Embouchure -starting to get there

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Wed May 02, 2007 10:25 am

After struggling for the last 5 weeks, suddenly I am getting a consistent tone and note facility. My sound has filled out and I can get great tone now on all the lower register notes - C is still a bit of a problem sometimes. One thing that really helps is to play in our kitchen which has no carpets or drapes. The sound there is so much easier to hear than in a living room which seems to soak it up. I used to practice my clarinet this way. Trevor Wye recommends blowing harmonics on all the lowest notes - this I find has been a great help in developing tone throughout the register. Also with my tone filling up, I find that my breath goes miles further. I can also produce dynamics so much more easily. All this has occurred in just the last few days and I am feeling great

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Wed May 02, 2007 10:33 am

That's awesome! Congratulations! It can be a struggle at the beginning, but once you start to get it, improvement starts to happen more easily, and from here you will just continue to get better!

I used to do harmonic exercises and have just recently been experimenting with them again...I certainly agree that they have a positive impact on tone production and flexibility. I would encourage you to keep doing them.

I also like playing in a nice live space (some people disagree) when I'm practicing....I actually used to practice upstairs on an interior balcony so I could work on projecting my sound as much as possible over the edge of it and down into the ground floor.

Anyway, congratulations again, and keep up the good work!

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Wed May 02, 2007 11:47 am

Congrats! It is always a great feeling when you know that you have improved.

Ironically, I too like to practice in the kitchen when I am at home [my room just has too much fabric: bedspreads, curtains, carpet, and other sound absorbant things like clothes and books].

Harmonics are fun. I have been playing around with them lately as well [whistle tones as well on picc].

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Thu May 03, 2007 12:45 am

congrats to you! =D
i still remember the time when i reached that point. wonderful feeling ^^

hmm.. i'm the total opposite. having started learning in the band, i prefer playing in my room where there are more fabrics to absorb sound. it lowers the reverb and makes you push harder to get a fuller tone and a higher volume if you ask me.

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Thu May 03, 2007 10:19 am

chaos0008 wrote:congrats to you! =D
i still remember the time when i reached that point. wonderful feeling ^^

hmm.. i'm the total opposite. having started learning in the band, i prefer playing in my room where there are more fabrics to absorb sound. it lowers the reverb and makes you push harder to get a fuller tone and a higher volume if you ask me.

Good point - never thought of that slant.

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Thu May 03, 2007 10:50 am

chaos0008 wrote: it lowers the reverb and makes you push harder to get a fuller tone and a higher volume if you ask me.

In many cases, pushing harder also results in any airy, overblown sound, as you have to push TOO hard to be able to hear yourself the way you want to. There is nothing wrong with playing in a deader environment, but you have to be sure not to sacrifice sound quality to it, which will mean adjusting what you're listening for. If you're consciously listening to yourself play in an acoustically live area, you'll still get a full tone and appropriate volume.

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Fri May 04, 2007 2:50 am

yes, i'll agree pushing too hard will get a nasty sound.

i myself find it works wonders, because now when i play in a normal open environment, or play in the kitchen, i can easily achieve the kind of tone that i want.

FLflutist · Post by **FLflutist** » Mon May 07, 2007 6:56 pm

I practice in the bathroom sometimes. It's a nice echoy enviroment...It's like playing in a small hall for me. I tried practicing picc in there once, but it didn't like my ears ><.

I have a hard time in places that absorb sound, I often think I'm not getting the full tone that I know I can produce. I also agree pushing too hard will get a nasty sound.

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:45 am

Sorry to report that the euphoria of my original post has been replaced with some disappointment due to my tone and note facility not being so easy now. However I know that we all have bad days and good days - my bad days just seem much longer than my good ones at moment

chaos0008 · Post by **chaos0008** » Tue May 08, 2007 6:52 am

don't worry about it. everyone has their bad days and their good days. i'm sure you'll be back to normal soon as long as you keep practicing ^^

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:42 pm

I know exactly what you mean vandoren. I have the same problem. One day I'll get a really good tone going and feel all excited, then the next time I play, it doesn't seem to quite happen.

I guess it just takes time and practise to be consistently good.

And now I'm going to ask a dumb question. By harmonics, do you mean playing both octaves simultaneously? I've ordered Trevor Wye's books on tone and articulation so I guess that will be answered soon enough.

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 6:14 am

Anne wrote:I know exactly what you mean vandoren. I have the same problem. One day I'll get a really good tone going and feel all excited, then the next time I play, it doesn't seem to quite happen.

I guess it just takes time and practise to be consistently good.

And now I'm going to ask a dumb question. By harmonics, do you mean playing both octaves simultaneously? I've ordered Trevor Wye's books on tone and articulation so I guess that will be answered soon enough.

Hi Anne

Not simultaneously.

What is meant by blowing harmonics is a means of developing the embouchure by blowing for example D1 then overblow D2 then the next overblow would be A2 then F#.

ie.
D1 D2 A2 D3 F#3 etc etc
C1 C2 G2 C3 E3 etc etc
C#1 C#2 G#2 C#3 etc etc
etc etc

If you can blow these harmonics based on the different fundamentals, cleanly, with good tone then your embouchure is acheiving the correct 'shape' for the normal fingering of the harmonics.

Great practice.

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:48 pm

Thanks Ian. I'm not sure I understand the note sequences. Why does it go from say D1, D2, then to A2 then to D3 then F#3. Are those just the notes you get if you overblow using the D1 fingering?

I can manage D1 and D2 (or whichever note I start on) quite easily, but after that nothing happens unless I change the fingering.

I realize I need to go back to the drawing board theory wise.

vandoren · Post by **vandoren** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 11:18 am

Anne wrote:Thanks Ian. I'm not sure I understand the note sequences. Why does it go from say D1, D2, then to A2 then to D3 then F#3. Are those just the notes you get if you overblow using the D1 fingering?

I can manage D1 and D2 (or whichever note I start on) quite easily, but after that nothing happens unless I change the fingering.

I realize I need to go back to the drawing board theory wise.

Anne : These actual notes (harmonics) are produced by overblowing the fundamental C1 D1 E1 etc on the actual fingerings for C1 D1 E1 etc. To produce the higher harmonics you need to practice speeding up the airstream, not by blowing harder, but by passing the same amount of air through a smaller lip aperture. The harmonics demand more practice the higher you go. The overblown series is interval 8th, 12th 15th 17th etc etc on the fundamental

Practice .................................... practice ......................... etc etc

IanR

Anne · Post by **Anne** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 3:19 pm

Ah, now I get it. Thanks for explaining that Ian. I obviously have a way to go on that. I did manage to get the 12th notes as well today, though my embouchure was a bit off today for some reason. Just have to keep plugging away I guess.