Hello.
While doing some excercises to improve my tone I have recently began to notice that my upper register seems to have a seemingly worse quality than my lower and middle registers. Is there a way to get the high register to sound better and fuller(noble might be a more precise term)? How can I penetrate the notes more accurately going from a low or middle register to a high register?
Thank you.
you know i have that same problem. is it when your higher octave sounds waaaaayyyyyyyyy too airy? i'm afraid i don't know how to help you and if i say what my band director says, flutist06 will come later and critisize it. no offence flutist06.
A good suggestion, Micron. If, after reading the thread down and practicing some of the things mentioned there, your sound has not improved, feel free to let us know, and we'll do our best to help with your specific instance.
To Schoolbandgeek, I do not criticize people. I correct errant information. The fact that I have disagreed with several of your posts does not reflect upon what I think of you or your band director as people. I simply do not want anyone who happens to be looking for advice to stumble upon something that is either ambiguous or simply wrong (for lack of a better word). I do the same in any other instance, with any other member, as do other users. I myself have had to clarify and rephrase things in the past, so it is not an experience you're alone in. Please, share your ideas, but don't be offended if someone questions them.
This is just purely based from my own experience:
-I'd still continue to do the tone exercises if I were you. What tone book are you using, by the way? Before you start the tone exercises for high register, I used harmonics. (Is that what it is ) Like let's say B (second octave near C3) for an example. I would first play the low E, if it sounds good, I try using good breath support and raise my airstream to get the next E (E in second octave). Once I am satistfied with that E, instead of straining my lips, i try thinking more about the breath support and I raise my airstream higher to get the high B. but of course, the High B will not sound clear because this is harmonics...Then, I finger and play the regular fingering for High B right after the harmonic. and I switch back and forth from harmonic to regular High B.
Sometimes, when I see octave jumps, instead of thinking too hard on my embochure, I think more about the support I have in my tummy. Of couse, embochure has a lot to do with it...but if I keep thinking "Oh my gosh, there's a high note next, what am I going to do?" then I'll start straining my lips and either reach the note but the quality of sound will be thin and "shrieky" or I don't reach the note. But when I mean by the support in my tummy, I don't really mean by blowing it hard, I just mean by making sure that the air is pushed from the tummy for a nicer, fuller sound rather then this pinpointy sound just by pushing from our lips.
Sorry if I wasn't much of a help. I've only /just/ solved this problem.
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By the way, just to clarify.
For harmonics, you keep fingering the low E. You don't change anything but the embochure...
Hee Hee. Perfect, that's the one I'm most familiar with.
Once you've mastered that, i guess you can go on to page 21 in the high register section, number 4...It won't sound pretty.
The Harmonics Info is on page 6 in the front of the book.
hey i didn't mean to be rude flutist06 but you are the only one that critisizes me. also it's every time i at least try to say something that might help maybe a little. Most of the stuff i know about the flute and that i post on here do help me somewhat. so forgive me, i didn't mean anything by it. but yet i'm only 14 years old and one of the youngest on here. most likely am the youngest on 8notes.
I'm 13. There's alot of good experienced flutists on this forum, which is a good thing really since we can learn alot from them. I just read alot of the time!!!!
But I don't think that necessarily means that us younger flutists can't post our own experiences!
About the high register difficulties... at my last flute lesson, my teacher was showing me the highest E (I didn't even know there was a high E way up there!!lol!). She couldn't even get it. But then again she was on a flute she wasn't used to and wasn't warmed up. So don't feel too bad if you can't get the highest E!!
I'm not sure if that will reasure you at all!! Also search for high register and i'm pretty sure other people will have the same problems and you may find some ansrews on other posts!!
just as many of you worry about having a low b-foot on your flutes, you need not worry too much about music that goes to a high E, a high D, yes, especially in music from the latter half of the 19th century forward, but don't lose sleep over having to hit a high E...
searching...
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