AboutJoe Piccolo Expertise all things related woodwind repair and maintenance.
I do not accept qustions regarding serial numbers and the value of new/used flutes.
Experience Repair at the Balanced Scale is not Sax Pads considered in terms of “good enough” for a student instrument and meticulous for the professional. Traditional and time-tested materials and practices are coupled with modern band instrument repair tooling, techniques, and materials to provide excellent repair for all instruments.
Organizations Part of a Larger Organization
N.A.P.B.I.R.T. (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians), of which I have been a member since 2004, is an international professional association comprised of musical instrument repair technicians from all over the world. A network of colleagues, mentors and friends, the Association encourages the continuing growth of the industry’s knowledge base through its newsletter, yearly conferences, and workshops.
Education/Credentials Continuing Education - Student for Life
In 2004-2006, I attended and completed the practical portion of a highly specialized program focusing on brass and woodwind repair at Keyano College. The Music Instrument Repair Program (M.I.R.) is the only one of its kind in Canada. The Program offers students a comprehensive foundation of repair theory coupled with practical application followed up with industry feedback and guidance.
During my time at Keyano, I developed a deep interest in flute repair. In 2007, this interest took me to Straubinger Flutes in Indianapolis, Indiana where I received specialized training and certification for the installation and servicing of Straubinger pads.
Experience and Training at a Glance
Straubinger Flutes, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
2007 – Straubinger Pad Certification
Keyano College - M.I.R. Lab, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
2004-06 - Student Shop Assistant
Tool Trade, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1993-2004 - All aspects of manual machining related to the tooling industry:
Precision grinding
E.D.M. (electrical discharge machining)
Layout and inspection
Hand polishing
Spotting and fitting
I.S.O. training
University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada
1990-92 - Music Education
I have been learning the flute for 6 months from now. My friends told me there was always a big gaps between 2 notes when i tongued. I recorded my playing,i thought i could put a big truck in those gaps. I watched those video on youtube, there were no gaps between tonguing at all. I don't know how to fix this problem, it sounds very dull and very boring if i can't get a beautiful melody from a flute.
What an interesting name, it has great historical significance!
Anyhow, on to your question.
Be understanding with yourself! Your beginning your musical journey...it takes time and repetition to develop good habits.
The time between note's when you tongue is determined by the tempo of the music.
You might consider finding a private flute teacher to assist you in your studies. While seeking advise on he internet can be helpful for many things; having a flute teacher to observe what your doing and offer immediate feedback and more importantly a model for you to study will greatly accelerate your progress.
Here are a few tips for your tonguing technique from Jen Cluff:
This information is found @ ://www.jennifercluff.com/articu1.htm#clear
CLEAR TONGUING on the flute:
Aural images
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If you're a person with great ears, and can imitate sounds you hear
very quickly, then see if these images help with your tonguing:
#1 - Go to a person who speaks French very well. Ask them to pronounce "Tu" [as in the pronoun "you" (familiar)].
Listen to a string of "Tu"s and imitate the very precise and neat start to the sound. You must use only the tiniest tip of the tongue in order to not have an explosive or thick sounding "T". Instead it sounds as neat as a pin The amount of tongue that's striking is *literally* about the size of the head of a pin. :>)
Imitate this exact syllable "Tu" on your flute's longtones, interrupting a constant stream of well-supported air only with the tiniest tip of your tongue.
#2 - As you hold a longtone, one single note, for a full lungful of air, play with a perfect, ringing, centered tone. Breathe in and play several of these longtones in a row. Then begin to experiment with creating strings of "Tu"s that do not disturb that perfect tone.
Each "T" should become neater and neater until any too-explosive ones are tamed. Each "T" should become neater so the tongue does not tire easily but is making the most precise and easy/relaxed movement. The tongue should return to behind the roots of the lower teeth after striking.
The idea is to create a perfect strings of: Tututututututututututututu.....s , like "a controlled stutter" that's effortless.
Once the "T"s are neat, mentally focus on letting the tone be full and pure on the "Uuuuu" part of the note so the "T"s are almost unnoticeable.
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CLEAR TONGUING on the flute:
Visual images
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If you're a visual learner, here are some images that might help you understand what clear tonguing is on the flute:
#1 - Go to the faucet and turn the tap on and watch the water fall into the sink. Swipe your finger through the water. Notice that after a swipe,the water remains constant. The constant water is the constant air stream that you blow your flute with.
The swiping of the finger through the water is the momentary interruption of the tongue when you articulate.
Overview: You must have constant air-stream to let the tongue do its
articulating.
#2 - Go to a piano, lift the lid and look in. Watch a hammer hit a string. See how presise the point of impact. This is how precise the action of the tongue should be: It hits in one precise place for the tone to ring out with a perfect, neat start to each note.
#3 - Imagine a gate that's engineered to rise up and instantly slice through a stream of water, such as a lock-system or river running through a pipe. The gate rises up and touches the roof at split-second intervals, but the water is just momentarily chopped, and continues to flow constantly through the chute.
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CLEAR TONGUING on the flute:
Physical images
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#1. Feel the airstream being provided constantly from the abdomen, freely moving through a well open throat. The back of the throat is almost yawning open, out of the way, and the root of the tongue is down and in a neutral, unused position. Both throat and root are relaxed. The abdomen is working to send the air stream to the lips through an open "conduit" , unhindered until the air from the abs. hits the lips.
#2. The tongue's tip is light and quick, and can be made into the smallest point.
Feel how small a point the tip can be made by feeling it strike the back of the roots of the front teeth saying: TuuuuTuuuuTuuuuTuuuu Keep the air coming up like a river from the lungs for every "Uuuuu" During the "Uuuu" the tongue stays forward as in saying "Tew".
#3. The tongue's root is so thick and can block off the cavern of the mouth way too easily, therefore it is best to leave the root as low in the mouth as possible when playing with great tone. Relax the back of the tongue, and let it spread out to be wide and flat, leaving the opening to the airways completely free of any back-logged tongue pressure. Leave it with this feeling always, whether you're inhaling, exhaling, or singing.
#4. Suddenly and completely relax while doing the above exercises, and feel whether you can continue do the actions completely effortlessly.
Remind yourself of this every few minutes: the more work your big muscles are doing (the abdominal exhaling) the less work any other part of your body has to do. Relax frequently.
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If the above is not working for you, or for rare cases: check for the following tongue-conception problems:
#1 Anchor tonguing is a term given to the self-taught habit of anchoring the tip of the tongue under the lower lip, or behind the lower teeth, and leaving it anchored while attempting to say "Too" with the middle of the tongue, humping the tongue up like a camel-hump farther back in the mouth.
Check that you are using the tip only to articulate by spitting rice out on the back porch, using the tongue tip to spit with between the lips.
Alternately, try playing the flute with the tongue in various positions in the mouth that would preclude anchoring or lockng the tip into one place. For example, blow the flute while the tongue moves into various positions: touching the right cheek, left cheek, inside of back molars, inside of front teeth, inside of upper molars etc. If you can move the tongue into all these positions, the tip can no longer anchor anywhere.
#2. French tonguing is tonguing between the teeth or between the lips, instead of striking the roof of the mouth behind the roots of the
front teeth.
It is a good technique for certain types of music, but will not allow you to double or triple tongue---so you must use it only when it's called for and use 'regular' tonguing the rest of the time.
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SUMMARY:
In general, clean articulations need:
- Lips in best position for great tone all-slurred, no matter what note you're playing.
- Abdominal activity to keep a constant stream of air coming into the flute
- Neat tongue movements where the tongue's tip stays forward after striking. (It should lie in the bottom of the mouth with the tip resting behind the back of the lower teeth.)
- Open throat with a large resonance.
- Every part of the body at maximum relaxation for the action it's making.
The most common problems in fuzzy-sounding tonguing are corrected bysystematically checking each of the points above one by one, until the problem is discovered and solved.
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On any piece of flute music:
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1. Play one or more notes all slurred for great tone.
2. Increase the air-stream so it is faster than you think you need.
3. Neaten the tongue tip's movements by making the neatest "Tu" you can. Experiment with this daily. Feel for where the tongue is when it is resting, and be sure it's forward so the tip can feel the inside roots of the lower teeth.
4. Keep throat open, and back of tongue still, low and out of the way.
5. Relax frequently, find the minimum effort required, while continuing to play.
And you'll find that when you sense that your throat is relaxed, the airstream easy and powerful, then you'll notice that the tip of the tongue will be able to move even more rapidly and accurately than it did before. Daily practise is the key. Noticeably results take a few weeks at the least. :>)
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