Thanks so much for this video! I just bought a flute and have been playing for about 3 days and couldn't hit any note lower than a G. About 15 mins practice with this advice and now I've not only gotten those lowers notes unlocked but with a fairly decent tone as well!
0:39 Very rich sound with lots of harmonics🙂, almost like an oboe. Before that, a good example of wimpy low notes. You are very good at switching back and forth for comparison. Great video!
Hi Devyn, so now about 90% of the time my low register is sounding great(for me) but then 10% of the time, for no apparent reason, I have to struggle. Often this is before warming up at all, so I'm thinking that's partly why. I make sure my lips are not chapped and wash my mouth first. Can you suggest reasons why it doesn't hit sometimes for no obvious reason? I do swab out the flute too. Thanks!@@DevynFlute
Can you post something about tonguing the low register. I can get a resonant low register, but tonguing starts with a more breathy/gutteral tone, especially when there are many in row (like in the Berbiguier #1).
your videos are so insanely helpful. I've literally never heard anyone bring up the same tips as you?? and the tips you bring up are so much more helpful than anything I've ever heard. thank you for your videos!
Great video! Just what I needed. Playing Mack Wilberg’s The First Nowell in our Cathedral for Christmas Eve and the first 2 lines and a half kill me! Going to go try your tips.
Brilliant! I just started to play the flute, and the last 3 weeks have been so frustrating, trying to get a clean sound out. I've gone through several "embouchure" videos, with the smiling and turning down of lips, etc. etc. but it didn't really help. In fact, the advice I followed often made it worse. So today I tried the tips you described - and lo! the low register notes came out just right almost straight away. With a little more practice, the notes now sound clearer and more powerful :) Now I can focus on actually playing this thing! Thank you.
I really appreciate your help! I have a great deal of difficulty keeping each note from sounding too airy! Here is a silly question. When your flute sounds flat do you push head joint in or pull out?
Thanks!! This video is so helpful for me. I'm practicing right now, and I don't know if I'm in the right path, but my belly goes extremely exhausted playing low notes, and I notice that I start to force my throat. Maybe it's because it's been a while without playing and I need to keep practicing...anyways, thank you so so much.
Besides one or more pads not closing properly, an older cork that is shrinking will also make the low notes the first to go bad. I know of one person who had a very airy tone in the low notes, and found they had solder go bad on a cup, causing a slight gap. For the more serious flute student, who intends to be auditioning for professional orchestras one day, if their bottom few notes are a weak point they can't overcome, they shouldn't be discouraged, but instead try dozens of headjoints. Sometimes, a larger, more square-ish (rather than oval) hole opening shape facilitates fuller low notes. Make sure it doesn't affect the sound in all the other notes, including the ease at which a high D can be sounded. My first flute had an embouchure hole shape where I could hit an altissimo E, but from from low D down it was terrible. This was decades ago, before the proliferation of flute and headjoint makers there are today, where there are all different kinds of styles you can try. It's not about brand, material, or price, as much as it is finding the right one that suits your tone and articulation. Except for it being in excellent condition, the body of the flute is much less important compared to finding the right headjoint. At the higher end, like custom headjoints, they can vary even if they are the same hole shape, because the undercutting can cause variations. Anyway, I liked everything you said, and the part about playing with as little tension as possible in the lips, or even in the hands gripping the flute, I agree with that. Another thing people can try with low notes, although it didn't work for me especially, is to pull the corners of the mouth down. For me, the key was finding the right headjoint. The best thing about playing flute today, compared to the old days, is all the information on the internet. The worst thing is that if you want to play professionally, the number of openings is getting narrower, with orchestras going under. I knew of professionals back in the 70s who played in good positions, like one who played in a good opera orchestra, and couldn't play Volière flawlessly. You won't find that today.
Thanks for the super helpful video! You advise to keep your aperture hole small but if I make it too small I pop up an octave. I assume the aperture hole has to be slightly larger than the upper octave aperture hole to get the low note to come out nicely?
Is a better flute makes playing the low notes (and all the rest of the notes, actually) easier? I'm still with my student flute, and never experienced a better/professional one. Thanks'
For a sweeter timbre, you can try bringing your lips closer together and focusing the air on the riser of your lip plate. Make sure you don’t create any tension in the corners of your lips!
In that case, your air speed is too fast, hence the crack up the octave. Try to keep the air speed slow while maintaining pressure to keep the low note sound focused.
Thanks so much for this video! I just bought a flute and have been playing for about 3 days and couldn't hit any note lower than a G. About 15 mins practice with this advice and now I've not only gotten those lowers notes unlocked but with a fairly decent tone as well!
Glad it helped!
0:39 Very rich sound with lots of harmonics🙂, almost like an oboe. Before that, a good example of wimpy low notes. You are very good at switching back and forth for comparison. Great video!
1/2 hour after watching your video & my low register is much improved already, including my fluidity in dexterity down there. Thanks again.
That’s great! I’m so glad I could help!
yeah, a few days now and my whole sound is transformed at all registers. Your vid sent me on a practice groove that's really done wonders.@@DevynFlute
I've for my life been a strong sax player. I might be catching up on flute now@@DevynFlute
Hi Devyn,
so now about 90% of the time my low register is sounding great(for me) but then 10% of the time, for no apparent reason, I have to struggle. Often this is before warming up at all, so I'm thinking that's partly why. I make sure my lips are not chapped and wash my mouth first. Can you suggest reasons why it doesn't hit sometimes for no obvious reason? I do swab out the flute too. Thanks!@@DevynFlute
This is really helpful I I had my difficulties with the C but this helped thank you 😁
Thank you!! I finally got my low c back after 2 years
Wow, thanks. I had immediate success with your suggestions. You sound great, btw.
Jaw-droppingly wonderful advice! Thanks!
Nice pun! Glad it was helpful!
This was the video I needed.
This video is so underrated, thank you for such an amazing video
Can you post something about tonguing the low register. I can get a resonant low register, but tonguing starts with a more breathy/gutteral tone, especially when there are many in row (like in the Berbiguier #1).
Best flute instructions on youtube
This video literally helped me a lot. Now I can play my lower notes better thank you!!! 😭🙏🏼🙏🏼
I'm so glad! Happy to help!
your videos are so insanely helpful. I've literally never heard anyone bring up the same tips as you?? and the tips you bring up are so much more helpful than anything I've ever heard. thank you for your videos!
I'm so glad! Let me know if you have any other topics you’d want a video about!
Your low register is fantastic.
Very Good Leason. I will try everything you say.
This is the best video I've seen on low notes and I've watched a bunch of them! I'm looking forward to putting these ideas into practice. Thanks!
perfect advice, very clear and extremely helpful!!! Thanks a lot!
Awesome lesson! Thank you so much.😊
Great analogy with the hosepipe! Thanks ❤
Nice. VERY nice!
Thank you!
You’re a great teacher
Many years ago I attended a masterclass with the french flutist Maxence Larrieu and he said to drop the jaw too.
Yup. He was dropping his jaw before this young man was born.
Exactly@@rudolphmcneill515
Great video! Just what I needed. Playing Mack Wilberg’s The First Nowell in our Cathedral for Christmas Eve and the first 2 lines and a half kill me! Going to go try your tips.
Great video. So much valuable information. I look forward to watching it again and playing along next time instead of eating pasta.
There’s no wrong time for eating pasta!
Brilliant! I just started to play the flute, and the last 3 weeks have been so frustrating, trying to get a clean sound out. I've gone through several "embouchure" videos, with the smiling and turning down of lips, etc. etc. but it didn't really help. In fact, the advice I followed often made it worse.
So today I tried the tips you described - and lo! the low register notes came out just right almost straight away. With a little more practice, the notes now sound clearer and more powerful :)
Now I can focus on actually playing this thing!
Thank you.
Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so glad that my video could help you.
Long notes!
As others have said this is extremely helpful!
ขอบคุณมากครับ เป็นเทคนิคที่ดีจริงๆ
I really appreciate your help! I have a great deal of difficulty keeping each note from sounding too airy! Here is a silly question. When your flute sounds flat do you push head joint in or pull out?
Glad it helps! When the flute is flat, you should push the headjoint in :)
Do the teeth formation have an effect on the sound?
My lower teeth are projected Abit outside
thank you so so much this was very helpful
Great video! Would love to see one on vibrato
Low notes were my strength! I felt like I lived in them.
very helpfull . thanku!!
Excellent lesson.
Thanks!! This video is so helpful for me. I'm practicing right now, and I don't know if I'm in the right path, but my belly goes extremely exhausted playing low notes, and I notice that I start to force my throat. Maybe it's because it's been a while without playing and I need to keep practicing...anyways, thank you so so much.
I’m glad to help! Keeping your throat open and relaxed will help you use less tension and hopefully help you avoid exhaustion.
Besides one or more pads not closing properly, an older cork that is shrinking will also make the low notes the first to go bad. I know of one person who had a very airy tone in the low notes, and found they had solder go bad on a cup, causing a slight gap.
For the more serious flute student, who intends to be auditioning for professional orchestras one day, if their bottom few notes are a weak point they can't overcome, they shouldn't be discouraged, but instead try dozens of headjoints. Sometimes, a larger, more square-ish (rather than oval) hole opening shape facilitates fuller low notes. Make sure it doesn't affect the sound in all the other notes, including the ease at which a high D can be sounded.
My first flute had an embouchure hole shape where I could hit an altissimo E, but from from low D down it was terrible. This was decades ago, before the proliferation of flute and headjoint makers there are today, where there are all different kinds of styles you can try. It's not about brand, material, or price, as much as it is finding the right one that suits your tone and articulation. Except for it being in excellent condition, the body of the flute is much less important compared to finding the right headjoint.
At the higher end, like custom headjoints, they can vary even if they are the same hole shape, because the undercutting can cause variations. Anyway, I liked everything you said, and the part about playing with as little tension as possible in the lips, or even in the hands gripping the flute, I agree with that. Another thing people can try with low notes, although it didn't work for me especially, is to pull the corners of the mouth down. For me, the key was finding the right headjoint.
The best thing about playing flute today, compared to the old days, is all the information on the internet. The worst thing is that if you want to play professionally, the number of openings is getting narrower, with orchestras going under. I knew of professionals back in the 70s who played in good positions, like one who played in a good opera orchestra, and couldn't play Volière flawlessly. You won't find that today.
This is very helpful. But can you also make toturial on how to play soft on the picolo with high notes. I kinda struggle with that
Thanks for the super helpful video! You advise to keep your aperture hole small but if I make it too small I pop up an octave. I assume the aperture hole has to be slightly larger than the upper octave aperture hole to get the low note to come out nicely?
Exactly! There’s a certain sweet spot :)
Wow !!!! Great tips
Glad it was helpful!
Excelente...!!!
❤ I love it!!!! Thank you so much.
Next practice i do it
Would the same technique apply to the irish wooden flute
Is a better flute makes playing the low notes (and all the rest of the notes, actually) easier?
I'm still with my student flute, and never experienced a better/professional one.
Thanks'
Super!
do you have any tips on making your middle and high register not airy?
Here is my video about getting rid of the air in your sound: th-cam.com/video/1nCzlIe3_z4/w-d-xo.html
Thank you, sir, but how do you spell the author 's name, and what is the name of the book??? 🤔🤔🤔
J. J. Quantz, “On Playing the Flute” (English translation)
@DevynFlute Thank you very much, sir!👍
How to get a sweeter richer C and C# just above the staff
For a sweeter timbre, you can try bringing your lips closer together and focusing the air on the riser of your lip plate. Make sure you don’t create any tension in the corners of your lips!
I keep doing the higher octave
In that case, your air speed is too fast, hence the crack up the octave. Try to keep the air speed slow while maintaining pressure to keep the low note sound focused.
T H A N K Y O U !!!
Lütfen Türkçe alt yazı
I used to be soooo good at my low notes but all of the sudden I can’t get out the lowest 2 notes!!
My Jupiter never ever had any guts on the low C,B and was always disappointing.
I can't hear any notes in my flute when I try low notes
Me neither lol, we've got a long way to go
Last tip: buy a $20,000 gold flute.
Jokes aside, it actually tends to be easier on a cheap student flute
The chin tip does not help me at all...resonance happens inside of the body
Не понятно главное, как вы учите дышать во флейту. это самое важное, остальное ерунда.