Tone tips??

Claiken · Post by **Claiken** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:12 pm

I just recently got a new pro flute... and i find some days my tone is great, others, its very airy and all around bad. does anyone have any tips in making it better?

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:11 pm

Dedicate part of your practice time to tone. The Trevor Wye books and De La Sonorite by Moyse (where Wye draws a lot of his tone material from), are excellent books to use for this. Anything can become a tone exercise though, as long as it's not so complicated that you have to focus on the fingers/tonguing/much of anything apart from tone, so don't feel limited to these. Daily practice will greatly improve your tone, but there will always be off days when you don't sound your best. Then it's probably best not to practice too much, as you don't want to get set in the practice of playing with a poor tone.

Claiken · Post by **Claiken** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:21 pm

do u think any of it has to do with getting a new flute? I find i had alot less bad tone days on my student model. (i played it for about 2 years ish)

MeLizzard · Post by **MeLizzard** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 7:51 pm

The cut of the embouchure hole is doubtless very different on your new flute. This will take some adjustment, even if it truly is the right flute for you. Just get out your tone studies, and start experimenting with airstream direction, etc.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 8:51 pm

Melizzard's quite right. Some of it undoubtedly does come from the flute, but that'll remedy itself over time.

Zevang · Post by **Zevang** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 1:01 pm

Guys, we can expect from a headjoint cut change an average period of one year to completely adapt to it.
Of course, it can take less or more, depending on the time available for the practice.
Also, I'm talking as a professional flutist.

This is just to say be pacient with this new headjoint. Nothing is wrong with you, probably nor with the flute. It just takes time to adjust.

Zevang

Zevang · Post by **Zevang** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 1:03 pm

Another important remark by flutepicc06 is that tone exercises must not be practiced to the exhaustion.
Moyse properly said in all albums concerning tone exercises, that we must not practice more than 20 minutes, because of the fatiguing nature of them.

Tone quality is a matter of years to achieve. Gradually, day after day.

Zevang

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 3:54 pm

You're quite right, Zevang, but they must be practiced regularly (not necessarily for great lengths of time) for best results. I can't think of too many people who would want to do more than 20 minutes or so of tone exercises at a time, anyway.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 4:15 pm

absolutely. When i am working on tone and vibrato and those sorts of things, I wont do it for more than half an hour. It is definately tireing, and also boring. Also, maybe you arent used to the material you are playing on. typically I have noticed that among well made flutes, silver and gold, and silver plate all have different sound qualities. This isnt to say one material is better than the other (I have played plated instruments that blew some solid gold flutes out of the water), but they have different sound qualities if they are made to or above a certain degree of quality.

So, if you were playing a quality silver plated student flute, and have moved up to a quality sterling, or maybe gold instrument, yes the sound will be different. All because of various aspects higher levels of craftsmanship, and the construction materials.

Zevang · Post by **Zevang** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:42 pm

Yeah guys, doing something like that regularly (everyday...) is really the basis for achieving the goal.

Zevang