Teaching the Basics of Tone Production

Teaching the Basics of Tone Production by Phyllis Louke

Learning to play the flute is a complicated process. It is up to the flute teacher to break down the process of learning to play the flute into the simplest terms and gradually build on a student’s skills with more and more details.

One of the basic aspects of playing the flute is tone production. Tone is produced when the air stream is split by the edge of the tone hole–some of the air goes in the tone hole and some goes out. If you cover the tone hole with both lips and blow all the air into the flute, a note will not be produced. Likewise, if you blow all your air over the top of the tone hole with without any air going into the flute, a note will not be produced. This is unique among wind instruments: in brass instruments all of the air is blown into the mouthpiece and sound is produced from the vibration of the lips against the mouthpiece; in single reed instruments, all of the air is blown into the mouthpiece and sound is produced from the vibration of the reed against the mouthpiece; in double reed instruments, all the air is blown into the reed and sound is produced from the two halves of the reed vibrating against each other.

In order to produce a precise air stream (which is the foundation of good tone), I teach my students to do “spit rice” tonguing. Using this type of tonguing eliminates most of the peripheral air that causes the airiness in the tone of many beginners. Students can pretend that they have an uncooked grain of rice stuck on the tip of their tongue and practice “spitting” it off. The goal is to “spit” the rice far away from you (i.e. across the room). When this is done correctly, the tongue will touch the inside wet part of the lips, even appearing slightly through the lips, and will produce a little “pop” as the tongue is pulled back releasing the pressurized air. This should produce a fast stream of air through a small aperture formed between the lips. If the air isn’t fast enough, the rice will just “dribble down to your toes”. For those who have trouble visualizing the tongue placement, real rice can be used (outdoors, of course) to practice the technique, and have some fun, aiming at targets.

The flute is also unique among the woodwind instruments in that the fingerings for most of the first octave notes are identical to the fingerings of the second octave notes. While other woodwinds have an octave key to facilitate the switch between octaves, the flutist is left to make the switch by using their embouchure. The production of high notes vs. low notes is a function of direction of the air column. Simply put, to obtain low notes, the air stream is directed down toward your toes, while the air stream is directed straight ahead across the tone hole to obtain higher notes. The speed of the air stream should be strong and kept constant for low notes and high notes. Although there is a tendency for students to blow harder for higher notes, this strategy will produce a sharp and shrill upper register. Likewise, many students tend to blow softer for low notes, producing a flat and listless low register.

As the angle of the air stream increases, the percentage of the air stream going into the flute decreases. For instance, for low notes, more than half of the air stream is blown into the flute—for example, approximately ¾ of the air stream will be blown through the flute, and ¼ of the air stream will be blown over the top of the embouchure hole. Conversely, for high notes, less than half of the air stream is blown through the flute—for example, approximately ¼ of the air stream will be blown through the flute, and ¾ of the air stream will be blown over the top of the embouchure hole. [These proportions are approximate and are for illustration only. They will vary depending on the note played, as well as other factors.]

To illustrate this concept, raise your flute into playing position with your left hand only. Place the open palm of your right hand approximately 3-4 inches in front of your mouth. Play a first octave G. Do you feel a lot of air on your palm when you play that note? [You should just feel just a little air, since more of the air stream is going into the flute.] Then play a second octave G. Do you feel a lot of air on your palm? [You should feel a lot more air than with the low note, since less of the air stream is being blown into the flute.] If you are teaching a beginning student, you can demonstrate the high and low notes, and have your student place his or her hand in front of your mouth to feel the differences in the volume of air expelled for each note.

So, how do you change the angle of the air stream? Place your open palm 4-6 inches in front of your mouth. To help simulate a flute embouchure, place the index finger of the opposite hand across your chin just under the lower lip (on the “flute shelf”) in the same position where the embouchure plate of the flute would sit. After blowing straight ahead, move your air stream higher and higher up your hand until it reaches the tips of your fingers (without moving your head or hand, of course). Then move the air stream down your hand until you reach the bottom of your palm. Have the student watch for changes in your embouchure as you do this. What changes in your embouchure does the student see, as the air stream goes higher and higher? [They should see your lower lip move forward as the air stream gets higher.] Have your student stand in front of a mirror and try this same exercise and observe the changes in their lip position as the angle of the air stream changes.

To further demonstrate this concept, play a low note followed by a high note, having your student observe the position of your lips. For the high note, they should see your lower lip push farther forward, and for the high note, the lower lip should be farther back. In front of the mirror, the student can try this on her own, playing a low note and then an octave higher, making special note of their lip position. If the student has difficulty getting the higher notes, have them say “poo” when they attack the note. That should get their air stream at a correct angle.

When teaching, it is important to involve as many of the student’s senses as possible, since students can have very different learning styles. Tactile learners respond to feel, by feeling the air stream going up and down their open palm, and by feeling less air on their hand when a high note is played and more air on their hand when a low note is played. Visual learners will respond to observing embouchure changes between playing high notes and low notes–working in front of a mirror so they can observe changes in their own embouchures is helpful. Auditory learners hear the difference in the high and low notes while they’re feeling and seeing the embouchure changes that occur.