Just been having a play with the smart music tuner (see, it can hear me, grrr!) and it has confirmed what is not surprising to me, that I can't play in tune - I'm not appallingly bad but still... how can I improve?

& what ways of adjusting tuning may I have missed?

For some notes I seem to be way out and I'm not a huge fan of rolling my flute around every five minutes......

Have you checked your headjoint cork position? If its not in the right position certain parts of the flute range will be in tune but either side will be out.
Also, rather than controlling pitch by turning the flute (if thats what you meant by rolling the flute..) do it by changing the embrochure directing air slightly upwards to make it sharper and downwards to flatten.
Are you overusing the lips to produce colour changes? I used to use the lips a lot to produce changes in colour but that was affecting tuning as i was directing air in the wrong position for it to be in tune. Try playing a passage which is out of tune straight, no vibrato and no changes of lip position and see if smart music shows it is any better in tune or not.

Yes, that's what I'm finding, I try to change colour or mood or dynamic and the tuning just goes to pot. How are you supposed to change colour otherwise?

I have now been taught to change the cavity in the mouth to change colour. On held notes you can turn in or out as you have time, eg top notes I turn out to give a fuller tone at the same tip as lipping down.(yes i know turning out is meant to make it sharper!)

Its hard to explain and is very much up to trying different things out. They may feel uncomfortable at first but the end results are great.

Ah, I see. I will experiment. Thankyou

Remember that tuning to a digital tuner can give false impressions of what is in tune ie if you play sharp (as in pitch) but with a dull sound then you will probably get a digital tuner showing you to be in tune with it, conversely playing flat(pitch) but with a thin sound will probably show up as in tune. Changing the colour not the pitch can alter the reading on a digital tuner -- is it something to do with the harmonics depending on the character of the sound?
Anyway have been told by someone who is a professional flautist & whose opinion I respect greatly that playing to a tuner is a "bad idea" & it's much better to use your ears as to whether you're playing in tune

I didn't know that... useful


I would tend to agree, I'm just worried that my ears have become used to me playing out of tune in the 3rd octave because I rarely play there WITH someone.

Yes I agree about the tuners......I read somewhere quite recently that you should only use the tuner to pitch the A in different octaves and the rest should be done by ear, something to do with relative pitch.

My oboe teacher says something along the same lines too.