You can improve your tone by practicing long tones if you know what to listen for!
When you’re doing any tonal practice, you need to concentrate on what your tone sounds like. However, that’s easier said then done. Because, well, what are you listening for?
Are You Thinking About Supper During Long Tones?
There were many times when I practiced my long tones and planned what I’d make for supper that night. What do you think, did I improve my tone during that practice? Maybe, but I need to be concentrating on the tone, or I am not getting the most our of my practice time. If I know what to listen for while I am practicing, then it is a whole lot easier to stay focused on the task at hand.
I remember way back in middle school when I decided to practice long tones because I heard that’s what flute players do. I went through these and thought “oh these are just plain boring” and I just moved on to other things. I didn’t have any teacher at that time that really told me what to do. After a few futile attempts, I didn’t do them again for a long time.
When practicing long tones there are a couple things to listen for to help give you direction.
To begin with you need a very nice initial note. If I begin with the middle register B, then I will experiment with that B until I like the tone, vibrancy and resonance. Then I begin the long tones usually starting with B-Bb and listening for a consistency of sound between notes. When you’re playing you ask yourself “can I keep the sound that I have on one note, and carry it through to the second note?”
Sometimes I can go 4 or 5 notes and all of a sudden somewhere in the middle like around E or Eb I realize the sound is not as consistent as when I began on the high B. When I realize that, I’ll back up a few notes until I find the last note that had the sound I am listening for. Then without changing my embouchure, I will slur down to that E or Eb (or where ever you were) and try to get back that perfect sound.
Often the inconsistency occurred because I let my mind wander which allowed a subtle embouchure shift to happen that was not beneficial to my tone.
Another aspect of tone that you really need to be taking stock of is consistent vibrato. Now I do like to play long tones at times without vibrato. Then again, I want to perform them with different speeds so that vibrato is under my control to change as the music warrants. Never keep your vibrato the same day in and day out. Keep it flexible.
Additionally, are you listening for resonance when you work on your long tones?
A good sound doesn’t always have resonance but a great sound does! Listen for your harmonics sounding in your tone. Keep those sinuses open to include as much resonance as possible and let that sound reverberate. This is more difficult to work on in the 3rd octave long tones but it can still be achieved.
Conservation of air usage is also something to work on in long tones. We all know that the less air you use the better the tone. Almost all the time we use to much air. Everyone can work on conserving air. Me too!
Try concentrating on these aspects of long tones. It does a body good!
Have fun!
DoctorFlute
Watch me demonstrate this: FluteTips 41 Long Tones Listen for a Better Tone
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