I’ve decided my next little project is going to be all about extended techniques! I absolutely love doing extended techniques and think they’re a ton of fun, but most of them I’ve had to learn and figure out on my own. There’s a few places online and books to read on how to do extended techniques, and there’s even a few videos, but some are kind of dated and didn’t help me much. I had to go around to multiple websites and search for instructions. I just wanted a place I could go to to watch someone explain the techniques so I could follow along and learn that way. So, I decided I’d do just that. I plan on having these kind of everywhere, but this blog post will be like the holder of everything related to this. I’m going to have a YouTube link, so a combined longer video of me going through each extended technique, explaining and demonstrating for those who don’t want to read. Here, I’m going to explain in words about the techniques and then have an audio clip of what each technique sounds like. Let’s have some fun!!
Flutter tonguing:
Flutter tonguing is one of the most basic extended techniques there is in my opinion and was the first I learned. It’s almost not even considered something “extended” to me because it’s used pretty often. It’s not unusual to find flutter tonguing in pieces of music. I’ve come across flutter tonguing both in band repertoire and flute repertoire. Flutter tonguing sounds like what it’s called, a flutter of tongue, making it sound like the flute player is tonguing a note an impossible amount of times. There are 2 ways of doing flutter tonguing, there’s the way of using your tongue, and the way of using your throat. The first way I’ll go over is using the tongue. The first step is to practice rolling your “r’s”. This is kind of like flicking your tongue against the roof of your mouth. The tongue is relaxed and you use a good amount of air to bounce the tongue. This way of flutter tonguing can be extremely difficult to a lot of people and honestly, this way of flutter tonguing can be even more difficult than using your throat with different registers. Doing a flutter this way in the low register is very difficult. The other way of fluttering is using your throat and uvula. The easiest way I was told to flutter this way is to basically imagine gargling mouth wash and do that with a flute embouchure. This is a version of flutter tonguing that anyone can do, it may just take time. I’m honestly still not great at this second way of flutter tonguing, but I do think there are uses for both types and encourage learning both ways.
Harmonics:
Harmonics is another technique that most people don’t think of as being “extended”, but it kind of is, it’s just one people use super often. Harmonics basically work by fingering a note and then directing the air differently so that a different overtone, or note, will sound. Practicing harmonics can help get a flexible embouchure, better tone quality, and help with difficult passages. It is also used sometimes to play a note softly or to change the tone color. They’re usually pretty easy to figure out with a little bit of time, but they can be super helpful. I love using harmonics for technical passages, like the one at the end of Jolivet’s Chant de Linos. The line played with regular fingerings is difficult, but it can be made easier using some harmonics. I’ve also used harmonics to help with tuning and playing softly in ensembles, as well as even using them for different tone color effects in flute music. A quick run down of the harmonic series, is that the note can be played as written, an octave up, a perfect 5th above the octave, two octaves above, a third above that and then a 4th above the second octave. It sounds way more confusing in words, honestly I think it’s best just to mess around with harmonics. You can always play a harmonic, then finger the note to check to see if you’re getting the right harmonic out.
Singing and Playing:
This is another extended technique that shows up ALL THE TIME. It was probably the second extended technique I learned. Singing and playing gives the flute a buzzy, powerful, and dirty sound. It’s very different than regular flute tone, but is used in a million different generes, from rock and roll style pieces, to jazz, and even weird modern flute music. Many people also use this extended technique in their warm up routine, as it can help relax and open the throat, which will allow for a better tone quality in the sound. So how do you do it? Well, you do as it sounds. You basically sing, or hum, while playing the flute. It’s easiest to begin by playing a note on the flute and then adding in the voice as the same note, whether that’s in unison or up or even down the octave. Then, you just hum/sing along with the flute! Sometimes in pieces, it will require the flutist to sing a different note than is being played, which is much more difficult than being on the same pitch as the flute, but it can be done. It takes a bit more focus and practice. With these sections, I’d practice the sung notes in unison with the flute so your voice knows where to go, then add in the notes the flute is supposed to play. This is a technique that once you get down, it becomes like second nature to do.
Multiphonics:
This technique, in my opinion, is one of the hardest to do and usually takes a lot of practice. Once you start getting the hang of it though, it’s usually not too bad. This technique quite literally allows the flutist to play two or more notes at once. It’s easiest to start with the multiphonic where you finger a D5, then by adjusting your embouchure and air, you can produce a multiphonic. Practice getting all of the notes individually first, making sure that you can get each note out. Then work on playing both. For me, I typically need to relax my embouchure slightly and think about adjusting the direction of my air. Many people have suggested thinking about the top lip playing the higher note and the bottom lip playing the lower, but this never really made any sense to me. For me, just focusing on whatever note is weaker and harder to play, then trying to adjust until the other note joins in works best. Every multiphonic is very different, some only sound when played quietly, others need to be played louder to be heard. If the composer is a flutist, they’ve likely indicated which volume works best for the multiphonic. From there, it’s just some messing around until it locks in. Don’t get too discouraged if you’re unable to produce a multiphonic the first time! It took me hours of practice to get one single multiphonic to sound, and even more days to work it into a piece until it sounded good and was happening without me having to think so hard. It may take some time, but ANYONE can do multiphonics!!
Whistle/Whisper tones:
Whistle tones, sometimes called whisper tones are another helpful extended technique. It can help relax your embouchure if you’ve been playing a lot, it can help you find where to place notes, it can help you practice quietly, and lastly is just a cool effect used in some pieces. To play a whistle tone, all you have to do is finger a note like normal and use a bit less air to produce a whistle sound. Whistle tones can be very finicky, and at first you’ll probably just hear a bunch of whistle tones noodling around without you trying. With practice though, you can have better control over the pitches that come out. It’s definitely not easy though, as even a slight change in air can make the pitch wobble to something else. I have found them to be really helpful in placement of notes and I’ll honestly practice my pieces on whistle tones at home, since they’re quiet, but still make for some good progress.
Key Clicks:
Key clicks are another easy peasy extended technique. It’s just increasing the volume of the flutes keys by pressing them down harder and faster. It creates a little click noise. It’s best to use your middle and ring fingers, as they are typically stronger so the click can be heard more. Specifically using your left middle and ring fingers will get the best results, but really, any finger can be used to create a key click as long as it can move. You can also manipulate the sound by changing your embouchure, either opening it up so there’s a place to resonate, or just nothing at all. It all depends on the sound you’re going for.
Jet Whistle:
Jet whistles are a lot of fun and can be done a lot of different ways. At first, I was just told to cover the embouchure hole with my lips and blow air as hard as I can to produce a jet whistle…and it never worked how I wanted. Sure, that is still a jet whistle and is called for in some pieces, but to get the more powerful and loud jet whistle, there’s more to it. Yes, you still cover the embouchure hole, but a lot of the jet whistle has to do with the vowel shape you use. Starting with “ooh” and moving to “ee”, while moving a lot of air, will help the jet whistle pop. Along with this, adding in your head and arms moving the flute, you can produce a really loud, powerful and relatively easy to do jet whistle. The timing of all of these is important. If you don’t change vowel shape early enough, the sound can die when your flute moves. It’s all about the timing. As soon as your arms are moving, so should your vowel shape. It’ll take a bit of practice, but I think jet whistles are a bit easier than some other extended techniques. I’ve also done jet whistles just by placing my lip on the embouchure hole, covering part of it, then letting the rest of my lips relax around the rest of the embouchure hole and produced a jet whistle that way. Occasionally, like in Ian Clarke’s Hatching Aliens, there’s a typical sounding jet whistle, a more subtle one, and one where you actually breath air into the flute instead of out.
A short list of pieces that use these techniques:
The Great Train Race, Ian Clarke: Harmonics, singing and playing, multiphonics
Hatching Aliens, Ian Clarke: jet whistle variety, flutter tongue, singing and playing, whistle tones, multiphonics and more
Zoom Tube, Ian Clarke: multiphonics, sing and play, jet whistle and more
Fish are Jumping, Robert Dick: multiphonics, singing and playing, harmonics, and more
Within, Ian Clarke: multiphonics, sing and play and more
Can I have it without begging, Eve Beglarian: key clicks, flutter tongue
Liminal Highway, Christopher Cerrone: flutter tongue, key clicks, harmonics, multiphonics and more
Tuberama, Ian Clarke: sing and play, plus basic “beatbox”
Lookout, Robert Dick: harmonics, multiphonics, sing and play, key clicks
Revamper, Anne LaBerge: sing and play, harmonics
(AND SO MANY MORE. Let me know if a full list of pieces with extended techniques is something you’d be interested in having!!)
