Flute Intonation

Flute intonation is an important aspect of playing the flute. An out-of-tune flutist is hard on the ears--no one wants to hear bad intonation!

A lot of flutists play their B-flat in band, and presto, the flute is in tune! Same goes for the A in orchestra.

Well, if you think that playing one note for two seconds means you now are in tune, perhaps you should purchase a flute that was "tuned at the factory."

That, by the way, is an ancient musical joke.

Playing well in tune is the hallmark of a fine flutist.

Poor flute intonation is often caused by a poor embouchure, most likely a too-tight embouchure. This type of embouchure results in a flat low register and a sharp high register. In short, you are out of tune with yourself.

Relax your facial muscles. Yawn, drop your jaw, and get the mental image of your chin falling off your face.

The tension should be in your abdominal area. That's where the air is being forced up and out. If your facial muscles are tight and constricted, this inhibits the flow and direction of the air. The low register doesn't want to speak well at all and is very flat. The high register is pinched, squeaky, and sharp.

The use of a digital tuner is a big help in developing proper flute intonation. Turn on the tuner when you are practicing long tones and try to make the light stay right in the middle. If it is going sharp, especially in the high register, relax your embouchure.

When using a digital tuner to tune for a performance, don't force the pitch by adjusting your embouchure to get the note to stop the tuner at the right place.

I close my eyes when tuning with a digital tuner, play the note as I normally would, then open my eyes and see what the tuner displays. Then adjust.

It is unfortunate that we are trained to tune our flute with a B-flat in band and an A in orchestra. The A might great for strings, but flutists would be better off tuning to a D.

Why?

Both the A and the B-flat are notes that have the most keys open. Thus, the note is more unstable pitch-wise. Notes with more keys down tend to be more secure in their pitch without wild fluctuations. The D has more keys closed than any other note.

Another important consideration in flute intonation is cork placement--the stopper in the end of the head joint. Students are rarely taught about this, and if it is mentioned, they simply put the end of a metal tuning rod inside the head joint, look to see if the line on the rod is in the middle of the embouchure hole, and adjust accordingly.

This can work, but try this to check the cork placement of your head joint...

Play a low D. If it is flat compared with the high D, the cork is too far in (toward the embouchure hole), and should be pushed out.

If the low D is sharp compared to the high D, the cork is too far out and needs to be pushed in.

Be sure to do the cork adjustment gently. If you are unsure or wary of this, take your flute to a competent repair person. It will just take them a couple of seconds to make the proper placement.

Flute intonation takes time to develop. Listen a lot to fine flutists, live when possible, and on recordings as much as you can. Train your ears to know what good flute intonation is and absorb it as part of your playing.

Part of ear training is having good relative pitch. A lucky few have perfect pitch, but if you're not one of that blessed group, don't worry, you can develop excellent relative pitch.

Working on your pitch recognition is fun, and soon you'll notice your flute intonation has improved, too!

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