High notes problem

zephyrr · Post by **zephyrr** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:59 am

Hey guys I need your help! I can reach all my high notes quite easily and they don't sound airy, however from high G upwards my high notes tone becomes very shrill and screamy, and perhaps too loud. It gets on lots of people's nerves, especially my neighbours =S Most importantly, how do I make my high notes tone sweeter? I tried using a bit less air but it's just made pitching the notes harder. Help please! =D

kodalyflutist · Post by **kodalyflutist** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 3:12 pm

It may help if you tell us a bit more:

How long have you been playing?
What model flute do you own?
Is the pitch generally sharp? How sharp?
When you use less air, are you going flat?

It is possible that you have the lip plate too high on your lower lip. Be sure that you have covered at least 1/3 of the lip plate with your lower lip. The lower lip should not have any wrinkles in it as you blow; when you look in the mirror you should see the smooth inner surface of your lower lip glistening just a bit. The air stream must remain elevated as you ascend; if you blow down too much you will lose the tone, or the tone will be uncentered and flat. If the lip plate is too high on your lower lip, you will have more success blowing down, but at great expense to the tone and intonation. Ideally, the lips will adjust forward a *tiny* bit as you ascend to create the higher partials; this is why you need to make sure the lip plate is pulled down. Your lip needs to be able to move to be flexible, and if the lip plate is up too high, it will impede the slight movement that is necessary.

Practice playing simple melodies in the high register to get comfy up there. Notice what you are doing as you breathe. You want to be controlling the breath from your midsection, not from your upper chest, as this could also be the reason you feel like you are a bit uncontrolled and "screamy". Have you ever listened to Galway's high register? He can sound so sweet up high, like it is not any more difficult than the rest of the flute. Sometimes we shy away from our weaker areas, and the contrary is really necessary. You must spend more time in the upper register (in short sessions) in order to become "friends" with it, rather than feeling that it is such a stranger. The other element that comes into play is your endurance. Regular practice will support your desire to sound pretty in the upper register; if you take breaks from practicing for days here or there, your progress will suffer. You really must have some "chops" to be able to finesse things up there.

Work octaves a bit. Make sure you are blowing with a fast, intense air stream on the lower octave. Don't *try* to jump the octave, just let it happen. You will see that it really isn't such a Herculean effort to "get" the high notes, the air stream does the work. Blow the lower note until you begin hearing the high partials, and then begin hearing the tone want to break, split or squeal. Push it as loud as you can before you allow the tone to jump to the high octave. Slur to the the higher note with the "wrong" (lower, or harmonic) fingering several times, before you use the correct fingering. The high note will feel so easy when you do this! Don't be afraid of sounding ugly; you are exploring all the capabilities of your embouchure and airstream. Control will come with patient and consistent work. Work on this daily and you should see an improvement.

Hope this helps a little!

LaDanseuse · Post by **LaDanseuse** » Tue Jun 21, 2005 8:15 pm

What works for me is rounding my embouchure rather than pinching, which is what many beginners often do in desperate attempt to get out high notes (I don't how long you've been playing). Also, keep your throat open. And it's not how much air you use as how fast you push the air out. Higher notes, obviously, requires faster air.

Give it a shot and good luck. I guess flute and piccolo players make lousy neighbors, eh? I should close my windows next time I practice

Caroline_Fluter · Post by **Caroline_Fluter** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 5:51 pm

Make sure the inside of your mouth is really, really open... it should be as open as it would be if you were a singer. This will help the sound stay pure and round.

Also, keep your embouchure really small for the upper register. If it's small enough, then you won't have to blow harder; the air will automatically go more quickly because there will be less space for it to get out through.

It's a good suggestion to make sure 1/3 of your embouchure hole covered, but as you feel more and more comfortble in this range, move the flute a little further down your face so that your bottom lip covers 1/2 of the hole.. this is Quantz's recommendation and I have also found that it gives a cleaner tone quality.

Hope this helps!

---caroline

zephyrr · Post by **zephyrr** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 2:48 am

How long have you been playing?
What model flute do you own?
Is the pitch generally sharp? How sharp?
When you use less air, are you going flat?

I've been playing for 2years. I've been playing a Yamaha 684H [bfoot, inline g] for a year now. Im generally around 5-10cents sharp for high notes, and yes when I do use less air, I go a bit flat.

I've tried the singing while playing technique and my tone has improved slightly, not just for the high notes but also for the other octaves.

Thanks for the help, guys! =)

kodalyflutist · Post by **kodalyflutist** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:59 am

zephyrr:

Keep up the good practicing! I'm impressed that you are asking these questions with just 2 years of experience; having an inquisitive attitude about your playing will carry you far.

The flute you are using should serve you well, although I've heard that Yamaha's can tend toward sharpness in the upper register. Check your headcork position. It's possible that your octaves are out of proportion, if your headcork is not positioned correctly. Although the line on your swab stick is a general guideline, it may not be exactly perfect. Here is a link to an article regarding placement of the cork in your headjoint:

http://www.langemusic.com/Articles/flutetune.htm

Make a copy of this and take it to your local flute authority if you are not sure. If you have a flute teacher, I would recommend that you go to them for help.

The comments about open teeth are very good: imagine that you have a bagel in the back of your throat. These fast-vibrating pitches need a large resonating chamber.

One other thing that can help the extreme high register, is the angle of the flute in comparison to your lips. There is the up-down angle (parallel, flute foot high, flute foot low), and there is another angle: front-back (pull foot back toward right shoulder, push flute forward away from right shoulder). I find that pushing the flute forward can bring the pitch down, and the opposite is also true. You should hear a difference. If you look at photos of great flute players (Rampal comes to mind), you will see that they do not hold the flute parallel to their lips. Experiment and see what sounds best.

Best wishes!