dynamics – Lynette Lewis Flute Studio

In my most recent blog post I addressed Dynamics. Here’s the other half of the equation – Intonation, which is learning to play in tune. This is intended for the flute student that is new to learning about intonation.

Start by getting a tuner or tuner app. Turn it on and calibrate it to A=440. Tune your middle and lower register As and middle D. The goal is to have the needle vertical so the green light is on. Remember to play with a consistent air stream for each note. If your air is different, for example, playing soft for one tuning note and loud for another, you won’t match the intonation with the different octaves.

If you are sharp, meaning it is leaning towards the right, then pull your headjoint out a little. Here’s a way to remember. If you step on a tack – or a pin, it is sharp and you want to pull it out. (Do people even use thumb tacks anymore??) If you are flat, meaning it is leaning towards the left, then it’s the opposite, push your headjoint in slightly.

Next, practice harmonics. Finger a note in the low register, then overblow to get different pitches. You do this by changing the lip opening, air speed, and angle of the air.

Try this exercise. Play low G, middle G, then overblow to get the pitch high D. Then switch to the “true” high D fingering and try to keep the pitch the same. Play the

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Dynamics and Intonation go hand in hand.

Dynamics = playing loud or soft, or somewhere in between

Intonation = the art of playing in tune

Changing the volume on a radio or headphones requires changing a button. It takes very little effort to make this change. However, as a flute player, it’s not that simple. Anyone can play one volume. Learning to play various volumes adds to the musicality of your phrases.

Musicality = expressing feeling through the music by adding dynamics and stylistic characteristics. This makes music more interesting to listen to and to play instead of sounding monotone.

Phrase = a musical sentence. This can be any length, but frequently is 2 to 4 or sometimes 8 measures long.

There are many articles and books written on the subject of flute dynamics and more specifically, intonation. My intent here is to do a basic, simple summary for flute players and give you a place to get started. Here is a chart to help explain it.

Dynamic level	pp	ff	pp
Lip shape	oo	Ah	oo
Size of lip opening (embouchure)	smaller	bigger	smaller
Angle of the air stream	higher	lower	higher
Amount of air	less	more	less
Abdominal support	always	always	always

Elements affecting dynamic range

The column on the left describes the elements that affect your dynamic range. The columns on the right describe how those elements should change when you are playing the different dynamic ranges as listed at the top of the chart.

Just as these colors gradually shift from one to another, you must progressively adjust your lips, opening, angle and amount of air. Sometimes the smallest modification can create a big difference in your flute sound.

First, practice moving from the pp column to the ff column. Then start at the ff range and gradually move to the pp range. Practice this on random notes in the low, middle, and high registers. Try to create the widest extremes that you can. For example, play even softer than you think you can and try playing even louder than you think you can. Then, after you are feeling comfortable with this, try going from pp-ff-pp all in one breath. Do this exercise on random notes in different registers as well.

Check back next week for part 2.

Tag: dynamics

Dynamics and Intonation, part 2

Dynamics and Intonation, part 1