by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Apr 17, 2018 | Daily Routine, Etudes, Performing, Practice
Have you ever walked off the stage asking yourself “what just happened?” Did you ever finish a performance with no idea how a passage went? I have! This is the result of a lack of concentration. Have you ever realized during a performance that you can tell...
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 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 6, 2018 | Daily Routine, Finger Placements, Practice, Technique
That hideous thing called the glitch. That little thing that is the difference between flawless and imperfect. It separates the amateur from the professional. I remember listening to great flutists on recordings (you know back when the only way to listen was offline:...
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...
by Dr. Angela McBrearty | Feb 13, 2018 | Breathing, FluteTips, Practice, Tone
Try this out for me. Pick up your flute and play a scale. While you are playing, analyze what the back of your throat is doing. Is your throat open? What about the back of your throat, going up to your sinuses? Is the back of your tongue down so that your throat can...
