Intonation on the Flute: How to Find the Most Beautiful Sound Possible

During my college years, I remember sitting in a lesson with Mark Sparks, the Principal Flutist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. We had been working on everything to do with building a consistent and beautiful flute sound. These lessons were transformational for me! Then he said something that intrigued me. " The most beautiful sound on the flute is always the most in tune." At that time, intonation was something that felt like a complete mystery to me! When playing in ensembles or even in solo excerpts, I could tell when something didn't "sound right" or "lock in," but I could never really tell how to fix it. This sparked a life-long pursuit of playing the flute in tune. I have learned several important skills that transformed my flute playing and gave me the ability to adjust instantaneously. My goal in this blog is to share these steps with you to help you along on your own flute journey!

The most basic level of intonation is tuning your instrument. For flute, this means pulling your headjoint out if you are sharp or pushing your headjoint in if you are flat. Most ensembles tune to a certain fixed pitch, like an A at 440 or 442. If you play your A and it sounds out of tune, you'll need to adjust the headjoint . This first step is important, but it is really just the beginning.

Once you feel like you are in tune with the tuning note, you need to discover what the tendencies are for each note on YOUR flute. Each instrument has its own quirks, and you can see those if you play a chromatic scale slowly, using a tuner. Do not try to adjust or play the note " in tune."I suggest taking a piece of paper and writing down the tendencies for your instrument. It's a guarantee that the second octave C-sharp with be extrememly sharp

( almost a D!) without any adjustments. There are other notes that might be challenging just for you. Once you have your list you can move on to the next level.

Learning to adjust the pitch is crucial if you want to play in tune. Once you've made your list, you can play through the chromatic scale again. But this time, adjust the sound until the needle on the tuner is pointing straight up! Altering the pitch of a note involves the direction of the airflow, the shape of your mouth, and the position of your bottom lip. When a note is flat, you'll need to direct the airstream higher by rolling the flute out and aiming the air. If the note is sharp ( this happens frequently when playing with louder dynamics), you should open the inside of your mouth more and aim your air down towards the floor. You'll want to practice this in your studio with the goal of flexibility and consistency.

Many people may stop at this step, which is a huge mistake! The most essential skill necessary for intonation is honed and refined through one more step- playing with a drone pitch. This can be produced on a tuner using the "sound" option ( many apps have this feature, as well). Why is this so vital? Intonation isn't just playing individual notes in a vacuum, but playing intervals and harmonies that perfectly resonate with one another. Learning to play all of the intervals on the flute with a purity of tone will give any musician the colors that they need to be a true artist!

How do you make the best use of a drone pitch? In my practice time, I choose a tonic note. Usually this corresponds to the key area of the day that I've practiced in my other daily exercises. I set my drone to that pitch and slowly play each note of the major scale. I do not use vibrato , as I listen for each note and how it responds to the drone pitch. The scale degrees each create a unique sonority that will ring when it's perfectly "in tune." I pay special attention to the Major 3rd ( the third note of the scale), the Perfect 4th, and the Perfect 5th. Finally, the more dissonant intervals, like the 2nd and 7th note of the scale, also need to be expertly placed in order to sound in tune. I'm listening for each note to "melt" into the sound of the drone pitch. This is best accomplished by playing without any vibrato, and letting the pure sound of the flute ring. It is definitely challenging to practice this! The time spent playing these scales will give you the ability to train your ears to carefully listen to the music that you are playing in ensembles or in solo works. Everything that we do uses intervals, and we need to condition our ears to hear them accurately and to respond!

After playing scales with a drone, you can move on to De La Sonorite and the slurring exercise. This tests every single interval, including tricky half steps. Playing through one exercise four times ( with each of the variations listed by Moyse) helps to cement the tonal world of every key area. Finally, I use drone pitches to practice excerpts and melodies, as well. As I add vibrato into my intonation practice, I want to make sure that I don't use it to "cover up" or alter the pitch of each note. I want my vibrato to add shine, shimmer, warmth, and color. If the core sound is pure and in tune, then this will only enhance its beauty.

Truly, the most beautiful sound is the most in tune!

For a demonstration of this process, visit our YouTube channel ( @themazzoniduo) for a tutorial!

Playing in tune takes conviction and persistence. I'm practicing these skills actively every day, and I can always strive towards more flexibilty and response. Playing in ensembles brings more challenges, but also more rewards! Learning the tendencies of your own instrument, as well as hearing the unique color of each interval on the flute, is crucial to playing in tune. As you continue to grow in this skill, you'll find your ability to express musically will increase, as well. Playing beautiful music is what it's all about!

Happy practicing!