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]]>Move Your Fingers Up
We have three trill keys down here in our right hand, and each of those trill keys needs to be played with a different finger. So, when you are doing your trills, you need to move your finger up to the trill key.
When I first started learning flute, I moved my first finger up to the trill key and down to the trill key! Of course, for a long time, I did not even know what I would move my first finger up for. What was that key even used for?
But that is not a great pattern because that one finger has got enough to do. He has his own key and a trill. It is too much to ask him to play a third key.
Each Trill Has It’s Own Finger
So, we want to move up to trills. If we move up to trills, each finger has its own trill. Additionally, that gives each finger a chance to exercise its muscle.
I really think that you need to work on trills, not just for the fact that you are going to trill and that each time we trill we have to do it a little bit differently. But because when you work on trills, you work on weak fingers and their muscle control.
You know what I mean – when you trill with a weaker finger, that trilling is just not fantastic. So, the more you work on it with that finger, the stronger that muscle gets, and the better that trill sounds.
Plus, that finger then works better in all your technical exercises as well. So, it is going to be doubly beneficial for you to work on your trills.
Exercise the Weak Fingers
For example, our middle finger, our E finger is often fast enough. But he is often just inconsistent when trilling. It is similar with the first finger, where you use the side of your finger to trill. And remember that when you move up to this trill with your first finger, you do not play it with your fingertip. You could, but it is really awkward to move your whole entire hand to do this. So, you, you just use whatever side of your finger reaches over there and hits that trill key. That part of your finger is what you use to trill. There is no right or wrong as to what part of your finger that you use. You just do not want to bend your finger. If you bend your finger to use your fingertip, you have to move your entire hand up here to do that. And it is okay when you trill to get off the pinky key, your E-flat pinky, that is fine.
But when you work on your trills, you get your uncoordinated fingers to have a chance at trilling.
You Can Learn This
But you want to work on trills, you want to practice trills, and you want to move up to your trills. You can break old habits. You can change. I was probably in college when I learned this method of trilling. But I learned it. So, anybody can learn to do this. It just takes a little bit of thought to move up to the trills. Moving up to trills will make a lot of sense to you once you learn to do it.
This is something that is accessible. You can do this.
So, work on your trills, your fingers will be glad, your technique will be glad, and your trills will be phenomenal.
Have fun!
DoctorFlute
Watch me demonstrate this:
FluteTips 49 Every Trill Has its Own Finger
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]]>Train All of Your Fingers to Move Faster
You can. You can train those muscles to move as fast as every other finger. Our fingers do move unequally. They have different strengths because of the different role they play in the hand. So, it’s our job to train those muscles to move equally. For example, while our first finger might be able to trill really fast, if we’re trilling our pinky from a D to an Eb, it’s often very uneven.
The best exercise that I have found is of course in the flute player’s Bible Taffanel & Gaubert 17 Grand Exercises for the Flute. If you have the book, turn to the last exercise in the book.
Taffanel & Gaubert
When looking at this exercise it looks somewhat frightening because of the amount of black on the page. Don’t be scared off! The way I work on these trill exercises is with a metronome at a slow speed. Set the metronome on 60 or slower if need be. Then take a look at the two notes you will be trilling between. The first set of trills is a D to an E. Now I don’t begin trilling right away. First I’ll make sure that I am rock solid with the tempo.
Since the written rhythm is measuring the trills, I will tongue the first note. In other words there are 4 Ds per beat. I tongue those 4 Ds for about 4 beats and then immediately move into the measured trill. This method helps me to hear that steady D and not let it get uneven when I begin the trill practice.
You must be listening to your trills with intention. Listen for every uneven movement between these two notes. Sometimes you can be very even for 6 beats. But then your trill starts to become uneven. Hang on to that evenness. Don’t allow this to happen. If it is really a problem then slow down the beat.
Breathe Wherever You Need To
Don’t worry about taking a breath in the middle of it. You’ll have to take a breath in the middle because you’re not going at some insane tempo at which you can get the whole line done in one breath.
Taffanel & Gaubert takes your trills all the way up. However, I wouldn’t do that many in one practice session. If you’re really working hard and concentrating, this exercise can be a bit on the tedious side and you’ll lose your concentration. So, I recommend not to work on too many in one practice session. Also I think it works best to work on that same group of trills for a number of days or even weeks in a row. Don’t play a different set everyday.
Keep Your Trill Practice Time Short
Eventually you will work your way all the way up, slowly making sure your fingers move at the same tempo. You’re training your muscles to get faster together. Go all the way up the T&G exercise. Then increase the tempo, keeping your fingers moving together, faster and faster.
That is the best way I know to get faster on your trills. A side benefit of working on your trills in this way is it works as a tone exercise as well if you work on not blowing too much air.
Have fun working on your trills!
DoctorFlute
Watch me demonstrate this: FluteTips 64 Trilling Faster
FluteTips 49 Every Trill Has its Own Finger
Improve Your Tone by NOT Playing with Too Much Air
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]]>The post Every Trill Has its Own Finger appeared first on DoctorFlute.
]]>When I was growing up in elementary school I used any finger willy-nilly. Hey whatever worked was good enough. Then I began using only my right hand middle finger to manipulate both trill keys. One day my flute teacher at the time, asked why I was using one finger to do both trills. At the time, I truly thought everyone was doing it. But lo, this teacher brought to my attention that no, not everyone.
Correct Trill Finger Positions:
This teacher told me that all 3 right hand fingers have their own trill key. No one need move into each others territory except under great duress when you need to finger creatively. I thought this idea made a lot of sense and I’ve been doing it ever since.
In my years of college and private teaching I am not sure I’ve ever seen a student give each finger a trill of their own. That seems like a large number of uninitiated trillers out there. When you are using your trill keys I see so many people try to do especially these two trill keys they do them with the same finger. I have found that when I teach this much like when I learned, that it is an easy fix. It is not one of those habits that really difficult to break such as leaving the first finger down on D and Eb (don’t even get me started down that path!). That is a difficult habit to break. But changing the fingers for the individual trills is relatively easy because, I think, it makes so much sense.
If you do not know what I mean let me show you.This first picture below left is what I used to do. That first finger moved down to the trill hey but also moved up to the lever trill key.
However, your first finger should technically only move up to the lever.
Whatever part of your first finger is easiest to reach the trill you use. Don’t put the tip on that key. You are trying to be efficient. So, just bring that finger up and hit the lever trill. When that finger is in position, then place your other 2 fingers on their respective trills. It makes so much sense.
You are never left wondering which finger to use for the trills in tricky spots.
Try this and see what you think. You might like it!
Have fun!
Doctor Flute
Watch me demonstrate this:
FluteTips 49 Every Trill Has its Own Finger
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