About Bridget Seals Expertise I will no longer answer questions. I am an experienced flute teacher to ages 5-college, yet a flutist who didn't agree with my recommendations left horrid feedback. Luckily she requested a private response, so her feedback is not officially included on this site. Still, she posted her own feedback to me.
I am deeply saddened that a questioner misread any unintended condescending tone in my response, and that she disagreed with my recommendations for an intermediate-level flute. I stand by ALL my recommendations and comments, and believe that a busy musician should be allowed a few days to answer a question (we do have concerts/rehearsals/students).
I spend a great deal of time trying different model flutes, and observing my students try different model/levels of flutes. We are lucky to have so many flutes on the market, with new ones introduced almost yearly. I have researched the models available, have spoken with many other flute professors, performers, and flute technicians to help develop the opinions I have.
I do hope the questioner I reference is able to find the perfect flute for herself, and has a full and rich flute-playing life. I now sign off and will spend my time helping my private students. Cest la vie.
Question QUESTION: i am in 8th grade and i am only on my third year of playing the flute and i am having some trouble. i still cant play high notes really well but when i do play them i want them be in tune. my friends have everything lined up on there flutes like your supposed to and yet there high notes are in tune. but when i set up my flute and play my high notes they are extremely sharp. can you help me on this?
ANSWER: Dear Jeremy,
High notes on the flute are sharp for EVERYONE and for EVERY flute. It's our job as flutists to adjust our embouchure to play those notes in tune.
When "lining" up your flute to have the tuning note in tune (which does NOT guarantee everything else will be in tune), make sure that you play medium loud (mf).
Blowing really fast air makes all notes sharp. Unfortunately, this is how most middle school flutists get their high notes out.
Build your embouchure muscles to be able to support the high notes without having to blow at supersonic speeds.
Try playing a low C (look up the fingering if you need to). You will have to have a tall opening in between your lips, stretch the corners of your lips back and down to support, and bring the center of your lips in and forward to get this low note. (Think of the word EEEwwww.)
Point the air down in the flute.
Close your lips a little and roll out your lower lip to get a higher note (3rd space C) on the same fingering. Keep closing the lips more and roll out the lower lip more and more to get different notes that are higher and higher. This is like lifting weights with your embouchure. Keep at this daily. Your high notes will be better in tune with WORK.
Higher notes require that the opening in your lips be smaller and the air stream hit higher up on the opposite end of the embouchure hole from your lips.
Good luck!
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QUESTION: also hitting high notes is a problem. People usually say to blow a fast air stream so you will not blast the note. I dont understand how you can blow a fast air stream without blowing hard. When i try it usually results in making the note sound bad. Can you give me any tips?
Answer Dear Jeremy,
If you make the opening in between your lips/the hole in your lips smaller, the air will move faster without you having to blow harder.
Imagine turning on a garden hose. If you make the opening of the hose smaller by covering part of it with your thumb, the water will come out faster (without having to push the water faster from the source).
Practice holding your hand (either one) up in front of your face, with the palm facing you. Without moving your head, make a small hole between your lips and blow air from the inside of your elbow up to the tip of your middle finger. You can achieve this by moving your lower lip back to hit the elbow, and move it forward to get air on the finger.
The air rushes over the wet part of the lips.
Practice moving your lips in this way by slurring in between the low and high versions of:
F, G, Ab, A, Bb, B-natural, C (all the fingerings are the same)
Resist the temptation to blow harder for the high notes. Force your lips to make the air go faster.
THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT!
Trust yourself that attempting this every day for a week will make it easier. Have that confidence.
Let me know in a week how it goes (only if you actually spend at least 5 minutes EVERY DAY on it...!!!).
****
Another exercise:
Put your lower lip all the way OVER your top lip.
Try to blow out (your cheeks will puff out if you are holding your lips together tightly enough). This is called the "Hamster" in the Liz Godwin "Fife Book."
Pull the lower lip slowly down and back until you get a sound. If you aim the air right, you will get a high sound first. If you keep pulling the lip back, you will get a low sound.
Look in a mirror to make sure you are getting a solid triangle of condensation in the center of your lip-plate. If you notice the triangle is off to one side or the other, try directing your air completely in that direction. Flutists with "off-set" embouchures seem to find more success with blowing to the left. Of course, if you have a solid triangle of condensation, keep blowing to the center.
Depending on where you live, a lesson with a flute teacher usually costs between $10 - $25 for half an hour. Rural communities usually charge less, urban/suburban areas charge more. Even one or two lessons with someone who can SEE you play the flute is worth it!
