The Fingering Forum

About flute

Author: Musical Mind  Date:   2003-10-17 04:45 I have recently discovered about how closing and opening keys affect the embouchure and sound. Here's a note that I took myself: Closing more keys make the flute tube longer, and opening more keys make the flute tube shorter. What this means is that the air has to be more wide to travel into the last closed key of the flute when more keys are closed, and the air has to be more narrow to travel adequately into the flute when more keys are open. The speed of the air will determine the octaves. This does not mean more air but more air pressure. More air is needed when playing loud. The pitch can be controlled by the size of embouchure also, not just the lower jaw. The size of embouchure is in the term of opening mouth, not tightening or widening the corners of the mouth. Well, I don't know about the last one that I wrote down. I should say that tightening or widening the corners of the mouth is not as important as opening mouth. And I will give you some examples about that closing and opening keys affecting embouchure and sound. When you play the low C, you need a wide embouchure to play that note with a full sound, not overplaying out-of-tune sound. Oh, and you blow more downward. As the notes ascend, you gradually blow more outward (or more forward, straight) with a smaller embouchure and with more air pressure. I think this is because of the enough speed and amount of air needed for each note's flute tube's length. For example, the notes in the second octave like C and C#, and the third octave such as Eb, E, F, and F# are terrible notes to play. They are unusally open, sharp, and unstable as we all know and struggle with. To play those notes in tune and stable, the embouchure should be small (not too tiny for the corners of the mouth), and the airstream should be a little more down than straight and more across the hole. These adjustments will make the air go into the flute not too fast nor too much, and not too less. And I don't know exactly how the combinations of opening and closing keys produce certain notes like the fingerings of third octave E through C. And Eb is such a weird note. You close all notes except the G# lever left-pinky key and the right-pinky key at the end. Does that mean it has two flute tube lengths? Well, if you have any comments, answers, or suggestions, I will be very grateful.

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