I have a lot of flute questions tonight soo?

Question

Okay I am not that good at marching but it is the only thing we have at the high school. I am bad with keeping on step and roll stepping does this take practice? Should I stay after school because I really love band and I want to be good. Also what is vibrato and Nuance Skills. How do you know if you are doing a good single tongue, double tongue, and triple tongue. What are some good ways to improve tonguing?

Answer 1

HI Again Stefani.....   I think it is really time for you to find a flute teacher in your area.    You are being sincere,  I know that.... but it really is important you know what these skills are.

Vibrato.... is the wave sound you make with your flute...  it is also heard in singing... you know... the ladies in church with the beautiful voices who put the waves on all of their words.

It is something you have to learn.. to work on.   It does not happen over night... but if you practice for a few months it should come in for you.

Nuances ....  remember hearing what happens when people  come to the end of the song... and the note just gradually fades away to nothing...    this also takes alot of work to get right.

Single Tongue - This is an articulation.  You know if you are doing it well enough if your notes are strong and stressed.

Double Tongue - to get it fast,  it takes practice, practice, practice... with double tonguing exercises and a good metronome.  Same with triple tonguing...   just exactly the same  requirement.  Practice.  Good thing though...  there is not as much music that requires triple tongue as double tongue.   You really do need to confere with a flute teacher... even if just for a few lessons.  For my students whose parents cannot afford weekly lessons,  I put them on for twice a month.   Any lessons are better than NO lessons.  Talk with your mom...  ask her if she would consider letting you have a few lessons to improve on the things you are concernd about.    I hope she will see the important need for some good direction in flute instruction.  If you like... let her read my answer....  you can email me if you like.

Sincerely,

Ruth S.   1121 - Flute Teacher for 20 years.

Answer 2

You do have a lot of questions--but you will learn the answers by asking them!! :-)  I hope you don't mind a long answer.  

I know I wasn't the person who told you about the skills you're asking about, but I will answer your questions anyway.  I think that person had a great answer, by the way.

It really sounds to me like you're serious about the flute, maybe even to the point where you might do it in college.  If that's the case, now is the time to get some private lessons.  It's best to learn how to play the flute from a flute specialist, and though your HS band teacher may be a good overall teacher, if flute isn't his/her main instrument, they aren't the best person to teach you all that you need to know.  If he/she is a flute teacher, however, stay after school with him/her and get extra help!!

Vibrato:  The best way to understand what this is is to listen to singers.  The slight "vibration" in the voice that sometimes is even more of a "wobble" is vibrato.  Flute players and many other instruments use it as an artistic way to shade and color the tone. It can also be used to help bring out the expression of the piece.  

Nuance skills: I can't speak for the teacher so I don't know EXACTLY what they mean.  But my take on this would be: dynamics--being able to play loud AND soft in all registers; fading out, accents, good staccato and other articulation, and being able to "color" the tone--that is, change the sound or "feel" of the music by reducing or adding air/vibrato.

Any kind of tonguing should be smooth, that is, your tongue and your fingers are EXACTLY togehter, no blips.  Your double and triple tonguing should sound clear, not like you're "hiccuping" into the flute--it should sound mainly like single tonguing and people should not be able to hear a difference.  It is hard to explain how to produce a good double tongue in a response on here, as well as discuss how to get better tonguing (especially without hearing you, I don't know what your tonguing is like so I can't help you improve it because there are many issues involved with tonguing), but I will say a good general tip is to use more air than you think you need to when tonguing through fast passages.   I really feel that with your eagerness to learn and definite inspiration, a private flute teacher may be the best thing for you.  Good luck!!

Answer 3

Yes, keeping in step and doing roll stepping takes practice. You need someone else to practice keeping in time so if you can find someone, the two of you can work on it after school. As for the roll stepping, that's something you can do in your garage or somwhere.

Vibrato is when then note vibrates and how to do that has to do with your diaphram and how much air you have in there.

I was never good at triple tongue, so I won't even give advice on that. But when tonguing, your tongue should hit the back of your upper teeth. It just takes practice to get it fast.