What are the first notes you teach your beginning flute students? F Eb D or B (Bb) A G? Which octave do you start them in, low or middle register?
Whenever I have the opportunity to start a beginner, I always start with B A G in the low register. Why? Because the basis for tone development on the flute is in the low register. Second and third octaves are essentially harmonics of the fundamental in the low register. And because the fingering on the flute is easiest to assimilate if the student understands from the start that fingering is sequential. B is thumb and 1st finger, A adds the middle finger, G adds the ring finger, F add first finger right hand, E add middle finger right hand. Bb (see the post on Bb fingerings) can be added after the student knows down to F and E at the bottom of the staff. Next I teach the middle register of E, F and G (see the octave exercise below) and finally I teach middle D and Eb.
Why wait so long to introduce D and Eb? They are very long notes on the flute, with a lot of tube to activate. These notes may make it easy to hold the instrument but getting a brand new flute player to activate that much tube is extremely difficult for them. It is the equivalent of starting a trumpet player on low C#. A beginner hasn’t developed the air speed and breath pressure necessary to push the air through all that tubing yet.
If you are not able start your flute students as outlined above because the band method you use in your program, how can you help them base their tone in the low register? The number one thing you can do to help your students is teach them the octave exercise as soon as they learn F, G, A, Bb. Get and use the Pneumo Pro to help them understand how they change the direction of the air. As they learn new notes, expand the exercise to include the notes they are learning. It is entirely possible to expect beginners to be able to play chromatically through two octaves in the first year of study with good tone.
Finally, there are a couple band methods that have the right idea about the very first notes for flute. These are Tradition of Excellence and Standard of Excellence methods. Both of these series have some preliminary material that teaches B or Bb, A and G before introducing middle D, Eb and F.
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I can back this one in spades! Most of my career i taught beginners and had great success with flute students. Two of the biggest starting points were using B, A, G, F, and following with octave slurs, both promoting tone and embouchure control. Another advantage with those starting pitches is that it put tunes at the student’s fingertips that encouraged them to practice and use that good tone. The music they could play became the reward. I believe that beginning students need material and guidance specific to their instrument, especially in the first two years. From that point, development can proceed with all-in-one classes, though small group/like instrument lessons are better, and private lessons the best. The only material out there that I have used that does this is the “Student” series, nearly 60 years old at this point, and the Suzuki/Takahashi method.
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In my own studio, the books I like the best and use all the time are the Kenneth Gekeler Flute Method and the Flute Student books. Thanks for your comment, Jack.
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