It’s All About Balance

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beginning flute, flute balance, flute fingering, flute technique

Something we have all observed is how tricky it is for young flute students to balance the flute in their hands and finger at the same time. Maybe you, yourself have experienced this learning flute basics in methods class and lessons. Unlike other woodwinds, there is no thumb rest to help with balancing the instrument. Back in the 19th century, flutes were often made with a left hand crutch (in fact, modern bass flutes usually still have a left hand crutch). For whatever reason, the crutch was deemed unnecessary and hasn’t been part of flute manufacture in a very long time.

To understand how to help our students balance the instrument better, it is important to understand that the rods that hold the keys are very heavy in relation to the rest of the flute. If we line the blow hole up directly in line with the middle of the left hand key cups, as is frequently taught, the weight of the rods is always dragging the flute backwards, causing the student to play with the blow hole too covered (which also causes flatness of pitch and a dull tone). It also encourages poor hand positions with over-flexed wrists, right hand fingers against the rods and a right thumb that protrudes in front of the flute.

Here’s what I do with my own flute:

As you can see, I line up my blow hole slightly to the left of center, between the keys and the rods. This puts the weight of the rods closer to the top of the instrument which enables me to balance the flute between the first joint of my left hand, right thumb and right pinky (if needed). The flute also rests against my chin. This gives me complete freedom to move my fingers as needed without having to “hold” the instrument to prevent it from rolling backward. The banner photo on this blog shows me doing this very clearly. There is a wonderful video put up by Jennifer Cluff demonstrating all these points at this link: http://www.jennifercluff.com/blog/2008/04/hand-arm-strain-and-flute-headjoint.html Be sure to check it out.

The last thing I want to say about this topic for now is that this is one of those concepts about which professional flute players can disagree, and sometimes quite vehemently. The argument from the other point of view claims that turning the headjoint back causes one to cover the blow hole too much. This would be true if the keys were tilted slightly back. However, if anything, the keys are pointed slightly more forward than straight up at the ceiling, so one gains many advantages in being able manipulate tone, intonation and color.

If you find these entries helpful, please subscribe, share with your colleagues and come back next week for another flute tip. Your comments and questions are always welcome. Find me on Facebook or email me at dr_cate@sbcglobal.net. For information about clinics and workshops click here.

The 5 Most Common Fingering Mistakes

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flute fingering, flute pedagogy, flute technique

Your flute players will sound better (and your local flute instructors will love you) if you are diligent about making sure your students use these correct fingerings:

1. Teaching first finger up for middle D and Eb. Why? With first finger down, it is considered a harmonic fingering. There is an added undertone in the color of the note. Effectively, lifting the first finger acts as an octave key for these two notes resulting in a clearer and more open sound.
2. Using the right pinky or Eb (D#) consistently, especially for E natural and F# (Gb), but also for every note except D. Two reasons: the E natural and F# will be flat and have a dull color without the Eb key, and the Eb provides a fulcrum to help balance the flute in the hands. Notice I didn’t say anything about “holding” the instrument. More on this in another post.
3. Using the correct fingering for F# (Gb), which is T123|003Eb, not T123|020Eb. Why? As with #2, the middle finger F# has a duller color and is a little flat. Though it is the main fingering for F# on saxophone, it is primarily a trill fingering on flute. It is to be avoided for all but the fastest passages or trills.
4. Teaching that third octave fingerings are different than the lower two octaves. Why? The cross fingerings of the third octave are actually combining the overtone series of two different notes (for example, the high E is a combination of the fingerings for E and A), thereby reinforcing the sound and stabilizing the pitch. In most cases it is completely unnecessary to teach so-called fake fingerings (harmonic fingerings) to play in the third octave through high school. The difficulty level of the literature simply doesn’t warrant using these fingerings.
5. Correct fingering for D above the staff is T023|000Eb, never T023|123 or worse, T123|123. Same reasoning as #1. The incorrect fingerings are harmonics and drastically change the color, and sometimes pitch, of the note.

• One last weird one I run into sometimes in my studio — fingering high F T103|103Eb. I’m not sure where this comes from. Is this in a band method book? The correct fingering is T103|100Eb. It flattens the pitch some and seems to be an obstacle to facility in the third octave.

What references do I recommend regarding flute fingerings? The Woodwind Fingering Guide at http://www.wfg.woodwind.org/flute/ and the old standby “A Modern Guide to Fingerings for the Flute by James Pellerite, published by Zalo Publications.

If you find these entries helpful, please subscribe, share with your colleagues and come back next week for another flute tip. Comments and questions always welcome.

Teaching Bb fingerings

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beginning flute, flute fingering, flute pedagogy

Let’s face it, Bb on flute is one of the thorniest fingering issues on the flute. As you already know, there are several different fingerings for Bb on flute. Which fingering do you teach your beginners? When do you introduce the other options?

So what are the different fingerings? There’s the so-called 1 and 1 or forked Bb fingering, the thumb Bb fingering and the side-key Bb. Unlike other woodwinds with multiple options for many notes, it’s the only note on flute for which there are so many choices.

Here is my recommendation for teaching Bb to beginners. Start with the 1 and 1 Bb. Why? Because starting with the thumb Bb causes more problems than it solves even though it is an easier fingering. I strongly believe that 1 and 1 Bb should be taught until chromatic scales are introduced because chromatic scales and any example with adjacent B and Bb (such as in the keys of Gb/F# or Cb/B) need to be fingered with either the 1 and 1 Bb or sometimes the side-key Bb. I am willing to put up with a little lumpiness in the technique centered around the G-Bb combination until the student has learned to play chromatically. To my mind, when students are taught thumb Bb first, more often than not I find they slide between the thumb keys in chromatic scales and passages, which is a much bigger technical problem. A sliding thumb is an impediment to smooth technique in most cases.

Thumb Bb should be taught after students master a basic chromatic scale. Since flutes primarily play in flat keys in band, it actually is a smoother fingering for intervals such as A-Bb, Ab-Bb, G-Bb or Gb-Bb. You may find some initial resistance to learning the new fingering, but the kids soon discover it is an easier fingering in most flat keys.

Choosing the best fingering for Bb can be a bit like voting. Often the choice is very clear, a good candidate and a bad candidate. Unfortunately it can all too often be like have a slate with a jerk, an idiot and a crook and you have to choose the least offensive of the three. After you get past the basics, help your students learn to choose the best fingering based on the context of what they are playing.

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