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The Cinderella of the Flute – Intonation by Trevor Wye Over the past 30 years, I have seen only a little change in the attitude of flute players toward intonation as a performing tool. Anyone who has listened to our recorded legacy from the past 100 years will recognise that almost all flute players the world over were – and many still are – unaware of the technique of playing in tune. The evidence is there forever etched in vinyl, plastic and tape. The national styles of playing, so distinct in the early years of the last century have gradually been eroded both by the worldwide distribution of recordings and concert tours by virtuosi, and the uni-flute, together with the rise of popularity of the Master Class and the dominance of the so-called French School. The great French players such as Moyse and Rampal – and more recent virtuosi – have persuaded many that a beautiful tone, immaculate technique, and a flawless articulation is the only way forward. We are in no doubt that the French School is the best, and in several ways that is right. The influence of the French on tone and articulation is immense. The repertoire resulting from the Paris Conservatoire policy of commissioning new works has been amazing. French flutes were the models for many of our well established flute makers of today, and the older flutes such as Lot, Lebret and Bonneville, are still widely sought after as the finest performing instruments. If only intonation in France had received the same attention as all other features! I have attended many flute master classes, some by great players, some by great teachers; and some by both. Occasionally I have heard intonation mentioned, but rarely have I heard a good solution offered to correct intonation problems. In France, I have seen teachers pulling at their ears to indicate that there is a problem. In many countries, and most often in the USA, ‘support‘, that Holy Word of teachers, has been suggested to help cure a flat note. In other countries, an ‘open throat‘ has been offered as a remedy. Others advise ‘listening‘, ‘getting a tuning machine‘ and ‘listen carefully to yourself‘ as suitable remedies. It isn’t surprising, after this silly advice, that intonation amongst most flutists is awful. Why? Because teachers and players have not properly examined the relationship between the airspeed, the lips and the amount of covering and uncovering oft the mouth hole in order to play loudly and softly and remain reasonably in tune. The study of tone must include the study of correction of intonation at the same time or it is pointless.
Increasing the airspeed and/or uncovering the mouthhole and raising the airstream with a jaw/lip movement will stop a note becoming flat in diminuendo; the reverse procedure will stop a note rising in pitch when making a crescendo. When these movements have been practiced diligently, they will achieve the desired result. Rolling the flute in and out with the hands to uncover the mouth hole is a no-go, aside from an ‘extended technique‘; it will lead to instability and to other problems. To be clear: I am not discussing how to simply play a note loudly and softly without it becoming sharp or flat, but the use of dynamic inflection in order to shape a note or a phrase so as to be really expressive. Without a clear understanding of this technique, musical communication at a elevated level is impossible. But why has this reatively simple technique been ignored? Perhaps players believe that the pitch of notes is the responsability oft he manufacturer by the correct placing of the tone holes, and that the player need to do little more? A prominent player interviewed on the BBC Radio 3 recently said that the ‘difference between the traverso and the modern flute ist that the traverso needs humoring; the notes have to be tuned, and it has more colours. The modern flute’s intonation is just as it comes out the ‘box‘. With that kind of thinking, no wonder that modern players are for the most part boring, let alone suffering from bad intonation! The more recent flutes of some makers have quite well designed scales, and apart from a few niggles, have improved greatly, yet left hand C# is one tone hole which is almost always incorrectly placed too high on the flute, or has too shallow a saddle. Even so, an experienced player with the right training can cope with this problem yet many ‘virtuosi‘ still play this note too sharp. It is the players who are at fault. Many players tune sharp and play sharp so that they will not be flat when playing softly. On some recordings I have, the intonation is quite good but the performer almost never plays softly or loudly! It is a no-risk way of playing. A computer can do it better. At a European flute convention some years ago, the piano was extremely high in pitch, yet the flutists were quite well in tune because the piano was as sharp as they were! I can’t agree with that smart-assed comment that, ‘it isn’t flutes which are out of tune – it‘s the flutists‘. It is both and we need to address both. Perhaps one reason for the poor intonation is the trend to make more volume, a demand made by modern orchestras. Players may not realize how much they need to pull out when turning out to satisfy this demand to play louder. Well, at least that would fix the C#!
A few years ago, I was invited to be an External Examiner at the Paris Conservatoire Superieur Annual Prizes examination and sat next tot he Conservatoire Director. After two recitals he turned to ask, ‘Is it difficult to control the intonation on the flute?‘ ‚No‘, I answered. ‚Why then, do so many play out of tune?‘ he asked. ‚It’s a French tradition‘, I answered. At flute conventions world wide, we can hear this for ourselves. Players will perform with a beautiful tone, flawless technique and many wrong notes. Yes, a performance where the player is out of tune, is not simply a tuning problem, if notes are played at wrong pitch – they are wrong notes! Violinists are constantly aware not only of the need for correct intonation, but for the power of expressive intonation, that is the adjustment of a note according to the key, or it’s position in a chord. I wonder what they would think of ‘support‘ as a means of correcting a flat note! Or of ‘listening carefully‘, ‘use your ears‘ or ‘get a tuning machine‘. Flutes are made at different pitches, the makers claim, and are sold to countries in which orchestras and conservatories have contrary opinions about the standard pitch. Players can be trained in one country and be employed in another. Flute makers each have their own ideas about the division of the octave into twelve equal parts – known as ‚equal‘ temperament. The octave length, that is, the relationship between the low C and it‘s octave the left hand C, on which the flute scale should be designed, will not stand up to scrutiny on many flutes. It is not surprising that the notes in between, the octave Cs – the flute’scale‘ – is wacky. It is difficult to divide up a meter rule into 100 centimenters when the rule itself doesn’t measure a meter to begin with! Combine that with players who have been only part enlightened, it isn’t surprising that we get the results that we do. But even flutists who have reasonably well in tune flutes are just as guilty of poor intonation. D3 is a flat note on almost every flute. Both Eb3 and E3 are very sharp. They can be flattened by observation and practice, but rarely are.
Is pitch control taught in the colleges of music and universities? By some yes, but very few. As the author of the first books (!)1 to set out practical advice about the control of intonation, (Practice Books One – Tone and Practice Book Four – Intonation. Novello.), I don’t think they do. What do they offer instead? ‘Support‘ and ‘listening to yourself‘ are suggested as good advice on how to correct faulty intonation – and many other problems too. I have seen in print2 ‘blowing a feather‘, ‘sipping water‘, ‘blowing a candle flame‘, ‘adopting a correct posture‘, ‘watching a tuning meter‘, ‘listening carefully‘, ‘raising the eyebrows‘, ‘thinking sharper‘, ‘making the lip aperature smaller‘, ‘sliding fingers off the open holes to correct flatness‘, ‚rolling the flute in or out‘, ‘removing vibrato‘, ‘making more space in the mouth‘, ‘making more space in the throat‘, ‘opening the throat‘, ‘playing duets‘, ‘buying a new headjoint‘, ‘buying a new flute‘, ‘moving the position of the cork‘, ‘raising the rib cage‘, ‘shortening the headjoint by cutting a piece from the socket‘… the list goes on and on. There is one missing: prayer. At two classes, I have seen the student’s intonation problems ignored and instead, the screwball teacher was demonstrating the student how to move around during the performance. If we have to listen to out of tune playing, then I suppose ballet does offer some distraction. In the future, players will listen to our CDs as historical documents of current performance practice, perhaps with amusement or irritation. Will they wonder why the intonation is so bad? Did we notice? Could we hear it was wrong? And if we did, why didn’t we fix it? Ipso facto, we must be stupid, deaf, badly trained, or all three. At so many competitions and conventions, the intonation is at best poor. It is often appalling. Personally, I am not particularly bothered about intonation – provided that it’s correct.
PS.: A flutist called Marion Grey Was inclined to play sharper each day. The pitch reached a height, where the lady, one night played the Mozart G major in A! Trevor Wye, January 1st, 2002 www.trevorwye.com
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I don’t mention that with particular pride, only that it is very curious. Most of these can be found in Seven Steps to Better Intonation. Dr. Chris Potter. Fall House Press