Every year at the Florida Flute Association Convention I see or hear something that inspires me, something that I try to integrate into my own playing or musical philosophy. This year I was so busy with presenting a teaching session, conducting a flute choir performance, and giving a performance presentation, that I feel like IContinue reading “Articulation Inspiration”
Tag Archives: flute tone
Try Gary Schocker’s trick of using a wine cork to improve flute tone
I’ve been concentrating on improving my tone lately, and came across these videos from Gary Schocker. He demonstrates how he used a wine cork to develop and improve his sound. It sounds totally off-the-wall, but it makes good sense! And since Schocker does have a glorious sound and amazing air management, this technique must beContinue reading “Try Gary Schocker’s trick of using a wine cork to improve flute tone”
Don’t Practice Bad Tone, or Everything is a Tone Exercise
Everyone wants to play with a terrific tone, right? We spend hours on ‘tone exercises,’ contorting our embouchures, trying to wrap our heads around the concept of breath support and how to make it happen, and agonizing over whether what we are doing is having any effect. Then we finish the tone exercise portion ofContinue reading “Don’t Practice Bad Tone, or Everything is a Tone Exercise”
Amazing Harmonic and Multiphonic Exercises
I’m doing it again, pointing you away from here to what someone else has done. Of course, when someone else has done something fantastic, there is no reason to keep it to yourself. I’ve followed Helen Bledsoe’s comments on Flute List with interest, but I had no idea that she had put together such fantasticContinue reading “Amazing Harmonic and Multiphonic Exercises”
Flute Practice and Technology
There has been a little controversy raging on Flute List lately regarding approaches to flute technique, specifically tone production and intonation. Some contributors are very scientific in their approach and others are not, and I think the science-oriented people got a little offended by some comments that may have made it sound like they wereContinue reading “Flute Practice and Technology”
Flute Tip of the Week
Everything is a tone exercise! Always practice with the best tone you can produce. Practicing with anything less than your best tone only reinforces bad habits and makes it more difficult to produce a great tone when it really counts!