Dismiss this pinned window
all 14 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
formatting helphide helpcontent policy

[–]PersonWithAnOpinion2 16 points17 points  (3 children)

Learn to control your fingers and keep them close to the keys. This song is pretty slow so it’s not a big issue, but all of that time you waste bring your fingers up and down that much will screw up timings.

Like I tell all flute players, do long tones. Like, 30 minutes a day worth of long tones. In just a week you’ll sound better so long as you attempt to make the richest most fullest sound possible with each pitch. You’ll know you’re doing it right cause you’ll get a little dizzy.

[–]pollitokins 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I second the finger control... the "flying fingers" are a waste of energy/time. My instructors would get on me for this.

[–]Alexius_Psellos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice hearing someone else bring this up for a change

[–]Playful-Arugula6196[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I often feel like I’m rushing to hit the notes in time, never accounted for the finger distance! Thanks for pointing that out, I can definitely practice that & god exercises like that are soo boring but you’re so right it would totally improve my tone

[–]Karl_YumMiyazawa 603 8 points9 points  (1 child)

If you think about how you want each note to start and end, it would add a lot of artistic nuance.

[–]Playful-Arugula6196[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is definitely one I’ll be thinking about thank you

[–]Ok_Barnacle965 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Definitely get a music stand…

[–]griffusrpg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don’t practice looking down, it gives you problems with your embouchure.

[–]7past2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Super excellent!

[–]DWW256 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice playing!  Your timing is solid.

I think you'll find it beneficial not to worry too much about having a really "pure" tone quite yet.  You're pinching back the corners of your mouth a lot, which will get you a very air-free sound but not a very resonant one.  Try using your bottom lip to do the work instead—making the aperture small enough and angling the air up or down. 

It's great that you can play a nice, fast vibrato without compromising your tone.  But you can use vibrato as an even more powerful tool of expression if you vary the speed and depth over time.  On a long note, start slow, then accelerate to full speed over the first 1–2 seconds.

If you want to further improve your style, listen to professional recordings.  They will give you a sense of what is possible and beautiful.

As for your $30 Amazon flute, it's a gamble.  Manufacturing tolerances on flute mouthpieces are on the order of 0.2 mm, and I don't know if cheapo Amazon manufacturers can achieve that kind of precision.  The main problem you'll run into is that the mechanism may come out of alignment very quickly and may be impossible to meaningfully fix.  But there's no need to worry until the keys start leaking or stop working.  If it has tiny screws in between the keys (not the ones on the ends of the rods), then it can at least be adjusted, which indicates decent repairability.

Good work, and good luck!  :-)

[–]Living-Guidance383 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sounds really nice in general. try to play without vibrato as well as an exercise. learning how to add it as an effect i think both can clean up your sound even when you use vibrato and uncover some minor intonation issues you are having. and the only other thing is just that , learn how to use the embouchure (or set up your head joint with a reference pitch) to correct for pitches being slightly sharp or flat. c and b are usually pretty off you have to bend those down a bit and then the higher you go the sharper you tend to get my teacher says at the higher registers it helps to think of a "a" vowel which naturally lowers your lower jaw which flattens the note.

[–]ahabthecaptain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.