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Flute
Scale Information
Quote
from Angelita Floyd from pg.123 of 'The Gilbert Legacy'
According to
Gilbert's teaching there is a definite distinction between
facility (ease of playing) and "technique"; facility
being the ability to move just the fingers quickly, whereas
technique includes quick fingers in combination with proper
sound and musical expression. Consequently, when practicing for
scales and arpeggio facility, flutists should concentrate on the
technique of sound and musicality as well. In Flutetalk
articles, Gilbert explained:
"Almost
every student aspires to be a virtuoso but they don't have
virtuostic technique. Too often students try and learn the flute
by just playing pieces. If they would spend more time acquiring
technique by playing articulated scales in all possible forms
and arpeggios BEFORE they come to a piece, it would save them
hours of time. Then rather than wasting extra time learning a
difficult passage, they could spend more time on improving tone
and intonation."
Flute
scale kit and scale links
Jen's
flute scale practise advice:
Use The
Tuning CD to drone the tonic of the scale you're playing
(choose a different one each day) and add the metronome at your
own chosen tempo. Create your own patterns and rhythms. Use
great tone quality. Add articulations. Check for finger evenness
and lightness. Check for clarity of articulation. Mix creativity
and listening to great tone in tune with the drone, and then add
a sprinkling of "discipline" to find out whether
scales are getting more even, more musically interesting,
rhythmically exciting. You can even record yourself to hear your
improvements in scale quality and to capture great musical
improvisational ideas. Stay creative!
Other
questions:
Q: My high
register is particularly bad when I play two octave scales. What
do you suggest?
A: High
register longtones (of course, only after low and middle
registers are ringing and clear) and Filas
90 Top Register Studies. These Filas etudes for high
register are fabulous done slowly with tuning CD!
Q: I'm running out
of ideas for improvs over the tuning CD's drone. Any
suggestions?
A: I use The
Brooke Method Complete Method for Flute simply because it
has some of the most creative scale patterns that I've ever
found, all in one book. For example, if I'm practising a certain
key signature, I look up that key in the Brooke and use tuning
CD and metronome to play it evenly and cleanly. I improvise,
I play at my own tempo, and create pauses over various different
natural pausing points (moving them around for variety.) After
several run -throughs of a pattern, I play it as written.
Q: How does scale
practise fit into an overall good practise routine?
A: In the
Brooke Method you'll
find this excellent page, where all the best practise plan
advice is all in one place.
Question:
'Help, I've never really understood or practiced my flute
scales. What do I need to know about majors and minors, and
where can I find them for flute, online?'
Flute
Scale Kit:
Here's
what you need:
Flute
fingering charts:
---------------------
James
Galway teaches how to play scales:
Jen's
blog articles on scales including play-along backing track
links.
--------------------------
How
to practice scales for intermediate flutists:
How
to practice scales for novice flute students
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Free
downloads of flute scales available online
All
two octave major and melodic minor scales for all flute students
in PDF
-----------------------------------------
Teaching
Flute Scales for beginners or novices:
Flute
scale books worth purchasing
How
to practice flute, article by Hahn:
Free
flute scales from H. Lindholm. One octave and two octave [PDF
files from his flute basics manual]
Free
flute technique book by H. Lindholm
Still
more flute scale idea links
James
Galway teaching scales (free):
Galway teaches scales on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pob8OTZUcvk
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Galway's teaching mp3s on scales and etudes:
http://www.thegalwaynetwork.com/chatfile/chatfile.htm
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Galway video on thegalwaynetwork.com on scales
and etudes:
http://www.thegalwaynetwork.com/scales_studies.htm
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Watch three 20 second short videos of Galway
performing scales - Major, minor, Taffanel & Gaubert's
E. J. 4 or 'scale game'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHf2QIMVZik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-J_S6ZSo4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VVkyEMDyVE
Flute
scales that are written out for intermediate flutists. Free
download:
All
two octave major and melodic minor scales for all flute students
Raymond
Robinson's flute scales FREE
Free
flute scales from H. Lindolm. One octave and two octave
Flute
scale books worth purchasing
[easiest books
listed first]
Intermediate
Flutist's Scale Books:
Mel Bay: Indispensible
Scales, Exercises and Etudes by Mizzy McCaskill
Omibus Edition:
Trevor Wye ~ Practice Books for the Flute. Volumes 1~5
Progress Press:
The Flutist's Vade Mecum Walfrid Kujala
Cundy-Bettoney:
Brooke's Complete Flute Method: Alfred Brooke
Alphonse Leduc:
Exercises Journaliers; Marcel Moyse
Alphonse Leduc:
17 Daily Exercises; Taffanel-Gaubert
International: Flute
Workout; Robert Stallman
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To learn more
about HOW to practice technique see: Angelita Floyd's book: The
Gilbert Legacy
All the above
books can be found at www.fluteworld.com
or ordered through your local music store.
For
Novice to Intermediate/Advanced flute players; Herbert
Lindholm's complete manual for free:
Herbert Lindholm's
full bookof exercises, warmups, fingerings, scales, trills and
technical practice ideas are in his FLUTE BASICS manual. This
is the rectangle second from the bottom when you scroll down on
his "free flute sheetmusic" webpage.
Go to:
http://www.kuopionkonservatorio.fi/henkilokunta/hlindhol/
Lindholms manual is in
four parts. The first has one octave and two octave scales,
Blues scale, chromatic scale etc. Part two has patterns to use
as daily scale exercises (uses your brain and trains your
fingers!) lip flexibility exercises, and Parts three has tone
exercises, octave and third patterns, tonguing, multiple
tonguing and vibrato. Part four has both trill and basic
fingering charts. All four parts print out as 41 pages that can
be hole punched and put in a binder. Help yourself: Lindholm is
a smart flute teacher and very generous. :>)
Part
One ~ Part
Two ~ Part
Three ~ Part
Four
More
of Jen's Scale Links:
for
those who are bored with playing scales alone :>)
FABULOUS
SCALE PLAYALONGS (free!)
Easy
pace flute scale backing tracks for fun practise
Intermediate
flute scales with harp accompaniment
The
"Scale Game" sheetmusic and playalong backing
tracks: (Note: Scale Game is
same as Taffanel Gaubert Daily Exercise no. 4 from "17
Daily Exercises" by Taff-Gaubert.)
More
flute scale stuff including play-alongs:
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From
Jen's blog:
Learning
Scales for flute:
·
Free
major-minor scales with harp harmony
·
Piano
mp3 accompaniment tracks
·
How
to learn flute scales
·
Expanding
Intervals Warmup
·
Scalegame
playalong mp3 to download
·
Flute
Scales Flute Scales Flute Scales Whoooeeee!
·
free
flute scale piano accompaniments
·
links
to other flute technique free pdfs & mp3s
Still
more flute scale idea
links:
101
Uses for flute scales:
What
can be done while learning flute scales?
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Music
books of flute scales/technique/etudes/daily exercises to buy:
-------------------------------------
Books
of more advanced flute technique including
scales/technique/daily exercises etc.:
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Music
Theory articles with musical samples:
What are the major and minor and specialty scales and how are
they constructed?
Beginner
lesson in creating minor scales
Articles
for beginner flutists or re-beginner flutists with techniques to
learn prior to learning scales (tone, breathing...)
NOTE:
Remember that musicality and phrasing are all part of beautiful
scales, and you can't learn that without hearing it live from an
expert flute performer. So....
How
to find a flute teacher
who will teach you all about scales because honestly, you *do*
have to hear them performed by a scale expert and find out how
to use them in music:
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Why
do you need a flute teacher?
Why would lessons help me play better, faster?
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