Poor Tone in Higher Register on Bass Flute

[Konstantin]

I am thinking about buying a bass flute. I am an average ability player, with no intention to play professionaly, just for fun. I like the lower sound of the bass flute. About a week ago, I borrowed a Pearl bass flute. I am planning to keep it for a couple of weeks, to get an idea of what it is like.

Unfortunately, I am having a major problem with the bass flute. I am not sure if it is this particular flute, or if it is just typical of all bass flutes. The low octave sounds beautiful. I am getting a full, rich tone. As I get higher, at about G on top of the staff, the tone gets very "airy." I can play almost as high on the bass flute as my regular C flute (Actually, an octave lower, but the same range as written). However, about G on top of the staff, the tone sounds terrible. It actually gets a little better by about D, two ledger lines above the staff, and beyond. The flute seems to be in good condition, and the headjoint seems secure.

At first, I thought the problem was me, that I was not a good bass flute player. Now, I have been playing long tones, trying various things, and I cannot get rid of the airy tone. It's not just a little airy, it is very bad, to the point that it is not fun to play. When my wife listens in another room, she cannot hear the airy sounds, and she says that I have a real good tone up that high. But to myself, it sounds bad.

Please let me know any ideas you have. I would really like to buy my own bass flute, but if it only has 1.5 nice sounding octaves, it is not useful for my purposes. I probably would almost never play music written for bass flute, only music written for regular C flute, or the melodies from piano music as is typical of what I do now with a regular C flute.
Thank you for your help.
Dean

[Linda L]

Dean-

As an also average amateur flute player who owns a Pearl bass flute, I thought I'd give you my thoughts.

First of all, the bass flute is a pretty different beast than the c flute. Whereas, IMHO, most folks can pick up an alto flute, having never played one, and sound pretty good from the start, I don't think the same can be said for the bass flute. It takes lots more air, and the size of the riser and embouchure hole are huge in comparison to a c flute. The tone is definitely more "airy" as you rise higher, but it still can sound beautiful. It almost has an ethereal quality in the upper register.

I have found that, at least for me, there are a couple of "break points" where I need to be very careful about where I am aiming the airstream in order to have a good tone. And also I need to be careful of not overblowing certain notes. Yes, playing bass takes more air, but that is in quantity, not speed. The upper register of any low flute will tend to be out of tune, so alternate fingerings become your friend.

I would suggest checking out Dr Chris Potter's website, http://www.altoflute.net, among others (Phyllis Louke (sp?) also comes to mind). I attended Dr Potter's alto and bass flute retreat last summer, and learned lots. She has many YouTube videos out on both alto and bass flute. I think her YouTube name is altoflutedr (or something very close to that).

Do not give up after only a week. Playing bass is a lot of fun, but it takes time and practice to sound good. I've had mine a year and a half, and don't regret my purchase at all.

[Linda L]

I forgot to mention, that almost all of the chamber music we played at the Alto and Bass Flute Retreat last year was written for C flute. And it sounded gorgeous when played on bass.

[Konstantin]

Thank you Linda for your comments. As I play more, the high tone is sounding better, although not up to what I would like it to be. I appreciate your insight.

Dean