Flute Question about long notes?!
Question: Flute Question about long notes!?
What is it called when you hold out a long note and it gets like louder and quieter really quickly or slowly ( the flutist can choose) and how do you do it!?!?!?Www@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
I cant open the link!.!.!. but really quickly or slowly!. thatdefnitely sounds like vibrato!. Its an "effect" type thing you do by controlling your airstream!. Aask your teacher about it!. Flute vibrato has to be done withthe diaphragm (no jaw vibrato on flute!.!.!. it wont work for you, I promise) like oboe vibrato!. Musicians alter the speed of their vibrato for expressive purposes!. They do chose!. only very very rarely will a composer demand vibrato speeds, and even then its usualy non vibrato/poco vibrato/multo virato!. On the flute, an advanced player will use vibrato on all notes, short and long!. It becomes a part of basic tone production although you can turn it off if you want!. It becomes second nature!. YOu realy will need to ask a teacher about learning!. You star out holding an easy comfortable note (I used the fourth line D) then set a metronome to about 70 beats and maintain a long tone while relaxing your abdominal muscles!. the pitch will drop!. Hopefully a lot!. it will be UGLY and gross sounding!. this is all good!. practice doing that and going back to the pitch over and over a 1/4 note to each click!. when youre good at that, do 1/8 notes, trplets, 16ths, an what not!. eventaully (id do that every time you practice for 2 months or so to biuld the muscle) try putting it inscales, and simple etudes!. By the time you force it for maybe another month, suddently youll stop working for it!. Itll be like a shivery feeling upper-torso!. no longer in hyour stomach, more near your breast or throat!. You really need a teacher for it though!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
The general term is dynamics; dynamics include not just pp/p/mp/mf/f/ff (basic volume markings), but also events like crescendo and decrescendo, which can be represented verbally or by symbols resembling "greater than" (decrescendo) or "less than" (crescendo) symbols in mathematics, or sforzando (or its relative fp), in which the note is started loudly and immediately should be much softer (in sforzando, the note grows louder again after getting softer)!.
All of these techniques are achieved by your diaphragm, which is in essence the volume knob on your flute!. A faster airstream results in a louder sound, while slower (yet steady) airstream yields a softer sound!. Long tones are a great way to develop the muscle tone of the diaphragm so such techniques may be possible- the lower the note selected for the long tone, the better!. I recommend practicing this in a mirror so you can see your hand positioning (you could be doing breathing and embouchure correctly yet be very frustrated by hand technique which doesn't keep the tone hole in the correct placement) as well as posture (important- you want to sit in a way that gives your diaphragm the most freedom to move)!.
PS- I watched the link; while the performer has strong tone and timing, I really do not notice any broad changes in dynamics!. Could you be referring to vibrato!? That's the slightly wavering quality she occasionally adds to notes of greater duration!. You can do that with the diaphragm or the lower jaw; the second is tricky, if not impossible, on flute!.
My personal belief about vibrato is that it is not unlike cheese in culinary use: a little bit can accentuate the dish, but too much overwhelms it- so use it to taste!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
All of these techniques are achieved by your diaphragm, which is in essence the volume knob on your flute!. A faster airstream results in a louder sound, while slower (yet steady) airstream yields a softer sound!. Long tones are a great way to develop the muscle tone of the diaphragm so such techniques may be possible- the lower the note selected for the long tone, the better!. I recommend practicing this in a mirror so you can see your hand positioning (you could be doing breathing and embouchure correctly yet be very frustrated by hand technique which doesn't keep the tone hole in the correct placement) as well as posture (important- you want to sit in a way that gives your diaphragm the most freedom to move)!.
PS- I watched the link; while the performer has strong tone and timing, I really do not notice any broad changes in dynamics!. Could you be referring to vibrato!? That's the slightly wavering quality she occasionally adds to notes of greater duration!. You can do that with the diaphragm or the lower jaw; the second is tricky, if not impossible, on flute!.
My personal belief about vibrato is that it is not unlike cheese in culinary use: a little bit can accentuate the dish, but too much overwhelms it- so use it to taste!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Are you talking about crescendos and decrescendos!? Or maybe a fermata, when you hold a note!?Www@Enter-QA@Com