hitting the high notes
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
hitting the high notes
Hi. I'm having trouble maintaining my high notes. I can hit them but I lose them after a few counts (maybe less). I have a feeling that there must be something wrong with my embouchure...Maybe I'm too tense? I think I've tried all sorts of things with my lips and occasionally I get the results I want but I can't seem to maintain it. And I don't have thin lips - is that a problem? I hope someone can comment on this, because it's beginning to really frustrate me. Thanks.
Hi, Tenn!
Many times, not being able to sustain a note, regardless of its register, is an air and breath-support problem, rather than an embouchure problem (assuming you can arrive at the note at all). Be sure to maintain your airstream's pressure (don't get tense, though) while sustaining your notes. Do you have tone exercises? Moyse's De La Sonorite is good, but for a small, thin book, it's a little expensive. Trevor Wye's Practice Book, Volume One (Tone) is great, too, and about $14.00 (US). Every flutist in my studio has this book, and though long tones are sometimes boring, many of the exercises are based on melodic fragments, such as Debussy's Afternoon of a Faun, and the Aquarium theme from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals . Sometimes the students grumble about this book, but all see results. Some of their complaints, actually, are based on greater attention to listening to themselves--they now notice when their tones are less than attractive, or when breathing needs attention. The high-note exercises, like most of the others, progress chromatically, so you can move gradually from notes that sound good for you to ones that sound less-great. It's easier to maintain breath support and tone color without large intervals getting in the way. Keep us posted.
Many times, not being able to sustain a note, regardless of its register, is an air and breath-support problem, rather than an embouchure problem (assuming you can arrive at the note at all). Be sure to maintain your airstream's pressure (don't get tense, though) while sustaining your notes. Do you have tone exercises? Moyse's De La Sonorite is good, but for a small, thin book, it's a little expensive. Trevor Wye's Practice Book, Volume One (Tone) is great, too, and about $14.00 (US). Every flutist in my studio has this book, and though long tones are sometimes boring, many of the exercises are based on melodic fragments, such as Debussy's Afternoon of a Faun, and the Aquarium theme from Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals . Sometimes the students grumble about this book, but all see results. Some of their complaints, actually, are based on greater attention to listening to themselves--they now notice when their tones are less than attractive, or when breathing needs attention. The high-note exercises, like most of the others, progress chromatically, so you can move gradually from notes that sound good for you to ones that sound less-great. It's easier to maintain breath support and tone color without large intervals getting in the way. Keep us posted.
Hi, MeLizzard! Thanks for replying...The books will be a little hard to find since they don't have a lot of music books in our area, but I WILL keep trying to maintain my pressure and everything...I've actually been practicing and blowing with a really small hole, doing my best to maintain the airstream pressure, and it's worked but still not all the time. I guess I still need more practice...Thanks again!
