Hey, do you have the strenght and the techinique to play B3 (B6) using the B1 (B4) fingering?

I can do it with A#4 -> ... -> A#6, easily

But i cannot do it with B...
Too hard hehe

I think if you play a low C and do harmonics off of that you will get a B3 eventually. It's the last harmonic on C that I can get.

-Dennis

If you finger low B (B1), it's possible to get at least 8 harmonics, which takes you to B4 (I can do this), though I believe theoretically there are more above that that are just extremely hard to reach.

do you mean B4 really? like 8 and a half ledger lines above the staff? Or B3? I have never heard anyone getting to B4 before (Haha!). Remember low B is typically called B0 <~~~that's a zero.

-Dennis

I use Low B as B1 (that's why I put B1 in parentheses in there). The third octave B would be B4 using this system. That's what i was referring to. Sorry for any confusion.

That's ok, but you would have been failed in my theory class! ROFL Everything is based off of C...so that B would have to technically be B0...just yankin your chain of course!

-Dennis

P.S. This East Wind piece is getting on my nerves...it's hard to practice high D#'s over and over again without fainting and going deaf!

I know! D# is the worst note! I can pop above that just fine, but the D#s are so picky! Not to mention high! Good luck with it!

I can get it out fine! and crystal clear! It's just there are so many in this flipping piece! and of course they are in long lines of high notes..next to C's and D's...wtf?! Why is this a competition piece? Actually, probably because of the D#'s...ROFL

"I think if you play a low C and do harmonics off of that you will get a B3 eventually. It's the last harmonic on C that I can get."

Dennis, I think that if you check your harmonic series from Middle C (C1) it goes C2, G2, C3, E3, G3, Bb3, C4 -anything higher than that gets tricky and is somewhat dependent on the flute/head joint cut. -not to mention the player.

I can't say that comparing who hits the highest one is very relevant to quality playing. That would be more like how power trumpeters think and isn't applicable to good flute playing.-IMHO

If one is going to practice these, I would suggest aiming for specific ones and hitting what you aim at. Doing something like a bugle call would be good. -like taps or reville (for example) on different fundimentals may be beneficial. Some of the older books like Barrere actually did not recommend too much note work. They claimed it was bad for the Embouchure.

I also would strongly recommend the use of the overtone/harmonic series for working on intonation and tone. The organization of the notes in this harmonic series is not unimportant to western music theory and chords. The basic plan of my exercise:
1)Tune the first note with a tuner.
2) Look away, hear the second note and then play it. Then visually check with the tuner.
First note: C2
second note: C3
C#2-C#3
D2-D3 ....
Do all notes with their correct fingerings.
Then go to P-5ths
C2-G3
C#2-G#3 ...

P4
C2-F3
C#2-F#3....
and so on through the thirds and seconds up and down the scales.
The key is to hear the intervals and the pitches before you play them.

~Bilbo
N.E. Ohio

I was talking regular fingered notes. I wasn't attempting to get High D#'s out on harmonics...LOL! That would be 'redrum'! I am just talknig anout the NFA competition's flute piece called East Wind. It's actually not too difficult really. I think I can manage it in 4 months.

-Dennis

<Added>

Additionally, I was also informing that it was the last harmonic I personally could get. I was not stating that it was the last one ever. Just because I can't reach something does not mean it is impossible. I'm not a pompous @$$ like everyone seems to make me out to be. I guess I will go hide in my corner. LOL

-Dennis

I don't think you're a pompous @$$, Dennis.

I agree that you are not pompous, you are enthusiastic. I would caution all to be careful with harmonics, you really need a relaxed embochure or the harmonic over-tone series will be produced as the result of a tight, squeezed embochure.

"I'm not a pompous @$$ like everyone seems to make me out to be. I guess I will go hide in my corner. LOL"

You might be moderately pompous but I think that I have you beat as to being a pompous @$$. I can bray in great pomposity with the best of them...one thing about flute players, they are mildly competetive as "know-it-alls" by nature.

Yes, pompous isn't the right word at all, you are exuberant.

Because of our low range only going down to C1 / B0,
this sounding Bb3/ A#3 would need to be one of the notes in a V7 chord.
So if the fundy fingered is C1 (the 7th of the chord will appear in the harmonic series as Bb3)

finger low:
Eb1 (The 5th of the Eb chord is Bb3)
Gb (The 3rd of a Gb chord is Bb3)
Bb (The Root is Bb3)

if we could play lower notes on the concert flute, it would open up many more fingering possibilites in the harmonic series for playing the Bb3.