Music for All Summer Symposium presented by Yamaha www.musicforall.org Flute Master Class Mihoko Watanabe Tone Production For Flutists MUSIC FOR ALL J U N E 2012 I: Common Problems in Flute Playing - Intonation - Dynamics - Tone - Musicality - Articulation - Rhythm - Notes - Technique - … II: Important Elements of Flute Playing Intonation Dynamics/Color Articulation Musicality/Technique TONE 1) Balance 2) Relaxation 3) Breathing (Standing/Sitting) III: Check List 1) Instrument The Flute must be in good working order. Assemble - Never grasp the flute by the keys and apply pressure to the mechanism. The screws Swab flute after each use - Shrinkage or expansion of the pads -> leaks - Never put the cleaning swab in side of the flute or in side of the case. Locate a skilled repairman - take the flute to have clean, oil and adjust yearly or every semester. ©2012 Mihoko Watanabe 2) Listening Everybody needs to have a good tone concept in your ear. Listening to Flutists around the world Go to live performances Listening to recorded performances Ask yourself to describe the tone quality that you like Listen to yourself and experiment to make the sound Remember how did you make the sound 3) Balance Balance with your body (alignment) is the most important elements of making music in life. Head – hold up with ears over shoulders Shoulder blade (Wings!) down (Open chest area) Spine – do not over extend Feet – on the floor Sitting position - Never use chair as crutch Hand position - Three-point-balance: Chin, left index finger, and right thumb - Curve all fingers - Never squeeze the keys 4) Relaxation Relaxation is the key to have good breathing. Open your chest area Your shoulder blades (WINGS!) are relaxed Relax your abdominal area Relax your pelvis area Relax your fingers o Relaxation exercise (sitting/standing) Mountain Pose Forward Bend Bow Pose Half-Moon Pose ©2012 Mihoko Watanabe 5) Breathing Successful air management (in and out) is the beginning of successful music making. Open mouth by dropping the jaw slightly. Inhale with saying “HOW” A deep, full breath will cause expansion of lungs in the back. Think about even outflow of air. Feel the air pressure. Develop steady air stream, air capacity, and the quick breath. oBreathing Exercises - With/without a piece of paper - Thumb breathing oUse of exercise ball - 55cm, 65cm, and 75 cm diameter balls are available. - Sit down on the ball with 90 degree angle of knee to the floor. o Other Useful Yoga poses: Child’s Pose Tree Pose Downward Face Dog Triangle Twist Pyramid IV: Recommended Resources For Tone Development and Technique De La Sonorité by Marcel Moyse, published by Alphonse Leduc, 1934. 17 Grands Exercices Jounaliers de Mecanisme by Paul Taffanel and arranged by Philippe Gaubert, published by Alphonse Leduc. 24 Petites Etudes Melodiques by Marcel Moyse, published by Alphonse Leduc, 1928. Technical Flexibility for Flutists by Geoffrey Gilbert, published by Southern Muisc Company, 1988. Tone Development Through Interpretation for the Flute Marcel Moyse, published by McGinnis & Marx Music Publishers, 1962. A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Omnibus Edition Books 1-5 by Trevor Wye, published by Novello. ©2012 Mihoko Watanabe - A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Volume 1, Tone (with CD) by Trevor Wye, published by Novello. - A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Volume 2, Technique by Trevor Wye, published by Novello. - A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Volume 3 Articulation by Trevor Wye, published by Novello. - A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Volume 4 Intonation & Vibrato by Trevor Wye, published by Novello. - A Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Volume 5 Breathing & Scales by Trevor Wye, published by Novello. - Trevor Wye Practice Book for the Flute: Volume 6 Advanced Practice by Trevor Wye, published from Novello. CHECK-UP/20 Basic Studies for Flutists by Peter-Lucas Graf, published by Shott. Sequence for Flute by Geoffrey Gilbert, published by Southern Music Company. For Balancing and Breathing Body Mapping for Flutists: What Every Flute Teacher Needs to Know About the Body by Lea Pearson, published by Andover Press. What Every Musician Needs to Know about the body: the application of Body Mapping to Making Music by Barbara Conable, published by Andover Press. ANY QUESTIONS: Contact - Dr. Mihoko Watanabe at E-mail [email protected] MUSICFORALL IUNE 2012 The Vibrato should be introduced to the student vzhen the tone in the fust three registers is fairly stable. Even if you already play with a vibmto, it is a good idea to try this exetcise once in a while. These exelcises are necessary if you do not have conftol of ou-t vibrato. If it is wobbly or you can play it with only one speed, these will be quite helpfirl. After you undetstood the basic exetcise, do this below. 1. Tum the metonome on 60 (one click a second) , Pulse 4 times (quarter) on the first note of a scale and 4 on the second one. I This should sound as obnoxious as possible. * Make sute you ate teally pulsing. Can your nextdoor neighbor hear it or it is only in your head? { Fe[ a kick from your belty. { This is a breath accent (not with your tongue). * Let the pitch vary, this is a part of your vibrato. J. Make sure all pulse is the same (dy'namic, length, force, etc,) 4. Go on only ifyou have gteat control of this speed (aftet maybe a week for beginners). Next, increase the me$onome speed in stages a few notches until you reach 120. l" Go to a higher speed only if you can control the ptevious speed. * Make sure you have nice tound pulses. * You should still fell a kick in your belly. * By 1 20 you should be able to hold the last note much longer than 4 pulses . 6. Now, the goal is to increase the metronome speed ftom 60 to 1?) while pulsing eighth notes. + DO NOT GO ON undl you can conftol the wibrato at each speed. 7. Finally, try to pulse triplets and sixteenth at various speeds. 8. Once this is mastered try fives and seventh! Be carefirl to match the wibrato tipe with the appropriate musical moment. A misplaced vibtato will always be noticed and swly deftact from your musical presentation. (O7012 Mihoko Watanahe . V\IARNINGS: 1. Fast and narrow wibrato can easily become "nanny-goat" vibrato, which is never a good idea. 2. TIo slow and wide often creeps in during soft passages in the low register' The tone is too delicate in the lowiegister to handle a wide vibrato, which can easily overtake it. 3. A wide and slow vibrato can make the upper tegister sound hearry' It is better to play with a relztively fast and narrow vibato, which make the sound light and brilliant. 4. Nevet let the vibrato ovettake your tone. It should be a part of the tone not the tone. VIBFIATO TYPES: v/hen you have conttol over all the speeds of your vibrato, take a look at the many different vibrato types. Your vibmto consists of 2 patameters or variable components, SPEED urrd wIDiI{. SpEED descdbes how fast the wibtation is while the WIDTH is how deep ot shallow without effecting the other one. Both of these comPonents afe independent of each other and can be cbanges witlout affecti..g the othet one" Hele are visuil representations of the possible combination of vibtato by varying the WIDTH and SPEED. Try to play all of them. 1) Staight Tone Slow Speed and Wide Width Slow Speed and Narow l7idth ---- --'-'---""-'== -- Fast Speed and Wide \?idth 5) Fast Speed and Narrow lTidth Vibrato is atoolto express music in abeautilut erpfesslvetone. O2012 Mihoko Watanabe Larry Krantz Flute Pages: Flute Embouchure Photos http://www.larrykrantz.com/embpic.htm Photos of Various Flute Embouchures The following material has been taken directly from: Artistic Flute Technique and Study by Roger S. Stevens Hollywood: Highland Music Company. (1967) pp.14-16 (currently out of print) It is published here with the kind permission of Roger S. Stevens. Many thanks to Pauline Mancuso for scanning the photos and for her generosity in helping to create this page. Thanks also to Jim Lasota for putting me in touch with Roger Stevens. "The flutists whose embouchures are illustrated are highly accomplished musicians with better than professionally average tones. Most are professional or semi-professional career people, although one or two are strictly students with fine tones. The purpose of these illustrations is one of demonstrating the wide variation in embouchures capable of producing a good flute tone." A: Natural, symmetrical, making excellent use of the lower lip, and retaining optimum distance from the embouchure hole. B: Natural, symmetrical, making excellent use of the lower lip, and retaining optimum distance from the embouchure hole. C: Natural, symmetrical, inclined to be almost too far from the embouchure hole. D: Natural, slightly pulled to the left side; lower lip in position for maximum use. E: Natural, pulled slightly to the left; full upper lip retained high so that inner, more sensitive area of lip is used. F: Natural, symmetrical, flexible lower lip capabilities; slight "tear drop" in upper lip pulled flat rather than to one side. G: Nearly symmetrical but with upper lip irregular in contour and therefore rolled slightly out to use inner surface where irregularities are controllable. (Caution: upper lip must not move too close to embouchure hole.) Larry Krantz Flute Pages: Flute Embouchure Photos http://www.larrykrantz.com/embpic.htm H: Natural, pulled to the right, with only the playing surface of a full upper lip rolled outward; lower lip in excellent position to perform.