Well as many players know, the concept of taking singing lessons to improve your musicality on the flute isn't very new. It falls in line with the "French School" of playing and players such as Marcel Moyse or Phillipe Gaubert. They believed that the flute sound is a voice and that we should bbleind with the ensemble that is being utilized. Their thinking came from the fact that they often played in opera pit orchestras or they accompanied singers. So their sound was modeled after the singers that they heard. In the case of Moyse, he was at one point in the touring company with THE Australian singing sensation named Nellie Melba.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Melba
-a story in itself, I'm sure....


To accomplish this blend of sound, they would study the voice techniques including breathing, tone production, vowel sounds and diction.

Of course many players also strongly suggested that to play, we need to be in the best physical shape possible. As one example, I believe that it was Kincaid who suggested swimming as an all-around body & breath builder. I would say that walking briskly or some cardio training becomes more important as we get older to keep things going properly.

More on breath:
http://www.larrykrantz.com/chapt2.htm


~bilbo
N.E. Ohio

good thread, I have learned more about breathing from singers than anyone, especially opera singers, the breath IS their voice, we need to make the flute our voice so that the breath is inseperable from it...also, watch how many opera singers raise their shoulders slightly from the massive amount of air they take in...

It may be interesting to tell that my new teacher bases the exercises she gives me (to improve my control of the air column and the relax of the throat) on something I had not experienced before: She makes me sing the notes while making the flute sound. And this goes on isolated notes, on complete scales, and also keeping one note firm with the voice while playing thirds and fifths on the flute.
She even has a complete piece to play and sing together (not yet tried that one, but coming soon).

As some of you may recall, I also learn sing since 5 years and I do believe both activities complement each other.

Both use the same breathing technique (though it could depend on the teacher, it seems). That is, low abdominal breathing and good control of the pressure while the rest of the airway remains relaxed (particularly the throat). No upper chest breathing, if possible, I am told.

I commented this several months ago, but I also swim, rather intensively for my age. When at the top of training (around July), I can swim well over 1000 meters in one hour and still not die from exhaustion.

I have been swimming for 4 years and I think it has increased my air capacity and reduced my heart rate (too much, in times). In general, I have similar air capacity as people much younger and can sustain long notes almost as my teacher can (not so much, however). I have never smoked, this possibly also plays a role.

Not that I consider myself a bunch of virtues; I have problems as everybody and they increase with age; buy maybe these ideas could help people looking for ways to improve their general physical state

A few comments. Patrick, I think that we should raise our shoulders a tad to get the weight of them off of our rib cage so that their weight isn't helping to expel the air faster than needed. I thik that many players dont' advocate that because it can be easily overdone.

I do know that the singing style of raising the sternum and rib cage can give us a larger tone if we want it.

Some advocate that we can use certain cavities to increase the resonance. I don't see how there is a resonating chamber in the mouth/lungs area because the opening in the mouth is too small to transfer the sound vibrations in either direction. I think that our Micron pointed this out to me once. THat being said the Rogher Mather workbooks on the flute are excellent for the more advanced ones to do experiments on tone, hand position and all aspects of playing.

The "theory" behind the resonators is that we could use the nasal sinuses (sp) as resonators.

In fact, my previous sing teacher advocated that.

Of course it is related with the need to focus the sound emission from the upper part of the airway and not "from the throat".

But my other sing teacher says that it is impossible to use the sinuses because they are covered with mucus and secretions and therefore are poorly fitted to act as resonator cavities.

And he is a professional singer, he should know what he`s talking about.

(I hope it is not lunch time for those who are reading this part...)

Galway as well advocates opening up your nostrils when playing to increase the resonance.
Others recommend having a large chest cavity (open lungs) to increase the resonance. I'm not saying it doesn't work. It does something for sure BUT the opening in the mouth is too small to transfer sound vibration very much. As an example, imagine the sound of an acoustic guitar where the hole undrneath the strings is about 2mm in diameter.

Yes, I agree.

I was referring to singing, when the mouth is much widely open than in the flute embouchure. The two positions I provided are the opinions of my two teachers (sing only).

My two flute teachers have not dealt with the issue of resonators, as far as I can remember.

Of course I have the highest respect for anything that Galway says. But there is probably another reason, not related to the head cavities for his recommendation of opening the nostrils while playing.