Airy flute tone

[pbsax]

I have been practicing my flute doubling since about may, and am quite fluent on the instrument. My tone just SUCKS. I cannot get the air out of my sound. So from one sax player to another, please help me out with my airy flute tone. Thanks.

[Gordon (NZ)]

I can offer some possible help in the form of an email - 174 Kb.

The offer was also made in both the threads "Beginning on Flute", which has become huge and perhaps should die, and "Dear Gordon (NZ)", which does not have an ideal heading.

Your heading is quite appropriate, so I repeat the offer here. The background is as follows:

This is NOT flute manual. A sax player in Hong-kong wanted to double on flute, and after finding me in this forum, corresponded by email for a year regarding flutes and flute/piccolo playing.

We have never met, but his resulting progress on flute, using this email 'instruction', subsequently highly impressed 2 'live' teachers whom he eventually found.

I put the email correspondence together in a rough, barely edited form, and offered it in this forum. It really is quite specific regarding typical issues of going from sax to flute, and is different from how I would teach flute from scratch.

In this forum requests for it gathered an uncanny and almost embarrassing momentum, but that is good if it helps somebody somewhere.

Although I once taught nearly 400 beginners on flute, mostly in classes, I have been out of touch with current trends (fads?) in flute teaching for decades. My particular approach to flute playing, as with other topics, is rather analytical and based on my (limited) knowledge of a range of sciences.

I will email this to anybody who wants it. however, in its somewhat unrefined and perhaps repetitive form, I do not want it presented, with my name associated, in a more formal way in the web. Perhaps I'll get around to refining it some day.

Also, you may find the following reference site for flute-related links useful:
www.flutes.tk

Other than that, you really need to see a flute teacher, because there are so many different embouchure/breath parameters that could cause this.

Also, some flutes are far more 'airy' than others, particularly if you attempt to play them loudly. In my experience, most of the cheaper American-made flutes are unfortunately in this category.

[pbsax]

Gordon, please send the file. thanks a lot. my email is Dasaxman89@hotmail.com Thanks
- pb sax

[Anonymous]

Gordon,
I would also like to receive this please.

blaine@sense.net

thanks

[Gordon (NZ)]

You're welcome.

Sent.
Also to Jerry K.

[Anonymous]

Gordon,
This is a wonderful gift. Thank you so much! I've read about half of it so far and I plan to go over it several more times. I always thought of flute as my primary instrument and sax as my double. There is tons of great information in here, some of it confirms or enhances what I already knew and some of it is new to me.

You could publish this and sell it.

thanks heaps,
Blaine

[Jerry K.]

Gordon, would you please email me a copy as well at lightnsail@aol.com.

[Gordon (NZ)]

You're most welcome Blaine. I'm so glad to hear it is of some use. (So is the 'student'.)

[Jerry K.]

Gordon, thank you for the email. Outstanding information I have only scratched the surface on before heading out of town on business. No horn, no flute, a guitar, but no time!!! Thanks Again!!!

[AbrahamFackle]

Can I get a copy? My band director plopped a tenor part with flute double on my stand today. He says, "you will be performing this piece, so you'd better learn flute". My e-mail is swensonhater@yahoo.com

[Bostonsax]

Gordon:

Would you send me the excellent tips that everybody is talking about? I have started my doubling on flute and I have to say that little tube is v-e-r-y HARD to handle.
My e-mail:

jsordides@yahoo.com

Thanks a lot,


Alejandro

[Gordon (NZ)]

Sent, with pleasure.

And again to Shortwhite.

Also to Sarah (Starfluf), Sessionsax, Chickensax (but not Schnibs because of no email address), Aaron_B, DougR

[AbrahamFackle]

Thank you! I've skimmed over it once and already found a several flaws with my technique. Can't wait to give it a more in-depth reading! Thank you!

[shortwhite]

Gordon,

Somehow mine never showed up. Could you send it again?

gwilson3@austin.rr.com

[schnibs]

hey gordon,

can i please have a copy too?
thanks very much for doing this for all :D

[sessionsax]

Gordon,

Put me on the email list, I am self taught on flute, so I would greatly appreciate some input from someone who really knows.

Thanks,

Session

[starfluf]

Hi there! I'd much appreciate it if you could send me the file too please!
I've been hoping something like this would pop up on sotw forum..... so thankyou!!
sarah

[starfluf]

....er just thought! you might need my email address!! :wink:

sarah@starfluf.freeserve.co.uk

Thanks -sarah

[chickensax]

Hi Gordon!
It would be great if you could send me a copy of your file!
Thanks a lot! My e-mail: s_goldhahn@hotmail.com
:)

[starfluf]

Thanks for your prompt sending of the file Gordon! I'm reading through it bit by bit and trying the suggestions on my flute - and it's making a difference very quickly! Thanks a lot!!!
sarah :D

[Aaron__B]

could you send it to me too?
improv2728@aol.com
thanks

[DougR]

Could I have a copy too please.
Doug@mk-music.co.uk

[Gandalfe]

Gordon, I have an earlier incarnation. I wonder if you would consider getting SOTW to post the doc at a download site. We could label it anyway you'd like. (Draft? Work in progress?) Once again we have clear proof that this is a valuable and appreciated document.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Gordon, I have an earlier incarnation. I wonder if you would consider getting SOTW to post the doc at a download site. We could label it anyway you'd like. (Draft? Work in progress?) Once again we have clear proof that this is a valuable and appreciated document.

I suppose that is a possibility. It's clear I am not going to get around to morphing it into a more conventional document in a hurry.

I just casually offered the email once and had no idea there would be such a long string of requests for it, not that that its a burden. The 'student' involved is also quite chuffed that there have been so many requests.

I could write an introductory paragraph explaining how it came about and why it has not been refined.

Where exactly are you thinking of putting it?
.

[Gordon (NZ)]

Gandalfe, one of my concerns is statements such as, "I've skimmed over it once and already found a several flaws with my technique."

I have been but a good amateur player with a rather analytical approach, but am way, way out of touch with current thinking on flute playing and teaching. Players/teachers who ARE up to date may well consider some of my thinking to be downright misleading. I certainly don't regard myself as an authority on flute technique, and I would hate to be misleading flute beginners in the curent flute playing environment. I could be way out on a tangent for all I know.

I feel that to put it on a website is to formalise it to a degree, and impart greater authority to its contents.

I suppose I could put these worries to rest in a form of disclaimer covering the issue.

[Gandalfe]

Harri sez let's do it. Gordon, you can send it to any admin or mod and it will be uploaded. Don't forget to put the disclaimer saying something like, "Although creating this document has been a labor of love and well received by many at SOTW, it is based on my (Gordon's) travails associated with learning the flute. This document is not intended to be used en leiu of a good instructor." Or some such.

[Gordon (NZ)]

OK. I've sent it to you as an email attachment.

[Gordon (NZ)]

My email flute lessons are now available at:

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Resources/FluteLessons.html

The actual Adobe-document is 31 pages, and mounts to 183 kbytes for down-loading.

It would be nice to condense the content, but it is just not a high enough priority for me at present.

I hope it is of some use.
Gordon

[Gene]

Could you send me a copy of the file also I'm doubling on flute to need to try to get rid of airy tone and make other adjustment's, thank's .

[Gordon (NZ)]

The post before yours contains a short-cut link to the information, which is now listed on the front page of saxonthweb.net