The Scourge of Modern Flute Playing - Intonation. 1 - The Problem Over the past 30 years, I have seen only a little change in the attitude of flute players towards intonation as a performing tool. Anyone who has listened to our recorded legacy from the past 100 years will recognise that almost all flute players the world over were and many still are - unaware of the technique of playing in tune. The evidence is there forever etched in vinyl, plastic and tape. The national styles of playing, so distinct in the early years of the last century have gradually been eroded both by the worldwide distribution of recordings and concert tours by virtuosi, and the move towards a uni-flute, together with the rise of popularity of the Master Class and the dominance of the so-called French School. The great French players such as Moyse and Rampal - and more recent virtuosi - have persuaded us that a beautiful tone, immaculate technique, and a flawless articulation are the only way forward. We are in no doubt that the French School is the best, and in several ways that is right. The influence of the French on tone and articulation is immense. The repertoire resulting from the Paris Conservatoire policy of commissioning new works has been amazing. French flutes were the models for many of our well established flute makers of today, and the older flutes such a Lot, Lebret and Bonneville, are still widely sought after as the finest performing instruments. If only intonation in France had received the same attention as all the other features! I have attended many flute master classes, some by great players, some by great teachers; and some by both. Occasionally I have heard intonation mentioned, but rarely have I heard a good solution offered to correct intonation problems. In France, I have seen teachers pulling at their ears to indicate that there is an intonation problem. In many countries, and most often in the USA, ‘support’- that Holy Word of Teaching - has been suggested to help cure a flat note. Sometimes, an ‘open throat’ has been offered as a remedy. Others advise ‘listening’, getting a tuning machine, and ‘listen carefully to yourself’, as suitable remedies. It isn’t surprising, after this idiotic advice, that intonation amongst most flutists is awful. But why? Because teachers and players have not properly examined the relationship between the airspeed and the lips, and the amount of covering and uncovering of the mouth hole in order to play loudly and softly and remain practically in tune. The study of tone must include the study and correction of intonation at the same time or it is pointless. What is under discussion here is the use of expression, that is the use of loud and soft playing, inflection so as to be expressive. Real expression is impossible without a good control of both loud and soft playing and intonation. Increasing the airspeed and/or uncovering the mouth hole and raising the air stream with a jaw/lip movement will stop a note becoming flat in diminuendo; the reverse procedure will stop a note rising in pitch when making a crescendo. When these movements have been practiced diligently, they will achieve the desired result. Rolling the flute in and out with the hands to cover or uncover the mouth hole is silly, aside from an ‘extended technique’; it will lead to embouchure instability and to other problems. To be clear: I am not discussing how simply to play a note loudly and softly without it becoming sharp or flat, but the use of dynamic variation in order to shape a note or a phrase so as to be truly expressive. Without a clear understanding of this technique, musical communication at a superior level is quite impossible. But why has this relatively simple technique been ignored? Perhaps players believe that the pitch of notes is the responsibility of the manufacturer by the correct placing of the tone holes, and that the player need do little more? A prominent player interviewed on BBC Radio 3 recently said that ‘the difference between the traverso and the modern flute is that the traverso needs humouring; the notes have to be tuned - and it has more colours. The modern flute’s intonation is just as it comes out of the box’ With that kind of idiot thinking, no wonder that modern flute players are for the most part boring, let alone suffering from bad intonation! The more recent flutes of some makers have quite well designed scales, and apart from a few niggles, have improved greatly, yet left hand C# is one tone hole which is usually placed too high on the flute, or has too shallow a tone hole. Even so, an experienced player with the
right training can cope with this problem yet many ‘virtuosi’ still play this note too sharp. It is both the players and makers who are at fault here. But then, many players tune sharp to begin with and then play sharp so that they will not be flat when playing softly. On some recordings I have, the intonation is quite good but the performer almost never plays softly or loudly! Its a norisk way of playing and a computer can do it better. At a European flute convention some years ago, the piano was very high in pitch - if my memory serves me correctly, it was about A=447 yet five of the internationally famous flutists were quite well in tune because the piano was unnusually - as sharp as they were! I can’t agree with that smart-assed comment from a well known flute maker (who incidentally, for many years made flutes at A=435 and expected their customers to play them at A=440) that, ‘it isn’t flutes which are out if tune - its flutists.’ It is both, and we need to address both problems. Perhaps one reason for the poor intonation is the trend to make more volume, a demand made by modern orchestras. Players may not realise how much they need to pull out the head when turning out to satisfy this demand to play louder. But at least pulling out would fix the C#! A few years ago, I was invited to be an External Examiner at the Paris Conservatoire Annual Prizes examination and sat next to the Conservatoire Director. After two recitals he turned to me to ask, ‘Is it difficult to control the intonation on the flute?’ ‘No, I answered. ‘Why then, do so many of these players play so out of tune?’ he asked. ‘Its a French tradition’, I answered. At flute conventions world wide, we can hear this for ourselves. Players will perform with a beautiful tone, flawless technique and many wrong notes. Yes, a performance where the player is out of tune, is not simply a tuning problem: if notes are played at the wrong pitch - they are wrong notes! Violinists are constantly aware not only of the need for correct intonation, but the power of expressive intonation, that is the adjustment of a note according to the key, or its position in a chord. I wonder what violinists would think of '’support', or ‘listening carefully’, ‘use your ears’ or ‘get a tuning machine’ as a means of correcting a flat note! Flutes are made at different pitches, the makers claim, and are sold to countries in which orchestras and conservatories have contrary opinions about the standard pitch. Players can be trained in one country and be employed in another. Flute makers each have their own ideas about the division of the octave into twelve equal parts - known as ‘equal’ temperament. The octave length, that is, the relationship between the low C and its octave, the left hand C, on which the flute scale should be designed, will not stand up to scrutiny on many flutes. It is not surprising that the notes between low C and it’s octave C2- the flute 'scale' - is wacky. It is difficult to divide up a metre rule into 100 centimetres when the rule itself doesn’t measure a metre to begin with! Combine that with players who have been only part enlightened, it isn’t surprising that we get the results that we do. But even flutists who have reasonably well in-tune flutes are just as guilty of poor intonation. Lets look at the solution! Intonation. 2 - How to fix it In the first part, I pointed out that intonation is neglected both in the learning stages of flute playing, and in professional playing too. Teachers of the young are often guilty of fast track methods in order to pass the next grade or exam so as to join an orchestra or wind band without regard for the long term effect this has on their playing. For most youngsters, perhaps this doesn’t matter; they took up an instrument for fun, and don’t want to take it too seriously. For the few who want to go on to play or teach the instrument, or who would prefer to reach a good level of playing, they will suffer a handicap though they may be unaware of this. The consequence is that at a certain stage of their musical development, they may have to undergo a period of repair depending on the importance put to it and the perspicacity of the teacher. Musical expression and phrasing might be taught, but often students are encouraged to employ choreography as a substitute, or more often, bad intonation is just ignored. But as a lady in my village rightly points out, there are ‘some’ and ‘some’; not everyone is taught the same way. In my travels, I hear all stages from ‘no-risk playing’ - that is no effective use of loud and soft playing at all - to the use of expression without pitch control both in amateur and professional players. On international competition juries, I am dumbfounded by young ‘virtuosi’
with astonishing technique, charming tone, dazzling articulation, remarkable memory and who have invested thousands of both pounds and hours in their careers, but who have no idea of pitch control. I am even more shocked by my fellow jury members who rarely criticise this aspect of performance - except to point out that it is ‘an obsession of the English’! Teachers worldwide seem content that their students play with only small dynamic changes and when intonation problems arise, they are ‘fixed’ by the use of the Holy Word of Teaching; Support. It’s a cosmetic and fast - track approach to music making and is both silly and irresponsible. The simplest way to find out about your own ability to play at different dynamic levels and remain in tune, is to play a low G natural ff and make a diminuendo to pp. The note must be held until it completely disappears. Check the intonation with a tuning machine set to A440 or 442. It isn’t important if the indicator shows that your G is a sharp or flat note, provided the pointer doesn’t move! Repeat this with a crescendo. The indicator should remain stable. If it stays still, repeat this experiment in the second octave on the same note. This is most often sharper. If it doesn’t move, you already have the basic tools. On the other hand, if you have some difficulty with this, then follow the suggestions below. If you are not sure, then play a simple melody, such as Ex 8 on p36 in my Practice Book 1 (Tone) again checking the pitch control with a tuning machine. In pp, aim to make the pitch slightly sharp due to the human ear ‘hearing’ soft notes as flat and loud notes as sharp. If you have no problems then you need look no further. If however, the pitch goes flat as the diminuendo takes effect, then some corrective work needs to be done. Of course, there are quick fixes such as rolling the flute out; playing louder, pushing the headjoint in.... but in the long term, this is a waste of time. It is better to fix a problem for next year rather than for the upcoming recital. Would you like to be able to play loudly and softly, with crescendo and diminuendo, play subito f and p, play expressively, and fix the 3rd octave intonation problems? It really is easy - with a little work. We will look at five key areas; 1) Flutes and headjoints, 2) Bending notes to obtain flexibility 3) Air direction, speed and ‘support’; 4) Expressive intonation; 5) Third octave problems. Flutes and headjoints. A decently designed flute scale is a great advantage. Flutes don’t all have the same scale, in fact, some are very unhelpful as regards the division of the octave into twelve equal parts. I realise that we have trusted the manufacturer as one who knows what they are about, but sadly, this is not so. All the common commercial flutes each have a different idea of what a correct scale should be. They can’t all be right. We first need to check the instrument you are using for accuracy of scale, and perhaps modify it as much as is possible. An ‘old scale flute’, sometimes called a Traditional Scale, that is an older US or continental flute pitched at A=435, is an impediment to good intonation. It would be wiser to get a modern scale flute. There is enough to do in music without doing battle with the flute! Two famous US flute makers sold thousands of flutes made to A=435 around the 1960’s and earlier, but for years declared then to be A=440 until Albert Cooper and others showed them they were mistaken. Although some fine flutes have been made at this lower pitch, for all practical purposes, they are collectors items and not for the serious performer. Intonation exercises will be so much easier on a flute where the scale is correct, and where the headjoint has been properly adjusted to produce the correct scale length. If the flute scale is good, and the octaves play correctly, the 3rd octave notes can be individually tuned either with the ‘special’ fingerings in Practise Book 6, p28, and/or by flexibility of embouchure. Some headjoints are unhelpful in producing a correct octave leap from low to middle register in the first two octaves. Ask a reliable player to check this for you if necessary. Headjoints vary in length, but most makers cut them a little short so that they need to be drawn, or pulled out a little to begin with. Don’t alter the cork position. It should be 17.3mm from the centre of the embouchure hole. At most, it can be pushed out to about 17.8mm for some 3rd octave ‘help’ but pushed out any further and the tone of the first two octaves will be affected. The socket should be reasonably tight. If it is loose, use ‘magic tape’ to secure a better fitting. Headjoints are not made to suit a particular flute. Any good head usually works well with any good flute regardless
of what you may read in the advertisements. Pulling the head out and leaving a gap seems not to affect its working ability. Follow these experiments in the order shown. Do not make any adjustment with your lips to try to prove correctness of pitch. Write down any intonation defects. a) Play low C. Overblow it to obtain the 1st harmonic, the octave. Keeping your little finger (pinkie) on the low C key, take off the remaining fingers to check that the octave C2 - is at the same pitch as C1. Usually, it isn’t. Adjust the headjoint by pulling out or pushing in until the two Cs are exactly the same without any jaw/lip movement on your part. The tone will change but listen only to the pitch. Repeat for the C# and C#2. Try to move fairly quickly between the two notes. Most probably (sadly) there will be a big difference. Commonly, although the C1 - C2 octave length may be correct, the C#1 - C#2 is not; C#2 is generally sharp. So, we have a dilemma; do we tune the scale to the C’#s, or the C’s? Wait. There is more to do before we have to decide. Octaves are a ‘perfect’ interval as are ‘perfect’ 5ths and ‘perfect’ 4ths. In equal temperament however, the 5ths have been made very slightly smaller, and fourths slightly larger, but they are still usable as a check on our flute scale. b) Play low C again only this time overblow it so as to obtain the 12th (3rd harmonic). It is G2, and if you quickly compare it with the natural fingering for G2, it’s very slightly sharp…or it should be! Repeat this, comparing low C# with G#2, and then low D and A2 followed by low Eb and middle Bb. If there is quite a noticeable difference such as sharp harmonics - the 12th, which again, is common, then pull out the foot joint to flatten the middle D and Eb. [YES! The foot joint!] Compare the three foot notes with their harmonics and the natural notes and try to get as balanced a scale as possible. The result may not be quite right but we can’t pull the foot out very much more or it will fall off! (See also P. Book One -Tone. p 37) . You now need to go back to (a) again checking low C and C2 and low C# and C#2 and perhaps readjusting the head. The C2 may be better, but C# often remains a problem. c) Now back to (b) again, this time making a note of any sharp or flat notes. Playing low C, you can also overblow it to get the 4th harmonic andcheck second octave C3 and, with low C# the C#3 more easily. Most of the notes of the first and second octaves, if the headjoint is good, and the player has no serious tone problems, should be at the same pitch. Look at your written notes; if there are some sharp notes - usually C#, it can be flattened with a little plascticene (Playdo) in the C# hole inside the edge of the hole nearest to the head joint. (See Practise Book 4- Intonation for a diagram. Other notes can be fixed as necessary. It is not possible to sharpen a note without serious alteration to the flute, though a good repair person can advise you about this in which case it will be necessary to undercut or enlarge the tone hole. You should only contemplate this if/when you are sure the problem is in the flute and not you! In any case, make these checks on a daily basis for a few days to be quite sure before taking any action. Next, with a sharp point, scribe a line on the headjoint where it needs to be pulled out to, so that you will play at the same scale length every day. These alterations may worry you. Will the flute be the same afterwards? Will plasticene affect the tone? Yes, slightly. But the tone deteriorates more by trying to make faulty notes in tune with your lips! It is important to fix the flute as well as you can before continuing as your lips would otherwise have to do extra and unnecessary work to play in tune, work which your flute should be doing for you! Student flutes: some have a good scale. A very popular Japanese flute has a flat C and a very sharp C#, together with a short headjoint which needs pulling out a long way to correct the rest of the scale and a short foot joint. Altogether, rather a mess! The best that can be done is to pull out the head - making C2 even flatter! - then flatten the C# with plasticene and pull the foot out. [You might also try prayer….!] Now you should know what your flute scale is like, it should make the following exercises more productive, and so we move on to fixing your flexibility and intonation. 2) Bending notes to obtain flexibility. (a) Play C2 and ‘bend’ the note both down as far as you can, and then up, or sharper than normal. Do not roll the flute in or out to do this. (see also Practise Book One- Tone, P34). Very important: first use your lips and jaw. Some
people are good at this, some not so. Try to get a Bb or even an A with the C2 natural fingering by using your jaw/lips. This may take a week or more. Then bending the note upwards, attempt a C#2 with the C2 fingering. Use air speed and air direction as well as your jaw and lips. The more you can move this note about, the more flexibility you will have for pitch control and musical expression. If your jaw and lips won’t allow sufficient pitch change, then also use the movement of your your head to open the embouchure hole. Don’t expect immediate success; a few days may be needed before you are expert at this technique. Don’t roll the flute in or out with your hands. Your jaw should be doing this for you. (b) Move on to the jazzy exercise on p34 using the fingers to play the 3rd note, but later, using your jaw/lips to bend the 3rd note down a semitone. This isn’t easy and there are no quick fixes: the quickest way is to practise it! C2 is easy; G2 less so, E even more difficult to move; the lower down the flute you go, the longer tube length you use, the more difficult it is to bend the notes. (c) When this has been mastered, move on to a controlled diminuendo. Play a really loud G1 and make a diminuendo to ppppp. The loud note may be sharp and the soft note may go flat. Use the knowledge so far gained to fix it; use air direction and airspeed, your jaw/lips and perhaps your head. Then begin diminuendos over a pre-selected time. Count 4 and as your ability to maintain a perfect diminuendo without any pitch change progresses, begin three-beat notes, followed by two-beat, one beat, and finally short notes. A short end is what you need to attach to all notes - loud and soft - to finish them without flatness. This usually takes many days. As time and you gain expertise, the head movement will decrease. (d) You are now ready to use this knowledge to play simple phrases but first check the exercise on P 36 no7 with your tuning machine. These exercises are only a map of the way you should go. You have to travel down this road, working at the exercises, to realise what is possible in expression . Beginners: In a good elementary tutor, there should be plenty of short tunes and usable melodies to help a young player along the road to acquiring a feeling for pitch and then to loud/soft playing. The technique can be modified to suit their ability, but this technique should never be ignored. Without it, there really is no music. Some young players I have noticed stopping the ends of notes with the tongue. After some years of observation, I realised that they usually have a good sense of pitch, and don’t like the note sagging at the end so, they end it abruptly with the tongue - the better of two evils. With good tunes, beginners can be shown how to use the tools outlined here to become expressive musicians instead of mere flute players. More advanced players can try out this technique in well known slow melodies. 3) Air direction, speed and ‘support’ The map outlined above is straightforward though small problems might be encountered such as octaves Don’t raise the airstream too much or the second octave will be sharp. Worse, the tone becomes thin, especially so in the third octave. Some players rely entirely on air speed to play an octave, almost without an air direction change, altering the aperture between the lips too, of course. Tone colour also dictates the air direction, and this governs the embouchure changes. Simply put, support involves maintaining abdominal pressure to create a good airspeed without which the pitch/tone would sag or even drop an octave. This support can vary according to octave, the need to leap, or to produce intensity. This idea needs to be thought about: most players would agree that more ‘support’, rather than less is the way to go. A fast air speed will maintain a good tone and will also - used properly - reduce problems with difficult top notes like E, F# and G#, especially in pp. Practise plenty of slow melodies occasionally checking with your tuning machine. 4) Third octave problems The third octave is made up of 3rd, 4th and 5th harmonics modified by the addition or subtraction of keys or venting. The third octave anyway inclines to sharpness overall, and needs careful observation and correction, but if we make a list of the worst notes, and their solution, we are better prepared for every eventuality. D3 is always flat and difficult to sharpen in pp. Raise the airstream for this note every time to sharpen it. Eb is very sharp; the best practical solution is to lower the airstream and cover slightly. E is always sharp: where possible, play it without the RH little finger and in ff with an open hole flute, use
the RH 3rd finger on the outside ring of the key as well so that the open hole vent is still open. F: when sharp, it can be flattened by adding the third finger RH. F# is always sharp and can be played with the middle finger right hand. G#: add RH 2-3 + little finger. Bb really needs at least two fingerings; the usual one for ff and the ‘Mignon’ fingering for pp. In between - pray! A more complete set of options can be found in Practice Book Six. In conclusion; As your flexibility increases, so will the sensitivity of your ear improve. What you thought was acceptable a few months ago may well seem out of tune in the weeks ahead. A word of warning; Some years ago, a harpsichordist wanted to use the instrument at my house so I spent some time carefully tuning it. Shortly after, I went to a local school to coach the youngsters in Mozart’s C Minor Serenade. We spent the first 20 minutes tuning octaves and chords because they sounded so awful. As the session progressed, my ears became less sensitive and by the end, I thought their intonation was quite good. At the start, my ear was very sensitive due to a `harpsichord tuning session’: after an hour of school intonation, it had been de-sensitised. If we listen to bad intonation for a time, we become accustomed and adapt to it. Unless good intonation is regularly experienced, our powers of discrimination becomes rusty. Piano tuners are aware of this phenomenon when they return from a vacation. 5) Expressive Intonation. It is surprising how much musical expression relies both on a full range of nuances and really good intonation which entails bending notes out of their customary equal temperament slots. This in turn enhances the harmony. First correct the octaves followed by 5ths and 4ths, and later, the major and minor 3rds. The use of melodies such as the studies in Practice Book Four – Intonation, or Moyse’s Tone Development Through Interpretation, and his 24 Little Melodious Studies are good practise for this. Listen to players whose intonation is exceptional, such as William Bennett and Fenwick Smith, and for early flutes, Rachel Brown. Listen to the extraordinary voice of Alfred Deller, a counter tenor whose soaring phrases coupled with the most exquisite intonation should inspire anyone. There are around thirty recordings currently re-issued on CD, but the best are the recordings he made in the 1950s. After a recital, it is said that a lady asked him, “Mr Deller, is it true you are a eunuch?” “Madame, the word I think you are seeking is unique!” he replied. Too right. We should spread the ‘English Obsession’ into-nationally... Good luck with your endeavours!
