do any flute players ahve tips on how to play high notes that sound good? in the song foreigners there are tons of high notes! and im thinking about doin that song for our band concert...i might play the first flute part in the song with the piccolo...o...the music for it is in the site, so u can look at it...btw: my firend might play the second flute duet in it... :D

Originally posted by Anime Music Fan@Oct 9 2004, 08:11 PM
do any flute players ahve tips on how to play high notes that sound good? in the song foreigners there are tons of high notes! and im thinking about doin that song for our band concert...i might play the first flute part in the song with the piccolo...o...the music for it is in the site, so u can look at it...btw: my firend might play the second flute duet in it... :D
The only tips that I can possibly offer is that when you play the higher notes, your have to tighten your lips so that a thinner line of air is released, resulting in the higher notes. I'm not bery good at explaing that kind of thing, but that's 'bout the best I can do ^^;

Try practicing long tones starting from the high C up to G, that might help you play the notes higher.

I'm not a flautist, but one of my friends in chamber group was and she mentioned that you have to blow harder to sound high notes, if that's any help :)

focus your lips more and put more breath into it. the alignment of the hole with your lips is also important, as your concentrated stream of breath has to enter the hole at the exact right spot. also, high notes generally have different fingerings compared to basic notes, so check a fingering chart.

^all the above

but one more thing, when reaching high notes, you have to have more air, or else it will drop down to lower octave notes. Maintain good air stream is very important when playing high notes on a flute.

Erm.. you needed a tighter embouchure (ie. smaller gap between your lips).. blow harder, but not so hard it squeaks... remember to use your diaphragm to support the air flow.. you need a smooth air flow too.. and if you can, use vibrato to make the notes not so piercing. Also, make sure your lips are aligned at the centre of the lip plate, and direct the lip plate maybe slightly further away from yourself. For lower notes, you tend to need to have it more facing towards you.

Erm.. hope that helps.. :heh:

the tighter your lips, and the harder you blow- the more likely you are to get a 'pinched' squeaky sound- it's best to completely relax your lips as if yawning, and the next bit's pretty hard to explain-sorry if it confuses you- you know how when you inhale your lungs fill up and your stomach expands? well to play the higher notes (and staccato notes) my teacher tells me to force your stomach in, which creates a sharp burst of air , then just tongue lightly/harshly depending on whether legato/staccato- (i don't know how this helps at all, or why she tells me to squeeze my stomach muscles when im playing high notes- but it definetely works for me

to get the high notes you must make sure u have ur lips tight and blow real hard....to make it sound nice...you can't let any air escape from the sides of ur mouth ((My music teacher told me this))

As a floutist, you probably know that you have to tune every note. If your embrouchure is as odd as mine, then going for high notes can be next to impossible. But I'm a rare case.

You have to tighten your lips extremely tight for the ledger lines really high (like the high A and above) and blow as hard as you can. If it helps, tighten your abdominals to flex your breathing stability and that way more air can be forced out.

By doing this, you will blow hard for the note AND still have enough air for notes that come after that (if you are playing a melody). If you can, your posture should be hugh and the mouthpiece should be curved away from your lip...half of you air should go through the flute, the other half away.

If you want to get real complicated, try looking at your finger and blowing at particular points of your finger to practice your blowing direction. For low notes, you blow the direction of the air lower, and the high notes ,blow harder and higher. Irnoic how this works.

Hope that helps.