevance for the Live Performance of Music

By Alexander M. Rehm

https://doi.org/10.3390/acoustics3020027

Commonly Asked Questions:

How do you pronounce LefreQue?

The correct pronunciation is “le freak” as in “the frequency.” Although the inventor is not offended if you pronounce it like the ogre named Shrek as in “le freck” as long as you buy one, you can call it whatever you want.

Where do you place the LefreQue on your flute?

You can place the LefreQue on any or all the 3 places on your flute where metal pieces connect:
1. Crown to Headjoint
2. Headjoint to body
3. Body to footjoint

It is most commonly placed between the headjoint and body. In this position, you can use either the 76mm LefreQue which will bridge both ridges at the top of the body, or the 41mm LefreQue which will only bride the topmost ridge.

Regardless of which position you choose, the LefreQue should be attached to the bottom of your flute where there are no keys above or below it. In addition to the acoustical benefits of this placement, it also gives your audience a perfect view of the LefreQue when you are in playing position.

What does the LefreQue cost?

That depends on which LefreQue you buy. They run from the very economical under $100 USD (Brass) to the very expensive $10,000 USD (24K Solid Gold), depending on their metal composition.

The inventor says that you need to select a metal that is above the quality of the metal of your instrument. So, you would not use an inexpensive LefreQue on a professional model flute because it probably would not give you the desired results.

The 4 LefreQue that I tested:

76mm Fine Silver Gold-Plated – $675
41mm Red Brass Rose Gold-Plated – $300
41mm Red Brass Silver-Plated – $110
41mm Red Brass – $65

The prices listed were at the time of this publication and are subject to change with the whims of the spot prices of precious metals.

Will the LefreQue scratch your flute?

The simple answer is that the LefreQue could scratch your flute. Therefore, you are prohibited from attaching a LefreQue to a flute that is on loan to you for a trial.

You want to be very careful when you attach it to your flute. You are more likely to scratch your flute if you move the LefreQue after you have already attached it to your flute. If you forgot to place it where there are no keys, then the trick to moving it without scratching is to hold your flute firmly by the handle, then with your thumb and index finger pull the LefreQue away from your flute – stretching the band slightly – then reposition the LefreQue and gently release the tension in the band. By doing it this way, you will not slide metal on metal. This is what causes the scratches.

So, just be careful and you will not scratch your flute.

Do flutist perform with the LefreQue on their flute?

Yes, definitely! Because if it does what you want it to do – enhances your tone, makes it easier to hit some notes, better tuning, etc. – then of course you would want to perform with it on your flute.

Does the LefreQue weigh your instrument down?

The LefreQue does add weight to your flute, especially if you use 2 or 3 at the same time. But the real questions are whether the added weight is enough to give you hand problems, and does it throw off the perfect balance of the flute.

So, if you already have hand problems, then any additional weight added to your instrument may exasperate those problems. Otherwise, I did not find that the added weight of even the 76mm LefreQue to add too much weight that I thought it might cause me any problems. Additionally, it did not seem to throw off the balance in the slightest way.

How do you attach a LefreQue?

It is actually quite simple to attach them, once you get the hang of it. I have written out the process and published a blog with photos and made 2 videos demonstrating how to attach them properly. I hope you find these helpful. Have no fear. You will figure it out!

The Trials

Here are the combination of flutes and LefreQue that I used in my trials, and my opinions about what I heard and felt when I played.

Professional Haynes with 76mm Fine Silver Gold-Plated LefreQue

I could definitely hear a difference! I feel like it took the edge off, the diffused edge of my tone, and gave me only the center. So, I do think that it gave me a better tone, a more focused sound. I also think that it gives me a little bit bigger sound. And I think that while you could say it made my tone smaller, I think what I heard is that this has given me just the pure tone, which then projects a whole lot better.

You do in fact feel a difference in the resonance. The flute feels different. The LefreQue takes some of the vibrations that go through the flute and dampens them a little bit. So, the flute feels different in your hands because of that dampening.

I did not find the weight of this to be overwhelming. It does not really feel like it throws the balance off. Which I was probably a little bit concerned about.

When I was playing with the high register and really doing some high B’s and high C’s, I do think it responded a lot easier. With my flute, I feel like I do have to work kind of hard in the third octave to really make it respond and sound good. This LefreQue made those notes come out easier for me.

Professional Haynes with 41mm Red Brass Silver-Plated LefreQue

So, I thought this was a nice improvement. I like what it did for my tone. It did not make it feel smaller at all. It definitely felt a little bit more refined. I thought it gave a warmer quality to my tone and I could definitely hear the focus it gave to my tone.

I am not sure that it gave my high register any real boost as far as tonguing or response goes. It might be better intonation.

Professional Haynes with 41mm Red Brass Rose Gold-Plated LefreQue

Again, I could hear a difference. I am not sure it was the most beneficial for my tone. I actually felt like my tone was cracking a little bit more than usual. But I do feel like it opened my lower register, and it gave me a little bit bigger sound.

It is an in interesting sound that is definitely different. But is it better? I’m not sure.

Haynes Amadeus Intermediate with 41mm Red Brass Silver-Plated LefreQue

I think it really did add something to this instrument. It gave me a little bit more projection. I really did hear that. I felt like the sound really projected differently on this instrument. It also felt different in my hands – just like it did with the professional model flute.

I am not sure that it did anything in particular for the low register, other than generally overall I thought the tone changed.

Haynes Amadeus Intermediate with 41mm Red Brass Rose Gold-Plated LefreQue

I thought that this one really does something completely different with my tone. I felt like it warmed the tone up. But also, I felt like the response time is a little bit quicker in the low register and the high register.

So, to me there is a big difference in how this LefreQue sounds on this intermediate flute.

Trevor James Beginner with Red Brass LefreQue

I did hear a difference. I think that even this red brass takes off some of the edges that are a little bit more diffused and gives a more solid sound in the middle. So, I think that this is an improvement. And if you have a beginner flute and you don’t have the funds to upgrade right now, a less than $100 fix can give you a nice change that I think you would really appreciate.

Trevor James Beginner with Red Brass Silver-Plated LefreQue

I definitely heard a bigger sound. I think that this flute is projecting more too. It not only took off the edges like the red brass did, but it gave me a little bit more sound.

This could be a good solution for an intermediate player, playing a beginner flute. An economical solution that can extend the life of your beginner flute.

Trevor James Beginner with Red Brass Rose Gold-Plated LefreQue

This one gave me a totally different tone color! The Rose Gold seemed to sweeten up my tone. It still improved the projection. But it also gave me a little sweeter sound.

I really felt like the gold made a difference. And going from the brass to the silver plated to the gold plated, really three different sounds, three different price points – all economical choices to help you get the tone you’re looking for.

But for me, playing on this beginner flute, if I were to choose, I would go with the gold.

Conclusion

Now you might take the LefreQue off your flute and decide that you like your tone better without the LefreQue. That is perfectly fine and acceptable.

While my test showed me that the LefreQue does actually make a difference in my tone, I still think that the bottom line is preference.

Do you like your sound better with the LefreQue or without the LefreQue?

Do you find it easier to play your high and low registers with the LefreQue or without the LefreQue?

Do you like the way your flute looks and feels with the LefreQue or without the LefreQue?

If you can answer these questions, they will help you decide whether to buy them. In my opinion, they present an economical choice to improve your sound.

Let me know what you decide!

Have fun!
DoctorFlute

Watch my video demonstrating all these different LefreQue and let me know what you hear. Do you hear differences? If so, are they positive, negative, or neither?

LefreQue for Flute Testing 4 LefreQue on 3 Flute Levels – FCNY Sponsored

How to Attach a LefreQue to Your Flute

To LefreQue or Not to LefreQue. That is the Question. Can You Hear the Difference?

How to Attach a LefreQue to Your Flute Close Up

Woodify Ring for Flute Review by DoctorFlute – FCNY Sponsored

KraftGeek Capsule Music Stand Review by DoctorFlute

Here’s a list of the gear tested in this video:

William S. Haynes Handmade Custom Flute – Solid silver, hand-cut headjoint with 14K gold riser, silver body and mechanism, .016” standard wall tubing, inline G, B footjoint.

Haynes Handmade Custom Flute in Coin Silver – New

Amadeus by William S. Haynes Model 580 – Haynes Amadeus silver-plated headjoint with sterling silver (.925) lip plate and riser, silver-plated body and mechanism, drawn tone holes, French (open hole) model, pointed key arms, (.016″) tubing, offset G, B footjoint.

Amadeus by Haynes Model 580 Step-Up Flute – New

Trevor James Model 10X – silver-plated straight headjoint, body and mechanism, closed holes, C footjoint, offset G key, Pisoni Lucien Deluxe pads.

Trevor James Model 10XC (New)

76mm Yellow Gold-Plated Solid Silver Lefreque Sound Bridge

76mm Yellow Gold-Plated Solid Silver Lefreque Sound Bridge

41mm Rose Gold-Plated Red Brass Lefreque Sound Bridge

Gold-Plated Red Brass LefreQue Sound Bridge with Band

41mm Silver-Plated Red Brass Lefreque Sound Bridge

41mm Silver-Plated Red Brass Lefreque Sound Bridge

41mm Red Brass Lefreque Sound Bridge

41mm Red Brass Lefreque Sound Bridge

If you follow these links to The Flute Center of NY, tell them I sent you by putting my code: “DrFlute” in the box labeled “Influencer Code.”

Thanks!

Thank you, Flute Center of New York, for sponsoring this video.

The post LefreQue – Results of Testing 4 LefreQue on 3 Levels of Flute appeared first on DoctorFlute.

The post Practice Articulation to Improve Your Tone appeared first on DoctorFlute.

Don’t despair there is hope.

I get a lot of inquiries about how to get a low C to sound on the flute. I have discussed this in a video before but let's talk about it more in depth.

Your low notes from E down to low C are often difficult to get, especially if you have to tongue them in a very short span of time a.k.a. staccato or double tongue. Staccatos can wreak havoc, especially when they are in the low register, such as the Cantabile et Presto by an Enesco. At the beginning of the Presto there is fast low register staccato. For the younger student this is very difficult. I almost never hear this played well when I judge solo festivals.  

The place to begin is the C chromatic tonguing exercise, which I've explained in more depth on my low C video, How Do I Get my Low C? The exercise playing short tones beginning with middle C and descending chromatically returning to middle C in between each note ie: CBCBbCACAbCGCFCF# etc. Play it VERY slow. What this exercise reveals that most of the time you blow too much air on the low notes. I can't emphasize that enough. There is too much air coming out to get that low C to come out properly. Hold your breath. Literally hold your breath. I take my breath hold it in and only use the air that's situated in my mouth.

In that video How Do I Get my Low C, I mentioned that the first thing you need to do is make sure that you don't have any leaks because the low C, with all your fingers down will reveal if you have a leakage problem. If that's in any way the issue here, get your flute looked at and make sure that it's not a leakage problem, because there is nothing more frustrating than to be working and getting nowhere. You want to work hard but you also want to see results from that work and you won’t if your flute is leaking.  

Be prepared that you won’t see results right away. It's going to take time, perhaps days, in order to learn how to play the low Eb, D, C#, and C.

After having practiced these notes and I’m getting reasonable results, it’s time to put it in the music. Go back to your solo that has these fast low notes and practice what you are learning in the music. Take it slow and consider the placement of every note. Gradually work it up faster always thinking about holding in the air and placement of the embouchure.  

Placement of the embouchure is important as well. When you are playing your embouchure needs to be a state of flux. The embouchure has to be flexible in order to change from a high embouchure to a low in the middle of a piece. Sometimes your low notes do not come out simply because your embouchure stayed high. Low notes will not come out with a high embouchure. The embouchure get in the habit of adjusting in the middle of pieces and quickly. To get used to this way of practice, you should learn to play the sections with high and low notes very slowly. The slow tempo will allow you to learn how to adjust the embouchure. You can then get faster and faster learning how to make that embouchure change to the octave you need.   

The tongue plays a role in achieving low notes as well. The ideal tongue position is on the roof of the mouth as far forward as you can get without being on the teeth. A tongue too far back is going to allow for that delay, that air that comes out before the sound. Bring the tongue forward and demand that low C to happen right away. Remember that the tongue does not have to propel lots of air out. It merely releases the air that is your mouth.

All right so those are some of the ways that I work on when I need to get a low C and I need it fast. It can be frustrating working on getting this. Do it for little bits of time. Do it frequently. Work on the C chromatic tonguing exercise. Watch that video, How Do I Get my Low C? Add that to this, and you'll have a framework of how to work on that low C, and it will start working for you. I guarantee it will. But what's my biggest key here? Hold in that air. Don't let it out. Most people don't believe how much you truly hold in. But I do mean all of your air.

When you work on that low C and other low notes the tone gets richer and fuller. It's just phenomenal that you are working on getting a low to note to respond and yet you are also playing a tone exercise! Work on your low C response. You'll be glad you did!

Have Fun!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this:

More Problems with Your Low C FluteTips 113

FluteTips 40 Why Can’t I Get My Low C?

The post More Problems with Your Low C appeared first on DoctorFlute.

Is your embouchure flexible?
Does it adjust to the octave in which you are playing?

The embouchure is an amazing
thing. It has the ability to move and adjust to help us get the best tone. The
problem comes when we don’t move the embouchure but leave it static. The reality
is that our embouchure needs to be in a state of
flexibility all the time while we're playing. It needs to be able to
change and move depending on where we are playing in each octave.

If
you're playing in the 2^nd or 3^rd octave, you need to have the
embouchure that helps to get high notes. But
what if right after that high section you need to play down in the first
octave? So many players keep that high embouchure to play those low notes – and
it doesn’t work.  if you’re immediately going
low, you're embouchure needs to be able to move and be a low embouchure.

This
is probably the number one problem that I see with my college students when
they come to study with me. Their embouchure is stable. It is static. As if to say, “my
embouchure is going to be this way from now on and forever.” It is
always my pleasure to teach them about flexibility and watch how their tone
opens right up in all the octaves.

I
had the same problem when I was in college. My embouchure was set. I thought I could make my
sound better just by doing long tones. There had to be some other  miraculous way to
get the low notes to sound so booming, and to get beautiful resonant
high notes.

Thankfully,
there was another way!

I
was at a flute convention one time and I heard
Sir James Galway talk about tone. He was leading this whole group, of about a thousand people that
went to hear him speak. He was talking on
Moyse’s long tones. He told a story
about a student that was studying with him. Sir James was telling him
that you adjust for high notes and then again
for your low notes. This student asked
“but wait, in the middle of the piece, I have to
change your embouchure?” Sir James
practically yelled when he replied, “well, if there's one thing I have to tell you, YOU
HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR EMBOUCHURE”. Of course, he said that with
a great Irish accent which brought the house down and everybody laughed.

But
it's true. Your embouchure has to be changing all the time. If you keep a high embouchure when you're playing a low
note, you're going to lose the low notes. I
remember playing a solo or two and wondering
why I would lose my low notes. The problem ultimately was that my embouchure was so tight
that those low notes were stuck. None of the
low notes would just boom out the way they could in the practice room when I
was completely relaxed, probably had taken a break and come back in and played that low section. It didn’t happen
until I played the entire piece and then the problem was revealed.  

I
have a Köhler Etude Op. 66 #5 in front
of me. If you don’t have this etude then go to
my downloads page and you can download this etude to work on it with me. This etude begins changing octaves right away
especially between the high G and low D. I need
to think about keeping my embouchure flexible between those two notes or my
low D will not sound great. Getting a low note with a high embouchure leaves
that low note weak and covered. When I plan to play this etude with the
different octaves, I think about opening up in
all octaves, but in the upper range I keeping the airstream straight
out, while maintaining space between my lips
so that the air doesn't bounce between them creating that fuzzy sound.

Now
there is a downward arpeggio. So, I move my jaw down, and lower the airstream as I go.
By the time I reach that D, I've lowered my
jaw, relaxed my embouchure to aim the airstream
down. Even in so little an area I've already
changed my embouchure.

When I practice this etude
or any piece for that matter, I practice it slowly to work on embouchure
changes especially when I feel that tightness creep in. Be very conscious of
what the embouchure is doing. It is both a feel and sound. I always analyze
what the embouchure feels like as well as sound because sometimes my ear
doesn’t tell me truth.  

Listen to your high notes.
Are you fighting them?  If so, is it because you didn’t adjust to a high
embouchure? If your high register comes out but is very small, then your
embouchure is too small and tight and will never get that resonance you are
looking for.

How about your low notes,
are they sounding rich and full? In the middle of a solo, can you belt out
those low notes as if you just began fresh on that spot? If not it’s because
you didn’t adjust to a low embouchure. The embouchure has to loosen, teeth
lowered and the air stream moves down.

If you can get the
embouchure in the habit of adjusting when you are going slowly then you can
make this happen when you are up to tempo. It’s just practice. The embouchure
needs practice, just the same as the fingers.

Experiment
with your embouchure. Listen to yourself. Let your ear tell you when it's not
sounding right.

Enjoy
working on flexibility in your embouchure.

Have fun!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this Making Your Embouchure Be Flexible While You're Playing FluteTips 87

Tight Embouchure No Problem – FluteTips 182

How to Form a Great Flute Embouchure – FluteTips 132

The post Making Your Embouchure Be Flexible While You’re Playing appeared first on DoctorFlute.

The post Getting Better Low Notes with Taffanel & Gaubert Number 8 appeared first on DoctorFlute.

A Big Puff of Air

In this exercise I begin with a middle C. I tongue the note very short so as not to allow myself to adjust and pretend that I got the note the way I wanted. On middle C, it’s not as difficult. But on the lower notes, it is very important. I then move to B back to C, then Bb, back to C, A, C, Ab, C, G, C all the way down chromatically, always returning to that middle C between every note. You must practice with a very short tongue. Also make sure your tongue is placed in the right spot in the front of your mouth. Think of your tongue as a point and that point makes the “ta” sound. Another important aspect of this exercise is breathing correctly more importantly breathing to use support.

In order to articulate these low notes you must use support. Very little air is needed to articulate low notes. If I let a lot of air out every time I play low notes they won’t come out in a crisp fashion.

You Must Use Support

When I begin this exercise I take my breath and hold it in. Virtually thinking that I’m holding my breath the entire time. I really only want to use the air that’s already in my mouth to tongue the low notes.

Other aspects to think about is opening the embouchure. You want to have the teeth be perhaps a finger or a finger and a half apart so it’s nice and “ahh” feeling on the inside. Then go all the way down to your low C.

Low C will be the most difficult to articulate. The response time is slow and there is a delay before the sound. But I want to work on that low C until it begins to work. C is the hardest one. If you can get low C you can get all the others. Work on that C chromatic tonguing exercise.

Do it very slowly. There’s no rush.

Pretend I Got the Note

Think about each and every note that you play. Keep your tongue really short so that you work to get those low notes to respond. We can fool ourselves into thinking that we got the note by holding it longer and then waiting for it to come in. If you keep it really short then you’re hearing the note on the front side of it to see if it comes out or is it just a puff or air.

Work on that a little bit every day. If you are practicing 2 or 3 times in a day, then I would do that exercise at the beginning of every practice session. You’re not spending 20 minutes on that exercise. Do it for 5 minutes or so then go on to something else. Play the exercise again later in that practice session and do it for another 5 minutes.

That’s how I work on my low notes and to make sure they respond. A side benefit is that working on your articulation in the low register also is a great way to work on your low register tone.

Have fun!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this: FluteTips 73 Articulating Low Notes

The post Articulating Low Notes appeared first on DoctorFlute.

I’ve have used this book so much that it’s tattered and missing its front cover. It’s that good!

De la Sonorite

Yes, it was written long ago. But it’s so good, with so many exercises that we can still use today.

The exercise is written in sections. The first is whole notes grouped in measures of 4 followed by half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes. Moyse instructs the player to crescendo and diminuendo through the 4 measures with the quarter note = 60 on the metronome.

When I started working on this particular exercise, I could IN NO WAY do what was being asked! To crescendo for 8 beats going towards a double ff and then diminuendo-ing for 8 beats at 60 is quite challenging. But it is well worth working on.

This Work is Worth it!

What’s really good about this exercise is that it teaches you to hold in your air, to not let it all out! Because, if you let too much air out, you won’t last 32 beats of crescendo/diminuendo. Your goal is to get this all in one breath! In other words, you’re working on holding in that air by developing your air pressure. Are you creating and using your support? Are you able to keep it and control it? Working on all of this will help to rich-up your low register.

As the exercise goes on, Moyse changes the combination of notes slightly. As you work through, he’s got a number of different combinations of notes. I recommend that you stay on the same combination of notes for a month. Just do the same ones every day.

Work with that and learn to hold in that air, keep up the air pressure, to listen to your tone, to keep your embouchure open, to keep it relaxed, learning to crescendo and diminuendo through there by opening your jaw and closing it as if you were tapering.

In 1 Breath

Get through all of  ex 1 in one practice session. It’s a good workout for your lip. It’s a great workout for your air, and learning how to hold it in, and to use your air wisely which of course, we need to do on a lot of solos where air is at a premium, at least for me. Plus it helps to take the air out of the tone. What you are left with is a beautiful rich sound.

Have fun working on your Moyse Low Tones Exercise in De la Sonorite!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this: FluteTips 72 Rich Expansive Low Register

How to Crescendo and Diminuendo

The post How to Get a Rich Expansive Low Register appeared first on DoctorFlute.

The LefreQue consists of 2 metal plates, and 1 elastic band that has a small ball built into it.

To attached the LefreQue to your flute, place the plate without dots in the palm of your left hand, perpendicular to your fingers. Then place the plate WITH dots on top of the plate without dots.

Then place the elastic band on top of both plates with the ball extended toward your fingers.

Then with your right hand pick up both plates by placing your right thumb between the band and the plates, and your right middle finger between the plates and the ball on the band.

Pick up the plates with your right hand and turn them over, while gently squeezing the band together between your index, middle and ring fingers. Then, gently pull the ball so that the extra length of band is on the ball side of the plates.

With your left hand, turn your flute (while on the flute stand) so the lip plate faces away from you exposing the bottom of the flute. You will attach the LefreQue directly above the place in the flute body where there are no keys.

With your right hand, place the LefreQue on your flute so that the top edge of the LefreQue is at the base of your headjoint, the bottom edge of the LefreQue is on the flute body, and the curved part of the LefreQue goes over the raised seam at the tip of the flute body.

Then with your left thumb and index finger pinch the band while simultaneously pulling the ball with your left middle finger. The idea is to pull the band over the ball and drop it down behind the ball forming a tight hold on the two plates.

If you need to adjust the position of the LefreQue to move it to where there are no keys, first hold the flute body just below the headjoint and LefreQue. With your free hand, pinch both plates and pull them away from your flute, then turn them to the correct position. This will keep them from scratching your flute. That is, if you just turn the LefreQue while it is tightly attached to your flute, you will likely scratch your flute.

The LefreQue should be positioned away from your face, starting on the outer edge of the lip plate. When you look down your flute, the LefreQue plates are not in line with any keys. They are more in line with open metal.

To remove the LefreQue just reverse the process by pulling the elastic band back over the ball to loosen the plates. Be sure to have your hand securely on the LefreQue plates and elastic band. Otherwise, the plates may fall to the floor and the band may shoot across the room.

It really gets quite easy after you’ve done it a few times. You can watch me put one on for the first time in the videos linked below.

Have fun!

Doctor Flute

How to Attach a LefreQue to Your Flute

How to Attach a LefreQue to Your Flute Close Up

To LefreQue or Not to LefreQue That is the Question Can You Hear the Difference

LefreQue for Flute Testing 4 LefreQue on 3 Flute Levels – FCNY Sponsored

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