ive been playing through some grade 5 and 7 music this morning and i'm ok with high notes in the pieces but then when i go to trry to play a low note (low G- downwards!) it either doesnt come out at all or if it does it comes out an 8ve higher. its never happened before, what am i doing?!

Grade 5 + 7 flute pieces already, wow!
Erm, well it sounds like you are either overblowing (octave sound produced) or not aiming the air stream correctly. For lower notes, try and aim your air stream lower, not high as you would for the higher notes. Practice low note long tones to improve your bottom notes.
Hope this helps, what pieces were you playing?

Posted same post twice, sorry didn't realise.

You hav probably tightened your embouchure to play the top notes & haven't relaxed it off a bit for the lower notes.. For higher notes are you tending to "smile" more - ie lifting the outer corners of your lips up? for lower notes you need to let the outer corners go down a bit. Or at least something like that.
Andante will explain it really well to you i'm sure.

Yes. I know what I mean but can't explain it well!

pieces

grade 7- Mozart flute concerto Adagio and Poulenc- i know im sorry!!

grade 5- list A- the Mozart Dovo sono or something!, Dance of blessed spirits, Handel
list B- Faure sicilenne

Ooh, you flatter me, Andy!

I'm not sure I can put it much better than you and Nicki have done. You need to direct the air stream downwards for the lower notes, which you can do by moving your top lip out more (slightly away from your top lip) and pulling your bottom lip in a little. Think about forming your lips into a downwards-pouring spout shape if that makes any sense.

As you're a relative newcomer to the flute, Nat, you won't have developed the flexibility with your embouchure that comes over time. Lots of long tones will help, as Nicki has suggested.

lower your breath pressure when playing lower notes, drop your diaphragm slightly and push from low down through your throat if that makes any sense!!!

You can use the opening two lines of the Faure Sicilienne as a flexibility exercise for your embouchure as you cover quite a lot of the flute with that opening phrase. Really work on moving your air stream up and down as you move through the notes.

Dove Sono is a great piece to relax with, on the other hand, as it's mostly in the middle register and doesn't leap around too much. I love the way Gareth Davies plays it on the Grade 5 CD - you can feel the mood of the song even without the words.

These are all really long pieces, Nat, so be prepared for your embouchure to flag a little if you play them right through. It takes quite a bit of time for those muscles in your lips to get accustomed to the effort.

They're all great pieces though (especially the Poulenc ).

you'd probably do yourself no harm trying to play easier pieces really well nat, rather than bashing through grade 5 and 7 pieces... you've not been playing the flute long, and you're probably tensing up playing all those high notes, you need to be really really comfortable in that register and then you won't have a problem, but that comes with time and practice.

Hey Sarah, where have you been? We haven't seen you around for quite a few weeks! I thought you'd emigrated or something! Mind you, that would stop from posting on the forum anyway would it, silly me. I'm still living in the days before the Internet. Was ther ever such a time?

Gae

P.S. I sent you an E-Mail just to see that you were O.K.

Oops, double post!! Silly board froze on me!

Gae

I am alive! (Gae, I just replied to your email actually) I've had major computer problems, have been living at my mum's while my bathroom is being re-done, and have also had a lot on my mind... a friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the beginning of March (he passed away yesterday) so it's been sort of insane... but I now have a computer that computes, a connection that connects, and a bathroom that's almost suitable for bathing in, so I will be back, cos I could use a few smiles off you nutcases.

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Apr 11 2005, 11:18 AM)

you'd probably do yourself no harm trying to play easier pieces really well nat, rather than bashing through grade 5 and 7 pieces... you've not been playing the flute long,

erm,..i dont mean to be rude, but just becasue ive only recently started talking about my flute playing doesnt mean ive only started playing very recently. ive been play as far as i can remember since at least last october. ok the embouchure is different to other instruments, but ive got a lot of musical knowledge, a lot more than what 'proper' beginners would have. ive played through easier pieces, they are fine. ive gone through 80 graded studies bk 1 as well.
the pieces im doing now are going well now.

I know you have muscial knowledge, nat, it's embouchure strength that I am talking about... last October is still "very recent" for developing the kind of strength in your lips. And the flute embouchure is very different to clarinet. I'm not trying to belittle your playing - after all I've never even heard you play - but even flautists who've been playing for years sometimes have trouble keeping their embouchure relaxed and flexible in the top register.

(just to clarify, I mean easy in terms of notes/range/dynamics, not in terms of interpretation or whatever... obviously you have an advantage there... but playing good dynamics over the whole range of the flute takes time, having great tone over the whole range takes time. and playing simpler pieces with great tone and dynamics is more beneficial than playing harder pieces and finding that you're not getting all the notes)

Yes, however....

I don't think Nat is playing those pieces just for the prestige of playing them, but because she wants to.

Also, I played some of those pieces a while ago (dance of the blessed spirit by Gluck for GCSE, and faure for fun...), but I still can't play quietly in the top octave, ie F3 and above, and my tones not great either for six years of learning. But I found that through playing pieces which were at the time above my standard (seista, Richard Rodney Bennet [this was a year or two ago]) that my tone is better in the lower range...

Although sarah makes a valid point about securing these things in simpler pieces, Nat has actually done a lot of work on easier things, and I think enjoys stretching herself! And she also thinks that now she has done grade 1, everyone thinks she is that standard, when she is actually far more competant than that.

ta Helen!

I understand where you're coming from sarah, but i cant help being at a highish level on my other instruments, meaning that everything on the flute (apart from tone) is easier.

im not taking flute extremely seriuosly at the moment, its just a bit of fun, so im plsying pieces i like, and i can actually play, which is obviously unfortunate if that happens to be grade 5+ pieces.

Its probably because your playing the high notes and then your playing the g differently cos your used to playing it high> Soz has someone said that already?

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Apr 11 2005, 11:03 AM)

ta Helen! I understand where you're coming from sarah, but i cant help being at a highish level on my other instruments, meaning that everything on the flute (apart from tone) is easier. im not taking flute extremely seriuosly at the moment, its just a bit of fun, so im plsying pieces i like, and i can actually play, which is obviously unfortunate if that happens to be grade 5+ pieces.

*nods* yes I do know that... I guess it depedns what you want to get out of it... there are just some really gorgeous pieces that you could probably do great justice to, whereas things like the cantilena - I mean, it's got some really difficult combinations of v high notes and extreme dynamics - I'm very impressed that Andy is doing it, and he's been playing forquite a while, well over a year I believe? (hey, if you can do that high F ppp at the end after 6 months then please can I have some lessons with your teacher?) like I said, no disrespect all all to your musicianship, your results in recent exams prove you've plenty of that. if you're happy playing them and knowing that it's going to be a good while before you can really do them justice, then more power to you... it depends on each person. just a shame to possibly get frustrated when there are pieces that you could probably even at 6 months make a great job of. I guess a bonus is that you are learning then fingerings, when your tonal work and embouchure control catches up then you will have given yourself a flying start on those pieces. don't worry, I know you're not a typical grade 1 student - after all, I'm in a similar boat, the only flute exam I've taken is grade 4, and I'm certainly not just grade 4... I would just always suggest, even if you really want to learn those grade 7 pieces (they are both gorgeous, so in that sense I don't blame you) that you have a few pieces at a lower level going that you can really polish and get to a good standard, because you'll really give yourself a better grounding in technique that will help later on... (I'm sure if you wanted suggestions you'd get a fair few round here.when I first started learning I certainly jumped about, and didn't get the good grounding in technique, and only 6 months of lessons with a great teacher when I'd already been playing for 5 or 6 years saved me from forever being a totally mediocre player.

as to learning how to do jumping between regusters, probably obvious, but practice octave leaps, get them as smooth as you can. practice will teach you how to do it, it may take some time. tone quality wise, work on the bottom register first - if you can get a hold of trevor wye's tone book it should help - then you will have a good basis on which to build moving up into higher registers. I honestly think you can't do enough tone work - it will all pay off, and the nicer your sound the more pleasure you and your listeners will get from your playing.

helen - siesta is a lovely piece (nat, have you lookied at that one? very accessible and a beautiful piece, think it's grade 5)...

once again - casting no aspersions on your musicianship... just I would seriously recommend the technical exercises and easier pieces that, in the long run, will hugely benefit your playing of the pieces you want to play.

btw I never did hear, how did your flute exam go?

Small cough......."I'm very impressed that Andy is doing it, and he's been playing ...."
"HE" isn't actually a he but a "she". I'm obviously a bit gender neutral in my postings!!
And it probably sounds lousy when I play it anyway.

yes Andy- is a she hehe

i did laugh when i read that!

QUOTE

btw I never did hear, how did your flute exam go?

merit -126

QUOTE

would just always suggest, even if you really want to learn those grade 7 pieces

yes i know im not going to them justice whatsoever at the moment. but the grade 5 pieces im doing are really lovely and im getting there with them. i just want to enjoy playing flute for now, and play nice pieces. if i ever want to do it seriosuly then i'll get proper lessons and obviously work on technique and tone etc etc.

QUOTE

helen - siesta is a lovely piece (nat, have you lookied at that one? very accessible and a beautiful piece, think it's grade 5)...

no i dont know that one. *puts on shopin list*!!!

My teacher told me that when I am blowing low notes, I have to make a sadder face..like a frown !

That's why when most flautists perform, you se funny expressions on their faces!

yeh so did my teacher!
morceau de concours (faure) is great for all aspects of flute playing because of the beautiful phrasing, gorgeous melody, runs, using a wide range of the flute to show off!

QUOTE (Andy-piano-flute @ Apr 22 2005, 06:00 PM)

Small cough......."I'm very impressed that Andy is doing it, and he's been playing ...." "HE" isn't actually a he but a "she". I'm obviously a bit gender neutral in my postings!! And it probably sounds lousy when I play it anyway.

d'oh.... *blush* flying visit and needed to say... I'm sorry! My dad was an Andy, and I don't think I've ever met a female one. so I assumed (incorrectly!) without even thinking about it. And I can't imagine you're playing the Cantilena too badly, or else I wouldn't imagine your teacher would've suggested grade 7!

anyway... back when I have a pc of my own to play on...!

That's OK sarah-flute - I chose andy when i registerd because i couldn't think of anything else.
Actually as a child i was called andy-pandy which i detested! ( remember i grew up in the era of andy-pandy, teddy & looby-lou!!)

You must be around my vintage, then, Andy. I'm almost exactly the same age as the Poulenc Sonata.

QUOTE (Andy-piano-flute @ Apr 22 2005, 06:00 PM)

And it probably sounds lousy when I play it anyway.

Oh no, don't put yourself down! You should be saying "I'm great!" and then play, I bet it'd sound better then!

As for the frowning and the low notes, I've never heard that! I think I'm going to go practice my frowns in the mirror...

And as to playing pieces beyond one's "level" or whatever, I think it's really fun to challenge or attempt a somewhat more difficult piece! It can be really motivating and very rewarding, too!

QUOTE (Andy-piano-flute @ Apr 25 2005, 08:17 PM)

That's OK sarah-flute - I chose andy when i registerd because i couldn't think of anything else. Actually as a child i was called andy-pandy which i detested! ( remember i grew up in the era of andy-pandy, teddy & looby-lou!!)

ugh... yes, I can imagine! lol. well now I know, at least!

QUOTE

yes Andy- is a she hehe i did laugh when i read that!

obvious when you know *wry grin*

QUOTE

QUOTE btw I never did hear, how did your flute exam go? merit -126

well done - saw your post, but not ill after I'd posted that!

QUOTE

i just want to enjoy playing flute for now, and play nice pieces. if i ever want to do it seriosuly then i'll get proper lessons and obviously work on technique and tone etc etc.

*nod* yes I do understand that - I would still encourage you to work on tone if nothing else: it will enhance your enjoyment of your playing if your tone is better, to play even a dead easy piece with a really beautiful sound is immensely satisfying, and tone exercises don't have to be "sit down and play longtones and dull exercises" - pick a phrase you really like and then work on playing it with the most lusciously gorgeous tone you can manage. to make a really beautiful sound is a really satisifying thing, even if it's only playing "baa baa black sheep" *grin* which you are beyond anyway! The octave leaps thing will really help with things like the Poulenc. Practising getting good tone is by far the most fun (IMO!) bit of technique out of the lot, and there are some gorgeous tunes out there that are used as tone exercises. If you can find time to do a bit, you really will reap the benefits of enjoyment of a better sound whatever you are playing.

Siesta is really nice...

glad you understand sarah...i get qhat your saying to!

who is siesta by?

cool

Richard Rodney Bennett (I think!!) someone please correct me if I am wrong - brain is not firing on all cylinders today...

okay thanks. i'll look for it

Oh yes, Sarah, I think you are right. I have heard the Siesta is a lovely piece, however I have never played it.