Vitamin Shots

Now that you have the basic recipe for your Flute Smoothie,

it is time to add some technical facility to your playing.

We need to get your fingers and tongue working together so your Smoothie will be even more delightful!

This page will cover Scales, Slurring, Double and Triple Tonguing, and best of all, TRILLING!

SCALES

A Healthful Addition For Any Musician!

If you play the flute in a school band, you probably already know at least the Bb, Eb, and F Major Scales, right?

Most band literature is written in one or more of those three keys, but as your Smoothie skills improve,

the music you play will be written in keys like Ab, C, G, Db, and Gb.

Plus, if you are lucky enough to play in a symphony orchestra, you will play music in D, A, E, or even B!

It is necessary to be fluent in every key so that you have full command over your instrument.

The more you know, the more flexible you will be and the more music you will be able to perform!

Here is an example of a scale exercise in Bb:

At the bottom of this page, you can find the printable version of this scale and 11 others just like it, but in different keys!

Use these scale patterns in your daily practice routine and use a metronome to help develop your internal sense of pulse.

Also, add slurs and different articulation patterns to these exercises to practice different Smoothie skills!

Speaking of slurs....

BEYOND "TOO"

Slurs, Double and Triple Tonguing, and Trills, Oh MY!

SLURRING

A Slur is a curved line in the music that connect two or more notes of DIFFERENT PITCH.

Do not confuse this with the "Tie". Ties look like slurs, but they simply connect one note to one or more notes of the SAME PITCH.

For a SLUR, you will still use "too" for the first note, but instead of tonguing the next note(s),

you will simply change your fingering while keeping the airstream constant.

Use this SLUR exercise below to get started:

DOUBLE TONGUING

As your Flute Smoothie begins to mature, you will find that some musical passages move too quickly for your single "too" tonguing.

The double tonguing method is a strategy to help you play those faster tongued passages.

Your first syllable will still be "too", but for this purpose, we will use "tu" instead.

Your second note will be "ku", which means you will actually be using a part of your tongue that is further toward the back and it will touch the roof of your mouth further back than the "tu" will.

Use this DOUBLE TONGUING exercise below to get started:

TRIPLE TONGUING

Some musical passages call for an even more advanced strategy for tonguing and that is where triple tonguing comes into play.

First syllable = "tu"

Second syllable = "tu" again

Third syllable = "ku"

Another way to triple tongue would be "tu-ku-tu", but you will need to experiment with both to find what works the best for you.

Use this TRIPLE TONGUING exercise below to get started:

TRILLS

Every wind instrument gets the opportunity to trill once in a while, but it seems that composers write trills for flute more often than for any other instrument. Who would blame them? It is just such a neat effect!

Rules for trilling:

1. Always begin on the written note and trill up

2. If there is a specific note to trill to notated in the music, trill to it. Otherwise, trill UP to the next note in that key (know your scales!)

3. Move the trill finger as quickly as you can and keep the motion steady.

4. Push your air through the trill, all the way to the next note. Do not breathe between the trill and the next note unless you have a rest!

Trill Fingering Chart

Look down at the bottom of this web page for a printable version of this trill fingering chart.

Since you are making Flute Smoothies every day now,

you really need to know how to take good care of your equipment,

so check out "Blender Maintenance"!!