For those of you who have been around (the block) a few times, this may be old news. I have to admit I didn’t check out all 60+ pages to find it, so if this has been hashed and rehashed, please someone kindly direct me to the right page:
How do you keep the upper and lower octaves in tune with each other?
I have tried blowing softer/harder, angling the mouthpiece, lipping up and down, to no avail on my Seery simple system flute. What do I do now (besides get another flute)?
You should use a tuner.
And perhaps it is the flute that is out of tune. Have you heard an experienced player with your Seery?
That being said, most tuning problems result from over-blowing in the second octave. You should blow more forcefully on the lower octave and hold back on the upper.
learn control…choose one note on the flute…let’s say the note G, as this is typically a fairly stable note and right in the middle. play the low G - a nice long tone. get it spot on. play it again nice and long and this time have it break into the 2nd octave. repeat 5 times in front of a tuner to see where you are in terms of relative tuning. then fluctuate the high note so you can learn to control it, have it do what you want it to - go a little sharper or a litte flatter depending on what you need. pay attention and build a memory of what you need to do to get in tune. when you can control the note G then move onto another note…maybe A or whatever you want but build from there note-by-note. ± 10 cents is a good starting goal. dont’ be too alarmed if all the notes don’t hit spot on: A might be a tad sharp or F# and D a tad flat. no big deal. just get the G spot on and build from there.
playing out of tune is a common problem - more common than most will admit. it is a constant, so take responsibilty and bring your awarenes to it. many fluters play out of tune for years - they never took the time to accquire the skill. let the flute teach you how to play it. these flutes need to be blown into tune and that takes a bit of skill so be patient as it may take awhile for your embouchure to develop.
You should see Terry McGee’s excellent article at http://www.mcgee-flutes.com/Stopper.html. As you move the cork away from the embouchure hole, the upper register pitch should flatten some, without greatly effecting the low register pitch.
I bought a second-hand Seery, and I’ve always found the high register sharp on a tuner. However, my teacher has played it and doesn’t think there’s a problem, though we didn’t spend a lot of time on it. Working with a tuner, I’ve experimented pushing the cork a fair amount out, so much that I could no longer put the cap on, so I actually cut the cork down a bit. In this case all the high register is in tune… except the high B is a bit flat if I don’t push it. I’ve pushed it in a bit more, so that the high register still is a bit sharp if I don’t really carefully control it, but the high B is less flat, though still not perfect. So, I don’t know. I suppose I could take it to some expert, but it’s not all that bad, and hopefully I’ll get my Olwell in a few months. If it’s still sharp, I’ll know it’s not the flute. :roll:
One other thing… another guy at the session I attend has a Seery that is somewhat different than mine. Mine has the joint below the D hole and his joint is below the G hole. I don’t know if there are other differences, if the differences effect the pitch, or which is the older model. My point is that all Seery flutes may not be totally equal.
When I first received my Seery, I thought the upper octave was out of tune, too. Having had a similar experience with my conical Dixon earlier, I left well enough alone, and with time the problem went away…obviously a case of user error on my part.
There are good tips above - with time, you should get it. Also, the Seery isn’t the easiest flute to fill at first being basically a Pratten derived model, so time and practice are key for getting it to sound it’s best…
Sboag - I’d place money that if your teacher thinks it’s OK, it’s probably OK.
I did find it interesting that Caite’s description was exactly what I’ve been going through, on the same make of flute.
These kind of discussions are awfully hard to have over the distance. If we were all in the same room we could just break out the tuners, compare flutes, and be done with it!
In any case, Rama’s note is good, and worth taking to heart.
As a rule of thumb, the stopper should be set back one bore diameter from he center of the embouchure hole. This can be adjusted slightly according to the flute or your playing style (once developed).
I think it is a bad idea moving the cork all the way back to compensate for tuning.
It could be the flute, but I get the impression that Seery’s are pretty consistent. It is the player that plays the flute - that’s the beauty of the instrument. Your lips make for the major part of the tone and intonation.
I suggest you place the cork in the ‘standard’ position and find what that means for your embouchure, following Rama’s advice.
When I stared playing I was sorely tempted to move the cork so that I could reach the bottom notes more easily.
Luckily my teacher insisted that I learn to blow them right.
I would never have been able to play with power otherwise.
Sboag - Like I said earlier, I went through the same thing, too (on a Seery). But for me, I went through it with two different flutes by different makers (Dixon first then a Seery). Having been playing for 2+ years now, I don’t have this issue anymore even when trying another’s flute.
However, there is always the chance that something is off on your particular flute…you just never know. It doesn’t hurt to move the cork, because you can always move it back.
WOW!!
Thanks for all the advice, fellow flautists(fluters?). I will give those ideas a try. What I have to fight a lot is how the flute sounds to my own ear: when I’m playing alone (without the tuner), it doesn’t sound so bad going from octave to octave. As soon as I start to play with my bandmates (fiddles, guitar, banjo, voice) I can tell how hideously out it is. I’ll try to play with the tuner more when I’m alone, and not get the wrong sounds in my head.
Thanks again to all who commented.
Caite
One trick that’s worked well for me on various flutes is to relax your embouchure just a bit in the second octave. Blow less hard as others have mentioned, but relax your lips just a bit, making your embouchure ever so slightly rounder. This takes a bit of experimentation tto find the sweet spot. you may still have to roll the headjoint in just a tad for certain notes depending on your particular flute’s quirks. With some practice these things will become second nature.
These kind of discussions are awfully hard to have over the distance. If we were all in the same room we could just break out the tuners, compare flutes, and be done with it!
But isn’t it the coolest thing in the world that we can have this enlightening international discussion!
