Hi. My name is Chelly and I play flute and clarinet. Clarinet is my main instrument but flute is my favorite. How do I hit the high notes on the flute? Sometimes they play and sometimes they don't. Do I have to fix my mouth a certain way? I taught myself to play not knowing anything about the flute. Can someone help me?
Chelly
New flute player
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~SCHS*Clarinet*'n'*Flute*
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Congrats on taking up flute! I play clarinet and sax, as well, so I sympathize; getting the mouth position is more difficult on the flute, I think.
The trick is to tighten your lips, but not to overblow. One thing I've found that helps is to actually roll your eyes up toward the ceiling as you aim for the high notes (I think this helps psychologically). A good way to train your lips to go from the lower to higher register is to practice harmonics. When playing, make sure your posture is decent so that you have adequate control of the airstream. But DON'T keep blowing harder and harder to hit the high notes. It's tempting, especially when you get frustrated, but you'll just make yourself dizzy. Playing the flute well is all about keeping control.
Good luck.
The trick is to tighten your lips, but not to overblow. One thing I've found that helps is to actually roll your eyes up toward the ceiling as you aim for the high notes (I think this helps psychologically). A good way to train your lips to go from the lower to higher register is to practice harmonics. When playing, make sure your posture is decent so that you have adequate control of the airstream. But DON'T keep blowing harder and harder to hit the high notes. It's tempting, especially when you get frustrated, but you'll just make yourself dizzy. Playing the flute well is all about keeping control.
Good luck.
I'm reluctant to tell my students to "tighten" anything when playing flute, as this encourages tension and therefore restricts the airflow.
All you need to do to get good relaxed high notes is to change the angle of the airstream. You do this by moving your bottom jaw forward (to go higher) and back (to go lower). This is combined with a slight increase in airspeed for higher notes and a decrease for lower notes (although the low notes should still have a good strong airflow, to avoid them sounding 'hollow').
Keep your throat open when you go for the high notes - avoid the temptation to 'squeeze' them out! As you go higher, you could also think of creating more space inside your mouth, imagine you have an egg inside your mouth!
Good luck!
All you need to do to get good relaxed high notes is to change the angle of the airstream. You do this by moving your bottom jaw forward (to go higher) and back (to go lower). This is combined with a slight increase in airspeed for higher notes and a decrease for lower notes (although the low notes should still have a good strong airflow, to avoid them sounding 'hollow').
Keep your throat open when you go for the high notes - avoid the temptation to 'squeeze' them out! As you go higher, you could also think of creating more space inside your mouth, imagine you have an egg inside your mouth!
Good luck!
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flutist001
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Fluteoholic
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