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ChequerBoard
(10 points)
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Hey, I have a question about high notes.
*groan from the audience*
I know, I know, everyone seems to ask, but I put in a search and I didn't find what I was after. I've heard that 'making the stream of air thinner' helps with producing the high notes, coupled with greater pressure. My question is: in which dimension is the thin-ness desired? Vertically or horizontally?
For instance, if it's already like this
******
******
(Pretending that it's a cross section fo the air stream)
should it end up like this:
******
or like this:
****
****
?
I'm just having a bit of trouble getting clear notes, you see. I encounter difficulty when I reach the second E (I don't know if it's E2, or what, but it's the one that has the same fingering as the lowest E, but is an octave up) and the sound quality seems to degrade the higher up I go. I haven't tried anything higher than the C# above that E yet.
Thanks for any help
Tata!
Jack
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JButky
(467 points)
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The idea is to raise the speed of the air-stream. Making the aperture smaller is one way. Directing the air higher is another.
Joe B
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ckstar
(14 points)
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Usually when I can't play high notes clearly I'm blowing too far into the embouchure hole so try directing the air higher.
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lonelyflutist_15
(42 points)
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What helped me is to blow faster air, and think of the pitch of the note before yo play it and practice it with a tuner.
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Flutist06
(1545 points)
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Every player is different and will need to manipulate their embouchure differently to produce a desired effect. There's no way we can say "make your aperture smaller/bigger by this much in blank direction", particularly without being able to observe you playing. I would suggest just experimenting with your playing until you find what works for you. Try taking a note you like the tone of and move upwards chromatically, slurring, trying to match the tone of the starting note. If the tone deteriorates, stop there. I don't know how long you've been playing...Eventually you'll be able to play 3 octaves or more, but give it time if you're still just a beginner. It takes work and patience to get some of this stuff.
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Micron
(1329 points)
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And just one little vital point..
I agree that the idea is to increase the speed of the airstream.
Making a slightly smaller aperture does not increase the speed.
To increase the airstream speed you need to blow the air harder, ie more pressure from your lungs.
The narrowing of the aperture is so that with that extra pressure, a whole lot of air does not go whooshing out past your lips, most of it wasted. You narrow the aperture so that you use no more air than you actually need. You need less air for higher notes, but it needs to be travelling faster.
An image I have: The airstream is your reed. For low notes, an thicker less bendy reed is ideal. for high notes, a thinner, but more rigid reed. A fast airstream is more difficult to divert, and therefore behaves as if it were more rigid.
But in direct answer to your question...
For higher notes, most players will press their lips a little closer together vertically, which makes the slit both narrower, and with less height. The precise shape varies from player to player.
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ChequerBoard
(10 points)
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I see, I see!
Thanks a lot guys, that's all great help. I'll try the slurring thing, too, that seems great. I guess it will take some time - I've only had the flute for about 3 weeks! Sometimes I'm fed up with how 'breathy' the higher notes sound, but that's only natural, I suppose!
Thanks again; have fun fluting!
Jack
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ekdavies
(190 points)
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I find telling beginners to imagine they are blowing into a straw is an effective way of ensuring the lip opening is smaller and (eventually) channels the air in a controlled direction.
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Micron
(1329 points)
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That is fine when you are watching them, to ensure that the idea of blowing into a straw does not give them the idea that they crinkle up their lips as for whistling, to get a ROUND aperture, which is quite wrong.
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jose_luis
(1367 points)
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When I was starting learning, my teacher made me excersise by having me blow air and feel it on my hand, placed at a certain distance (about one feet at the beginning).
I had to focus the air stream and blow harder so that I could feel the air at increasing distances.
The lips are different among people and you have to find the right position of yours; then you will have to adjust them to allow for other changes, but that should come a little later.
Hope it helps.
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.JPG)
Patrick
(1388 points)
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here's may take on this, at risk of repeating myself, I always have a very strong airstream, it "appears" to go faster on high notes because of the small apeture in my lips, blow air through different size straws to see what i mean.
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Micron
(1329 points)
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It DOES go faster! If you used that 4th octave note air speed (with its associated lung pressure) with a low B embouchure, you would use up an entire lung full of of air in a few seconds. I think you are confusing flow, speed, & pressure.
High notes: high speed, low flow. Needs high pressure.
Low notes: lower speed; higher flow. Does not need such high pressure.
Think of a tall tank full of water.
High speed;low flow = a small hole drilled near the bottom. (where the pressure is high)
Low speed; high flow = a larger hole drilled near the top. (Where the pressure is lower)
That higher speed is NECESSARY in order to kick the notes into higher harmonics.
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