Theobold Boehm designed the modern flute as an extremely accurate 12-tone, chromatic instrument that eliminated (as much as possible) the ability for large pitch variation in favor of incredible pitch stability that could match equal temperament instruments. It is also quite difficult (and sometimes impossible) to do in the 2nd and 3rd octaves, because the loose embouchure will mean that the pitch will not have enough air speed to get to the 2nd and 3rd octaves. This can be hard for professional flute players to do because they have literally spent years trying to get the air out of their sound. You keep your lip muscles loose enough that the sound gets muddy and airy. Basically, it’s the same idea as listening to a beginner or a saxophone doublers on the flute. Half pitch/half sound : This can be accomplished at varying degrees of severity. Open vowels are harder, but can produce soft attacks (these often have to have some sort of S involved that helps to keep the air “dirty”.) Bonus is, you don’t have to make a true “sound” on the flute in order to make an air sound.įull air/Syllabic air sounds (will have residual pitch, but no “real” pitch : Hard consonants work really well here, especially if you want a hard articulation: Ch, Sh, K, P, T, Shu. There are many air sound possibilities and you will be able to write down what you want if you can achieve it yourself. Figure out what works/doesn’t work by testing things out yourself. I recommend that if you are writing for the flute and want to use air sounds, make yourself a PVC pipe flute, or buy a cheap metal $100 student level instrument (readily available on eBay) and experiment. Air sounds are some of the most effective extended techniques on the flute and encompass a lot of different types of sound that can be created by both shaping the mouth, using different syllables, and altering the direction and amount of air that enters the tube.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |