THE FLUTE COURSE IS OUT! Find the course at musogy.com Learn the Flute with The Flute Channel's Amelie Brodeur. If you're a beginner these courses will help you master Tone, Breathing, Posture, Sight-Reading, Rhythm and more. This 15 lesson course will start any new flutist on the right track, even if you're starting up from a long hiatus it can be a good refresher.
SO happy it worked out for you! Keep it up and itll be smooth sailing! Thanks for watching and I hope you can come back and watch more videos and feel free to ask questions anytime!
I’ve been playing for six years and for the past year (lockdown yk) I’ve been super frustrated with my tone Not to mention I got braces, which is holding me back a lot :(
I've fallen down the rabbithole that is educational RU-vid and I'm starting to realize that almost all professional flute players have a very similar facial structure. All those dimples and indents weren't just my band teacher's face, those are flute muscles. Naturally, I now strive to have those muscles be visible when I'm at least playing, because I feel like the best embouchures are ones with those muscles engaged.
muscles should be engaged, thats for sure. I would loosely associated dimples or indents to that. Most of the muscles come directly from the lips which have 100's of individual muscles that work in tandem with each other. I recall a great diagram of the lips and its muscles it paints quite a picture on how it all works. I would always try to have the most neutral embouchure, by introducing more elements like check muscles etc could introduce more problems down the road.
I hope you read her comment gabe, it will give you infinitely more results than attempting to create dimples in your cheeks, which is not something worth paying attention to at all if you want to improve.
I am afraid you are on the completely wrong track with that "observation", dear Gabe. Check out some videos from Pahud and compare it directly with Bouriakov (most extreme example). Compare Rampal to Nicolet. Look at Galway, Bennet or Trevor Wye --> all different. Make your own observations with yourself but maybe change the strategie: 1. First of all use your ears for controlling the results. 2. change one parameter at a time: form of your lips, shape of your mouth/throat etc., blowing angle and control the results with your ears only. 3. If you like to check it out in front of the mirror, do it after you can hear your "achievement". --> good luck and much fun!
@@flutechannel I think that's a good point: the most "neutral" or most natural embouchure (or lip-shape) according to everyone's own physiognomie. The more natural (or relaxed) we are the more "capacity" we have left, to correct things while playing. But after all I still think: flute isn't a "lip-instrument" nore an "embouchure- instrument", it's a "wind-instrument"! So the question to be asked is "how do we get the air most efficiently into the instrument to get the most beaautiful results". --> As a practical exercise I like your "central-tone" and "over-tone"/"flageolet"-exercises most. Similar to your central tone-exercise I like to use small melodical excerpts to go chromatically through the whole range of the flute.
Just starting out at the ripe old age of 71 !! This lesson is great and inspiring ! I want to develop a good tone before anything else,i've subscribed to your channel and will be checking out all your other posts !! Merci beaucoup du tout coeur ? (Franglais ) !!
I"m the opposite, I started in 4th grade, went through junior high, then just played at home for fun, and finally quit altogether around 20 years old. I'm 37 now, I'm sort of wanting to pick it back up.LOL
@@Trakehner20 if you havent yet, you should definitely pick it back up. I picked it back up at 28 after not playing for 12 years. I started in 5th grade. Then in my junior year I became a rotation player between flute and alto sax but primarily played the sax junior and senior year. Walking out of jazz band on my last day of my senior year was very emotional. So yeah, do it. I'm 3 weeks in to playing again and it feels so dang good.
Woaw, it's impressive how your english is easily understandable (I'm a french guy). Your channel is very interesting, and I thank you for all the work you put in it :)
Could you give some advice on playing the flute louder because I have been told I have a teeny tiny sound but I have good precision but just not volume. When I play in my room I always seem very loud but once I go into rehearsal, my sound becomes so quiet compared to the other flutes and instruments. I might have a solo in my wind ensemble piece and it would be nice for me to play it loud. Thanks!
Michael Hung I'm not a good flute player and have the same problem. For me it made a big difference when I twisted the head inward. I had blow hole in line with finger holes and air was not all used. I rolled head slightly clockwise toward me so it was offset from finger holes a bit and as a result lip covered more of the hole. It was more efficient. As she says if you cover too much of the hole the sound gets thin. That was just me and might not help you.
I'm one of the louder ones and usually I'm blowing harder air. Not faster, but more forceful. You tend to crack a little bit more, but there are also other things like alt. Fingerings that can help you.
most have this problem, airy inconsistent, teeny sound. i am told embouchure (shape of mouth directing air efficiently, she has a great video on this too) and more air from diaphragm. some may twist the head clockwise or anti, and then overing 1/3 to 1/4 to find the best solid sound on your best note, and then doing for the rest of the notes...the best thing i learnt in this video, is keep the shape of your face relatively to the flute consistent..i used to adjust my face for dif octaves...it works but i think is wrong, and you should adjsut embouchure instead as she says here. Wow, makes a big dif after i watched some of these videos.
Michael Hung the trick is to try and make the air speed fast and hits the edge of the lip plate at the right angle exploding in sound. But you need to try to do it using the shape of you lips to speed up the air stream and aim it like a laser instead of just blowing hard. You need resonance as much as or more than forceful power. But also remember in a large room the sound flies away from your ears. You might not be as quiet as you think. Ask the other flautists or wind section if the balance between you is ok.
omg same 🤦🏽♀️ i would say go outside and play normally. gradually get louder, but dont play past your best sound. practice until you can play strongly and nicely
This was extremely helpful! I struggle with clear tone because as I play higher notes I tend to play them louder because I lose the ability to keep my air flow sustained. I will definitely incorporate this into my practice routine. Thank you for sharing the knowledge!
I came across this channel by accident and I immediately subscribed! I learned to play flute over 30 years ago - played occasionally just so I didn't forget how - but I am wanting to start playing more regularly. I love your lessons.
Aww thanks! We have alot of videos! So you better binge : P but really thanks for subbing it means a lot and I do hope to see you in the comments again!
how do you get the ringing that the flute has? usually my flute just sounds flat. (is this called vibrato?) also how do you get notes more easily without having all that airy sound before reaching the note?
Mango I learned how to do it myself by searching up RU-vid videos and I look up easy songs and practice those with vibrato (the ringing noise you are talking about)
How do you make high notes sound better I’m struggling in the song Adventura
6 лет назад
I tend to cramp myself. Singing in the flute helps me relax and the sound gets a lot better. I did that today, five minutes before my weekly flute lesson. After playing the intended Etude only once in the flute lesson, my teacher said she could not fault it. This has never happened to me before! Thanks a lot for your valuable tips!
Aww thats so awesome! Glad to hear! Breathing exercise without the flute once a day can be so healthy for both flute playing and the body. Singing and playing the flute is really an awesome and special technique everyone should know. Thanks for watching Andre! wishing you all the best.
I used to play the flute very well when I was in elementary and middle school and then stored it away forever. I just recently started to pick it up again and it has brought me so much joy to relearn. This definitely helped my low C. And I'll be watching more of your video! Thank you! :)
My oh my, this flutes looks amazing and allways wanted to try it, but since i'm not in the music world.. there's a lot of scary gibrish i don'tunderstand xD
Thank you so much for this video, I kept focusing my upper register airstream way above the torso, which kept making the notes soo sharp and airy. Now I am on better terms with that register and they are more clear and in in tune. 🙂
Does anyone here just randomly experience times when you judt suddenly get really bad at playing, well not bad but like your tone is just airy. It happens to me and i dont know why, does anyone know?
Im getting my first flute this weekend! I have no idea how to play the flute. I play clarinet so this will be quite different for me. So i will definitely be watching your channel a lot for the best tips!
I just got my new flute today, and my d flat isn’t working, so you think you know why? Omg I am so lucky!!! The plastic inside the flute was blocking it and got stuck under it and when I cleaned it fell out and now it works loo
Im so glad Stathis! If you found value in my advice I do hope you would consider joining our Patreon patreon.com/theflutechannel It is a place where you can learn even more and help us directly with your generous support. Happy Practicing!
Thank you, Amelie! This really helped me improve the quality of my sound, specially this exercise of singing together with the note. This one gave me a deep perception of the sound, because I can feel it reverberating all over my body.
Your videos are so helpful!! I have been playing flute for four years and your videos have helped a lot! Can you do a video on beautiful pieces that different levels of flute players can play? By the way I absolutely love your vibrato.
Only a flutist would understand breathe to your knees, to your waist or to your chest lmao. I said it to my boyfriend, who was my drum major in high school, and he just looked at me like I grew another head haha
I know one exercise that can help, it consists in combining the singing and the harmonics, you do the harmonics while singing but don’t change the note you are singing, if you start singing c always sing c and also don’t sing with high volume.
Why am I watching this at 3:00 am when I play the cajon !! Truth is , if Amelie was playing a McDonalds’ bendy straw I would still be sat here watching and listening !
Thank you so much. I stopped taking some refresher lessons at the time of the pandemic and my flute instructor had given me these drills, but over time, I had forgotten how to do them. You explained so well. It all came back. Thank you, thank you!
My mom-in-law taught me how to sing and whistle at the same time, but I never thought to do it playing flute. I haven't played in decades, but I'm going to revisit it. I'm a guitarist and was a vocalist until my voice started having issues from asthma so I'm hoping the flute will help with breath support and also reading notation. Thanks for your helpful tutorials.
So my problem is if I am playing a passage I find difficult I am automatically singing/voicing while I’m playing when I don’t want to. It doesn’t happen with pieces I find quite easy to play. I don’t know how to stop this. I can make a real effort and stop it for a bar or two but it starts again. Any ideas as to how to cure this problem?
Okay so my flute plays fine going UP the b flat scale or just about any scale. Once I start going back down the E flat barely comes out, same with F occasionally. My teacher said everything was fine though so I don't know if it's because this is a new flute or if the problem is me. We have a concert in 3 weeks and I don't know what to do :(
Formidable. Merci beaucoup. Quand tu montres l'exemple de ce qu'il ne faut pas faire, n'hésite pas à montrer l'exemple de ce qu'il faut faire immédiatement après, ça aide à comparer et à se rendre compte. Sinon, parfait. Merci encore
Yes and No. Plenty of practice can really help. Sometimes you only need to change the headjoint. But its a complicated and every person can have different needs.
@@flutechannel When I was playing recently, my tone is so much better! I have overall good musical sense and sense of pitch, so that's not the hard part for me, but I think overall my airy sound is basically gone! Thanks
I’m going back into band after two years and I honestly hear air especially in high notes but nobody said anything so I really can’t tell 😅 my notes sound good but I always hear something and don’t know if it is just me over criticizing myself
6:24 lol! I've been doing this naturally on C4 and C#4 without noticing it and was convinced it was bad! It just felt so weird X) I can now get a sound without it, but it's so hard to get!! :)
one thing that happens to me is that the sound in my flute does NOT come out when I am playing , some people say its my flute and other say I am not pressing the keys enough. what do you think it could be? hope you could answer me please , thank u for taking your time reading my comment love your vids. they really do help me.
Flute wihout airy sound is unnatural. There should be airy sound in flute to sound natural. This is what DAW does not have but luckily I have adjusted it.
Is this video help to avoid airy sound also? Cause my playing is not that constant and the sound is airy, I want my playing become better and not that airy, is there any suggestions that can help me?
I have to adjust the headjoint (maybe about an inch down) because my natural sound is atleast 2 halfnotes lower. Could that be a reason for a breathey tone??
When I started to play, I had (braces) and a very nice, clear tone. Absolutely cool. Now I got out the braces and my sound has become terrible (my opinion)
Could you give me some tips about the correct place for the tongue in the mouth while playing?? I have some trouble on this topic. My tongue sometimes even hurts because I think I'm not placing it correctly. And the way I'm doing it, it's not easy to double tongue.
Thank you sooo much! I got my braces on this past monday and my main problem right now is the air on my sound, and I swear I started doing these exercises today and I can hear the results ❤️
consider watching our first sound video. Also just try with the headjoint only and try make a sound. get comfortable then put it all back together. Also let us know what type of flute it is ( new or used, brand etc) Best of luck!
I am 12, I am trying out for Douglas county honor band (georgia), and I play a yamaha 221 student flute. I practice for a good 5 hours a day, most of the time it is my chromatic scale. In general, I'm a good player, i learn fast. HEY! I'm (tied) 2nd chair. But the my main problem(s), I have so much trouble breathing and I have such an airy sound! I am Jamaican so my bottom lip is naturally big but cause of that, it covers the embochure hole. Most of the time I can play with no problem but occasionally, I get afraid that if I "tighten" my lips, they will crack.(CHAPSTICK is a pefered snack to my brother.) But this video really helped me, so so much.
So happy it helped, we can talk about it more over on our patreon. Maybe talk to your parents and see if you would be allowed to join our community there. You can ask questions share photos and ask questions that we give priority too first over RU-vid. patreon.com/theflutechannel
