Meet the Pneumo Pro. The What?
That’s right, the Pneumo Pro. Collinsdictionary.com defines pneumo- as “related to the lungs” or another definition is relating to the presence of air. Developed by Kathy Blocki, the Pneumo Pro is a wonderful device to help flute players produce a beautiful flute tone through improving their awareness of their breath and lip placement. Sometimes with younger students I just call it the “yellow spinner thing”. It helps flutists actually see where their air stream is going, how fast they are blowing, and how to pinpoint their air stream.
The four different colored wheels provide a visual of what happens when they change the embouchure and the air.
I obviously use it with my beginner students, but frequently use it with all my students, intermediate through advanced and my adult students. In the pictures below, I traded his headjoint for the Pneumo Pro and had him “play” a passage. Then I put his headjoint back on and had him play the same passage which resulted in a noticeable improvement of his tone within seconds.
Whenever a student is having a difficult time with breath, tone, articulation, or musicality, having them play it on the Pneumo Pro immediately reveals where they need to be using their lips and air stream more effectively, even for something as simple as a scale.
A year ago, last summer, while at the National Flute Association Convention in Salt Lake City, I attended a class with Carol Wincenc. She was working with a student and said, “It’s all about the air.” I couldn’t agree more! The air is so crucial for proper flute tone production.
- Need to start a beginner on flute? Use the Pneumo Pro.
- Need to play with the correct articulation? Use the Pneumo Pro.
- Need to make your tone sound more full and focused? Use the Pneumo Pro.
- Need to improve your tone while double tonguing? Use the Pneumo Pro.
- Need to connect your musical phrases? Use the Pneumo Pro.
What more can I say? It is an excellent tool to help any flute player. I’m not being paid to endorse this. I just want to share how valuable it’s been in my teaching. It’s worth every penny. (Thanks Kathy!)
Here’s a link for it. Check it out.
Lynette Lewis Flute Studio 