 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Thomas Hutch
Date: 2003-10-18 16:48
I'm now in my third year of flute study and I've started to notice increased noise from my throat when I play. It is noticeable on recordings that I make of my practicing, so I suppose that it can be heard by people who hear me play.
The noise is sort of a deep gulping sound, coming from an area just above my Adam's apple. It is not a tongue or mouth thing. I suppose that I could learn to control the muscles in that area somehow, because I can move them when I swallow.
I know that I'm not the only one who has this problem, because I've sometimes heard similar throat noise from other flutists. Do any of you posters have similar problems, and has anyone found exercises or something to quiet those annoyances?
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2003-10-18 19:04
Hmm, that sounds awefully like something i had when i first began clarinet. deep throat tounging, although i'm assuming you know how to tounge properly. does this sound occur when you have a note change(when your tounging it is at the same time)? I had a similar problem, you can control those muscles, but it takes time and loads of practise. i tried to control the muscles and make them quitter before i just tried regular tounging, and that went a whole lot faster. hope this helps.
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Author: Thomas Hutch
Date: 2003-10-18 22:31
> i'm assuming you know how to tongue properly.
I get the throat noises even when I'm not tonguing, such as in a legato passage.
I want to say that the noises are more frequent when my breath is running low, but it's hard to pinpoint them that precisely.
About all I can be sure of is that they're involuntary and that I was surprised to discover they're loud enough to be picked up on recordings.
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2003-10-18 23:52
Hi, there. I had exactly the same problem that you had. The throat noises that you hear is caused by the vibration in your vocal cord. It should never ever vibrate when you are playing the flute.
To stop this, you should not make your throat tense. It should be light. Even if you are playing quiet passages, it should be open. Your upper and lower teeth should not be close each other because they interfere with your air coming out of your lips. And you have to practice using the diaphragm properly. Don't make the middle part of your lips tense and don't make them meet together when tonguing. Use your corners of your lips to adjust embouchure. But, don't use too much strength for the corners of your lips. Don't roll in or roll out. Instead, blow the air more straight (helps with intonation consistency), and lower or raise your head and the flute (helps with lowering or raising certain notes' pitch).
Experimenting these will certainly help you to not make gulping sounds.
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Author: Thomas Hutch
Date: 2003-10-19 02:59
Thank you for the suggestions; I'll try them. It's that or switch to the tuba, to cover the sounds.
My throat noises, or "goat throat" as someone on another forum called them, sound and feel more like snoring to me than like vocal chord sounds, but it's certainly worth me trying your suggestions anyway.
My former flute teacher was big on insisting I not raise my head when playing higher pitches. She was a "statue" enthusiast, insisting upon no shoulder movement, no swaying or any kinds of those things. (Mind you she did all of those things herself, while vehemently denying that she did them.)
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Author: Musical Mind
Date: 2003-10-19 15:10
Yeah, but you actually have to move your head and your flute a little bit on some notes like C through F in the low register, C# in the middle and high register, D in the high register, and other unstable third octave notes. You can easily discover the problematic notes for your flute when you experiment with certain notes for a while. Working with the tuner is very good.
And just a little comment: it is so hard to play in tune!
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Author: Thomas Hutch
Date: 2003-10-19 15:56
> it is so hard to play in tune!
I sometimes practice with both a tuner and a decibel meter, to check that as I play through my scales I keep my notes in tune and at the same loudness; and yes, it is quite difficult.
And with the throat noise adding to my worries--well, of course I'm becoming discouraged.
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Author: Amanda
Date: 2003-10-19 20:36
Try to notice what you're doing when the noise happens. Observe your dynamic, range, pitch, and articulation. Try to relax your throat, and slow things down until you can play them without making the noise, then speed them up again. I think I know what noise you mean. Most people do it at least once in a while. I do it once in a while. I've even noticed my professor doing it, and she's one of the top players and teachers in the country. And tuning is one of the hardest things to do, and all you can do is practice. Practice with a piano AND a tuner, and play arpeggios. Tune up your octaves and know the tendencies of your instrument, like sharp Cs and C#s, flat middle E, Eb, and F on the flute.
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Author: Gnomon
Date: 2003-10-20 14:27
It sounds to me as if you are doing 'glottal stoppping' in the middle of your playing. This is a common fault at the start of notes but unusual in the middle of legato playing.
If you say the letter 'a' over and over again: a a a a you will hear this sound at the start of each a. If you say ayayayayayayay, there won't be any glottal stop before each sound.
You have to learn to start notes by tonguing and not by using your throat.
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