Do you feel like you control you air? Are you in total control of how it comes out of your embouchure and hits the strike edge? A controlled airstream is something that allows you to weave a story. It allows you to have mystery and dynamic resonance. It allows you to create the story in your music.
Sometimes it is clear that the air is having its own way. At other times we do not even know that we are not in control of that airstream. A non-controlled air stream can be hidden in a nice tone. Just because a tone is clear does not mean that you are in control.
I would suggest that you record yourself. With today’s technology it is easy to record and then listen to yourself very carefully. What do you hear when you listen? Is your tone a smooth sound that expresses the music beautifully? Or do you hear times where your air surges through your tone and becomes a little obtrusive? If you feel that your air surges forth when uncalled for, then your air is not under control.
Your goal is to have a steady stream of air throughout a musical line. This requires you to have control of every drop of air that comes out!
I would bet that a lot of you have intermittent air surges to some extent. What I mean is that some notes have just a little bit of an explosion of air. However, you need to be in control of your air stream. And you can learn to get control!
The way to control your air is through what we call support. Doesn’t it feel like everything goes back to support? When we are talking about tone, support is the foundation of everything we do. So yes, this issue is a support issue. What is your support doing? If you are not in control of your air, it is probably because you are not controlling your support. Take a breath from your stomach and your rib cage and tighten those muscles. Make sure that your throat stays open when you take that breath – a yawning breath.
I had a student who could not figure out why her tone was not going in the right direction when it seemed like she was doing everything correctly. We finally figured out that her answer was to loosen her throat. Once she opened that throat up, then all the control that she had practices just came through beautifully in the pieces that she was playing.
Now try playing with those tight muscles. Control how you use that air. That is, only let out the air that you need. Create an atmosphere around that sound. It is smooth and alive. If not, then too much air is coming out at one time. When you are in total control of your air, there may be times when you may use up your oxygen and must let air out before you can take a breath in.
If you know Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun, then you know, that here you need absolute control. Any uncontrolled air will ruin the color of this beautiful solo. The current thought is that you do not have to do it in one breath. But for all my life anyway, the standard has been doing that in one breath. For me that is a really difficult thing. If I am going to play that in one breath, I have to control absolutely every aspect of it: where do I add vibrato? where do I change the color? what exact beat do I start putting more dynamic on? I need to plan exactly where I do all those things in order to make it in one breath. When I have complete control of my air, I can play it. But when I let out too much air, I am a goner.
If you are playing a slow movement, listen to yourself, maybe record yourself and see if you hear any of that undulation. Is your tone coming in and out? Are you getting louder for no apparent reason? If you are getting louder because you want to get louder, that is completely up to you and your musical taste in the piece you are playing. But are you just unknowingly fluctuating your tone? How about vibrato? Are you controlling it?
After analysis and practice, record yourself again. Then compare the two recordings. What do you sound like? Keep practicing until you hear improvements. They will come.
Like so many aspects of flute playing it all goes back to breathing. You have to have your pressure built up inside by tightening those muscles and being in total control with how fast you use that air. If you do not tighten those muscles, you can breathe from your stomach all you want, but you will not have support without that pressure built up. It is the tightness built up with those muscles that enables you to control how much air you are using. Only now will you create an absolute, phenomenal sound, atmosphere, and musical line. Think Debussy’s Syrinx, Mozart Concerto, slow movements or any other slow movement and work on having total control.
So have phenomenal support and use recordings of yourself, listen, and see if you are in control of your tone, or are you fluctuating that airstream?
Controlled air, that is where it’s at.
Have fun!
DoctorFlute
Join me and watch as I explain how to control your air stream:
Controlled Air Stream on the Flute – FluteTips 129
Finding Color in Your Musical Line – FluteTips 146
Faster Air vs Blowing Harder on the Flute – FluteTips 128
