Easy High Notes

We all want our third octave notes to be easier to play. But much of the time of those notes are difficult to get. You feel like you are blowing against a wall or there’s just a hiss that’s coming out or you are so tight that the tone barely squeaks out and with a lot of work. Plus, your cheeks can get very fatigued from being too tight if you’re playing for too long.

Blowing Against a Wall

But there is hope! There are ways to get your high notes out that will make them easy for you to play. Your 3rd octave could even be described as effortless. Now wouldn’t that be something!

There are two keys to achieving those high notes with clarity and ease:

Open up
Loosen up

That is the answer. Isn’t it easy? To tell the truth it is really that easy. I might add that you must have good support as well.

Add Good Support

Practice some long tones going higher such as from Trevor Wye’s Book 1 Tone. He has exercises going up into the high register. What I like about his method is that you aren’t merely beginning up in the high register, but rather you begin on a middle note that you can produce with no effort and move slowly upward. As you move upward with long tones keep in mind what you used to do. By thinking about what you have done wrong, you can correct it. If you don’t identify what you have been doing wrong, then it’s much more difficult to fix.

Teeth Spacing

Now as you move into that 3rd octave keep the support very firm. You must have continuous support to be able to loosen up and open up. The support allows you to push the high notes out without compromising your embouchure and thus the very notes you are trying to achieve.

In this 3rd octave I probably have about a finger’s width between my teeth up to about the F#. But that gap will close somewhat as I extend. The cheeks however can stay loose as long as I support. It’s amazing that when you loosen up and open the teeth, that the tone can now come out. Before, when tighter, the tone had to fight to get out. But now the tone has smooth sailing totally unencumbered.

Have fun allowing your high notes to come with ease!

DoctorFlute

Watch me demonstrate this: FluteTips 66 Easy High Notes