Hi,

I'm primarily a Saxophone/Clarinet player, but do also play and enjoy flute. I've been working on improving my tone and vibrato with some positive results, and I have decided to do grade 8 flute this Summer.

However, i'm having quite a bit of trouble with my high notes! At one time I couldn't play top F or above! I'm fine now up to top A, B flat and B are not too bad once i've warmed up well, but top C is only just audible above all the air! At present i'm basically trying to blow quite fast and hard, and trying to support it well, but probably not enough!

I'd be grateful of any advice from flute specialists out there!

I play a Yamaha 574 and it's just been serviced, so I probably can't blame the instrument!

I don't know if I'm an 'expert', but a couple of tips that helped me master my high notes were:
- make sure your throat is open. Like wiiiiiiiiiide open
- Bring your upper lip down
- Don't think about blowing hard, but think about blowing 'warm' air (like from way down in your diaphragm)
- Don't get too tense: I find that being relaxed is key
- DOn't overblow: sometimes less is more.

Don't know if these will help, but I thought I'd offer them Good luck, I'm sure it will come!

Thanks for the excellent advice. What you say seems to make sense, and is probably the opposite of what i'm doing at present, so i'll certainly try it!

If you can recommend any excercises to play that'd be great too! I was thinking of taking a beginners book, comething really basic like 'abracadabra flute' and playing the first couple of pages up 2 octaves (with highest note being the C).

Hmmmmm. . . the exercise that I did the most was that Moyse one that goes up by whole tones. . .I also would take simpler songs - usually legato slow ones, something really beautiful - that I enjoyed and play them up the octave (if possible). I found this helped because I wasn't just playing long tones or tuneless exercises and sometimes I found that the octave change brought across a whole different feel to the piece.

I find tightening my embouchure and screwing up my forehead until I can see my eyebrows tends to work quite well, but the latter part can probably be omitted for most normal people! You need to warm up an awful lot before you can get high C, and take a breath in so deep that it hurts. Eventually you'll just be able to do it, but it takes time. Another good thing to do is harmonics. Finger bottom C, play it and then gradually increase the pressure until you get the C above, followed by G, C above that, E (I think!) G, something along the lines of a Bb and finally top C. It really helps build up control over high notes, and I always use it as an indicator of whether I'm warmed up enough.

I'm not an expert by any means but here are my tips:

1) You need a big breath but don't be decieved and lift you're ribcage up. You should breath out all the air by pushing your tummy in and then breath out and you're belly should be bigger, full of air. (obviously not really your belly but that's how it will look)

2) Focus the air. Playing the flute does require a huge amount of air but you don't want to blow the air like you're playing a trumpet. You want to make sure you have a clear focused line blowing across the flute.

3) Don't tighten everything up. Be relaxed, don't let it scare you. Try not to purse your lips up too much or you will sound like someone playing an invisible trumpet/blowing a raspberry.

4) Support it. That C is really high up so you need good support from your diaphragm.

5) Try working up to it. Take a big breath and play long legato notes. Try working C - D - E and then D - E - F and E - F - G etc. until you get up there. You may find it easier to slur up to the note from one below so that you have the correct airstream from a note which you don't find too difficult. You may find it easier to tongue it though but I would suggest working upwards to give you the right airstream.

6) Don't give up! It is a tricky note. If you're still having trouble it may be te position of your mouthpiece isn't quite what will suit you in the upper octaves, look at how turned in or out you are and play around with it. Or, if it isn't inline with the right hand keys try lining it up and doing it then.

Oh yeh... and number 7) Stand up straight with your flute at a vertical angle. Most people (me included sometimes) struggle to play with their flute vertical, it tends to slope down like you're digging a hole in the floor. Try playing in front of a mirror and focus your eyes on the end of your flute and keep it up there. It may seem obvious but I've taught many friends to get high notes who were struggling and the key factor was standing up straight.

Hope that helps.

I do that too - and a good way to gat top C is to work up through the harmonics from bottom C until you're almost there and then switch to top C fingering.

Hi again!


Wow!! Some great advice guys, thanks so much!

I do practice my harmonics, and usually manage 5 different notes with low C fingering, I sometimes get the 6th one (I've been a bit lazy and haven't actually bothered to work out which note they actually sound as!).

All fantastic advice, i'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again all of you.

Simon Hunt has a book which concentrates entirely on top register. You should hear blue bells of scotland with top b and c Youch!!

I'd recommend that too. It's called "Scaling The Heights"