"The Primary Colors of Flute Playing"

Hello,

Keith Underwood has recently been talking about creating "Red," "Blue," and "Yellow" tone colors on the flute by using the depressor labii inferioris muscle of the lower lip (pouting muscle) to control the coverage of the embouchure plate, changing both the dynamic and the "color" of the tone.

"Red" notes have the most coverage of the embouchure hole with the lower lip creating an intense, strong, focused tone.

"Blue" notes have moderate coverage of the lip plate with a slightly more open, mellow tone.

For "Yellow" notes the muscle contracts the lip back off the lip plate somewhat creating a more diffuse, pale tone.

And don't just think of this as a phrase-by-phrase experience. Try using the "red" sound to emphasize notes in a phrase, such as the structural notes in a passage--scale outline or important harmonic notes.

Wow! Amazing musical results...
Look for some video examples later this month.

Please let me know how "The Primary Colors of Flute Playing" work for you!

Enjoy,
Catherine

The Moldau

For those of you working on Smetana's Moldau for an audition or performance or for those who have played it many times, a little inspiration of the visual sort--the river flowing through the lovely city of Prague.

Enjoy!

Catherine

How to Have "Just Ducky" Tonguing

Hello,

You probably guessed it...this is Keith's latest on tongue-controlled embouchure.

It always fascinates me that when I have a long Keith hiatus (this last one was October 2007-June 2008) my own process parallels that of my mentor.

I have noticed in recent months that my tongue contact area includes a place of contact between my upper molars and the surface area of my tongue.

From this place my tongue rests in a slightly downward trajectory onto my lower teeth, with the surface area of my tongue still touching both lips across the front of my mouth when I play.

I had been noticing that my double tonguing was even more stable with the tongue somewhat higher in the back and that the 2nd syllable of the double-tonguing felt close to the duh, but in front!

I thought, "The "back" tonguing is in the front. hmmmm. A bit confusing."

Then, in the recent Cape Cod classes,Keith described his new tonguing syllable as "duh." Then he went on to say that his double tongue syllable is actually even farther forward than the duh...like a "Key"

So, we called it "ducky tonguing!"

It felt great to hear Keith express so precisely and enthusiastically the same things I had been experiencing in recent months. Whew! What a relief.

"Key" is a brighter sounding syllable than "kuh" or "guh" and helps keep my tone more even and the sound clearer on the second syllable.

It also helps keep my embouchure stable and not too open in the front. This really saves air!

This tonguing approach also helps me get my rhythmic "ducks in a row." creating very crisp and rhythmic articulations.

All the best,
Catherine

The latest from Keith at the Cape

Greetings,

I recently attended several days of masterclasses with Keith Underwood on Cape Cod, MA.

Not only was it great to get a huge dose of Keith's latest thoughts, but it was wonderful to reconnect with previous "Keith class" attendees and to meet more nice folks.

David and Gail Williams stopped by one day to let folks try their latest equipment andto visit. Great to see them, also!

In the next few days, I will post my thoughts on the info I have been working with from the classes.

Topics will include

How to have "Just Ducky" Tonguing
The Primary Colors of Flute Tone (Red, Blue and Yellow)

Now that I have successfully completed moving both my home and my studio, the posts will come fast and furious for the rest of the summer.

As always, let me know if there is something specific you would like to know more about.


Best,
Catherine