Long tones with second octave

Basics of Flute Playing, Tone Production and Fingerings, Using Metronomes, Scales, Tone, Studies, etc.

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JohnnyElsewhere
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:15 pm

Long tones with second octave

Post by JohnnyElsewhere »

Hi! I'm a beginner. I've been playing for about a week and a day.

I posted in the beginner forum, but there wasn't really a response. So, I thought I'd post here.

Is it a good idea to practice long tones with the lower half of the second octave, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, before going any higher?

I'm trying to focus on getting good tones from those notes before attempting the higher range of the second octave.

Thanks for any advice you guys want to give me!

Jackiep
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:22 pm

Re: Long tones with second octave

Post by Jackiep »

Wow only playing a week and a half and already on long notes! I was lucky just to get a note out at that point :)
I have been playing for over a year now (but fairly recently with instruction) and started working on Trevor Wye's book on Tone about 6 weeks ago on my own. I started with low octave and then moved up which is what he suggests in the book. I normally go through the exercises he suggests in all three octaves every day but I spent the first couple of weeks just on low octave then slowly moved up. It has help quite a bit with my tone and I would recommend it but I have to say it was somewhat challenging at the beginning (at least it was for me).
Jackie

JohnnyElsewhere
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:15 pm

Re: Long tones with second octave

Post by JohnnyElsewhere »

Well, I can hold notes for a fairly long time considering I'm a beginner. About a slow 8 count. It's not impressive by any means of the imagination, but it's a start.

I'm hard of seeing, for the most part. Reading out of a book isn't really an option for me, so I have to learn everything by word of mouth or ear.

But, this topic was mainly for help on the second octave. Where exactly should I start? I've been tinkering around with a few methods of getting the notes, but can't seem to get a clear tone every time. I've looked on YouTube .. saw a few videos (NOT expert village. They don't explain ANYTHING well.). But no one ever explains it correctly.

I've been told "Blow a faster air stream by tightening your embouchure to make the hole smaller." But that makes the notes stutter a LOT, especially when I get to G, A, B, and C.

I know, practice is key, and I HAVE been practicing. But I haven't really been getting anywhere.,

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