Flute Playing Videos: Practicing Good Technique (6/10)

Our sixth video in this Flute Technique series discusses some physical and practice based pointers for improving your technique. This is the sixth of a ten part video series we recorded with top international flautist Krzysztof Kaczka. Throughout the videos Krzysztof will talk about various techniques and exercises to help improve your flute playing, whatever your level.

Our Thoughts

Ok, we all know that we should be doing scales, but really every scale…every day?! Yep, that’s what it takes folks to get your fingers moving at pace and importantly to log those movements into your muscle memory. As we’ve seen in the other videos in this series, these scales and musical exercises can act as part of your daily warm up and playing routine. Therefore they will all help build your embouchure and tone quality. You may not have time to concur each scale daily, but aim at 3-4 as a good starting point.

The physical elements Krzysztof mentions in this video are of equal importance. We like his example of feeling a bit like a puppet on a string. That loose flexibility helps avoid tension which can limit your fluidity in faster passages. These sound like small points but being conscious of your physical stature when playing is something we should all strive to consider daily. If you have tension or anxiety in your body it will tighten up your speed, not increase it. Therefore, our favourite quote to take away is “Don’t walk like a zombie!”…wise words in many ways!

We’ll be back with the seventh video in this series very soon. In the meantime, keep practicing and enjoying playing your flute.

You can stay tuned to our Flute Newsletter for the latest info.