The Fundamentals of playing the modern Native American

Transcription

1 The Fundamentals of playing the modern Native American Style Flute - workshop by Randy Granger. Presented initially at the 2012 International Native American and World Flute Association Conference, Eu Claire, WI. Randy Granger, Use with permission and credit please. Rule #1: There are no absolute rules concerning playing this instrument, only concepts. Each one of us must discover our own roadmap of what it means to play well. Bringing JOY and Fun into your playing will open the doors to play more expressively. This workshop will introduce concepts, ideas and techniques especially applicable to the Native American flute that will result in a more expressive and enjoyable playing. Background: In certain arts, for example painting, sculpture or architecture, the whole appears before the detail. In other words, we see the complete work and upon observation we notice the smaller qualities like stroke, color, craftsmanship etc. In music the details strike the listener first leading to an overall appreciation of the whole. For instance no one says, That was a nice note you played. They comment on the song, its peacefulness, its speed etc. Knowing that songs are a series of details is helpful in grouping, or (phrasing) those notes into ideas that can be treated to communicate our music expressively. PLAY WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED Sometimes it helps to play the flute with your eyes closed. If it helps picture yourself in a canyon or cathedral with a lot of natural reverb and echo. Visualize yourself in front of an audience, a nursing home, your friends, on TV wherever takes you out of your current environment. Have fun with it. Hear yourself sounding the best you ve ever sounded and people applauding after each song if you like. MOVE WHEN YOU PLAY This exercise is very helpful to get out of your head when you play the flute. Stand with your feet apart about shoulder width. BEND your knees slightly. This is very important. Begin to play your flute. As you play notice if you are playing a quick or slow song. Begin to slowly sway back and forth or front to back as you play. Not too much as to not in any way chip a tooth or injure your mouth. Keep your knees bent. Close your eyes and as you play faster or slower increase your movement speed to match or just the opposite. There is no right way to do this exercise. The point is to move the music into your body and get out of your head. TONE

2 Tone in relation to the Native American flute is the quality of the sound the instrument makes when played. By quality we mean is the tone soft, harsh, breathy, clear, loud, sweet etc? Not all flutes have the same tone obviously. Factors such as type of material used, humidity, temperature and of course breath contributes to the overall tone on any given day. Tone, in the musical sense usually referrers to the pleasing quality to the sound. Think of a singer of flute player you admire and imagine their tone. It is recognizable and distinctive and something you enjoy listening to repeatedly. Think about why that is. Sure it makes you feel a certain way, but they are playing the same type of flute you are, have the same anatomical features etc. Practicing on getting a good tone is one of the most important skills as a beginner as it will stay with you through your playing for many years. While it is helpful to listen to and somewhat deconstruct a recording artist s tone, do this only to the extent that you know what good tone is. You have your own sound and that is our goal. How to develop your tone: Play when you are calm, before eating and alone. Close your eyes and play one note only for 30 seconds or so. As you play change the shape of your mouth, your posture, your head and the inside of upper palate. Listen to what each change does. Now change your breath blowing harder then softer then in- between. You should always have a reserve supply of air that will come from your diaphragm or lower lungs. Find a way to record yourself playing these exercises. Listen to them alone and intently. Make notes of what you like and what you were doing. This exercise will improve your tone immensely. If you can, refrain from asking other s opinion on your tone. There is no better ear than your own to listen critically and constructively. PHRASING Another aspect in important in playing expressively is the concept of phrasing. Phrasing is the idea of grouping tones, or notes, instead of playing only note to note. We do this naturally when we speak and it enables clear communication. We don t run words together but instead pause, change pitch and emphasis and emotion when we are communicating with another. Phrasing in music is the same concept. Phrases are short or long and the longer phrases should be broken down into sub phrases. Let s take an example. The beginning of the popular song Silent Night is an example of a phrase. Silent Night, Holy Night. This is the beginning of the phrase; however, it is not yet complete. All is calm, All is bright. This completes the phrase because the idea is complete for this passage. Even though we play instrumentals as flutists we would think in terms of this phrase as well. Breathing during a phrase does not stop the momentum of the idea. The energy should continue through until the end of that particular phrase then to the next. Musical variation, ornamentation and inflection can all take place during a phrase. When we are aware of the

3 starting and ending place of a phrase we are free to work within it. This is what many musicians who improvise often do and it makes it easier to communicate with other players without speaking. Verses are extended phrases made up of smaller ones. Exercise: Take the song Amazing Grace and identify the phrases within. Think of ways to add inflection within the phrases. ARTICULATION The separation of successive notes from one another, singly or in groups, by a performer, and the manner in which this is done; the term is more broadly applied to phrasing in general. In practical application it is the way we define notes as we play them. Flute players articulate with the tongue mostly. It is important to use the appropriate vowel- consonant combination for the style of music. Use a T consonant and Ah vowel for accented, crisp or fast articulations and a D consonant, Oo vowel for slower, smoother, expressive articulations. Articulations of notes, runs, passages, accents and more add clarity and sonic interest to music. By selecting the appropriate articulation for the style of music we define notes. It is more than tonguing and fingering. At times a simple doo will shape the mouth and tongue enough to separate notes and draw it out. Syllables helpful for articulation on the Native American flute would be cuh, tah, duh, di, do, duh ka (double tonguing), tuk, tu, tuh ka tu (triple) Some Tonguing Suggestions: ti di tiri did ll = double tonguing di is for single tonguing for double tonguing duh ka duh ka duh ka did ll did ll di did ll di for triple tonguing, duh ka duh duh ka duh ta or tu, te ti for attacks tu ku for double tonguing, tu da ka or tu tu ku for triple It is possible to articulate notes without tonguing. Use your Diaphragm muscles to give bursts of air into the flute. Practice saying ho ho ho or hey from your belly to find the placement. DYNAMICS Dynamics mean the volume level of the music you are playing. It sounds simple enough but it is one of the most effective ways to play expressively. Vary the sound level from soft to louder create interest and mood in a song. This can be very helpful when playing the same melody more than once like Amazing Grace for example. An important aspect to remember is to use the same energy level while playing the soft and loud moments. Playing from the belly, or Diaphragm, is helpful with this concept. Using dynamics is often an intuitive technique. Used selectively and combined with other musical concepts dynamics bring a new level of emotive playing.

4 Exercise: Play a passage of music with no dynamic change at all. Then intentionally vary from very soft to very loud in an exaggerated fashion. Now play normally adding dynamic changes intuitively. SLIDES OR SLURS This simple yet expressive ornamentation involves slowly sliding your finger of a hole. It will change the note, not much but is a nice way to transition between phrases of a song. GLISS Short for glissando, this technique involves playing notes going up or down the scale in a deliberate way. Think of the beginning of Gershwin s American in Paris where the clarinet goes from that low note up several octaves in a slow and intentional way. That is the extreme, but you get the idea. Experiment with it. I particularly use Gliss in coming to an end of song. TRILL Trilling is simply moving your finger on and off a note rapidly. What is a neat technique that we sometimes call a Loon Call, is trilling while starting off blowing a regular breath then more forcefully than back off. Randy will demonstrate this for you now FLUTTER TONGUE Flutter tonguing is sometimes confused with trilling. But, flutter tonguing is the rapid fluttering of the tip of your tongue to the back of your upper teeth. If you can roll your r s you can probably flutter tongue. Start by playing a note with regular breath then say (while playing) the word huh- rrr until it begins to flutter. Adding a little of this to a song adds a tasteful ornamentation that listeners will enjoy. But a little goes a long way. YELPS Sometimes called puppy yelps this technique involves popping your fingers on and off the 2 nd and 3 rd fingers. Usually a stronger puff of air while you do this will help carry the sound. VIBRATO Vibrato is the wave sound you hear on instruments and from singers. It is actually a slight change in pitch and can be rapid or slow. Vibrato is a very personal technique unique to every player. It can come from your diaphragm, your chest even your cheeks. Experiment and find out where your vibrato comes from by singing first. SCALES Scales are the fundamental of playing an instrument. My combining the different notes of the scales you create songs. Some of these scales are adaptations of Nakai Tablature, The Art of the Native American Flute (1996) by R. Carlos Nakai and James Demars and Flutetree.com FUNDAMENTAL SCALE

5 This scale is absolutely a Western concept as traditional flutes were mostly individually tuned. This scale is almost ubiquitous for modern Native American flutes; however, some flute makers use different fingering. BASIC SCALE Also known as the minor pentatonic scale it can vary by flute maker. (See attachment) PRIMARY SCALE The Basic Scale with an additional note. (See attachment) EXTENDED SCALE Essentially the Chromatic 12- note is the scale of western music. Which is not at all easy to play on the NA flute due it half holing and cross fingering. However, you can play any song in western music using this scale such as the Star Spangled Banner, you will, however, have to drop octaves. (See attachment) DIATONIC OR MAJOR SCALE Within each Native American flute is a relative Major or diatonic scale. Starting from the 5 th hole on a 6- hole flute. Say your flute is Am then its relative Major scale is C. This means that you could most likely play your Am flute with a guitar playing in the key of C. The way to find the relative major scale of your flute is identify the root, fundamental note say Em then go up 3 half notes on G major. A relative minor is always three half steps lower than its relative major; this is the scale of Do re mi fa so la ti do. This is my own notation for this scale. BREATH IN CONTEXT Taking breaths in a way that is appropriate to the style of music you are playing is essential to playing expressively. Fast tempo songs obviously call for quick, sometimes short, breaths between passages and phrases. Keep in mind that the breath you take is also part of the music. Its pause can be thought of as a note itself. Slow, longer breaths in fact enhance slower songs.

6 As we overcome our self- consciousness at breathing during songs so will the listener. By breathing from the lower lungs or using your Diaphragm you keep a reserve of air available. Exercise: Take several normal breaths from the Diaphragm and play a familiar passage of music. Intentionally take an obvious, exaggerated breath in the middle of a phrase where you would not normally breathe. Play the passage again and this time, take a breath shortly before the end of the phrase. This time open your mouth and take a short, deep breath as if you were startled. This will engage your Diaphragm. Notice how you have extra breath to complete the phrase. You may even add extra vibrato or other ornamentation. HISTORICAL PERIOD This may seem an obvious idea at first; however, it is worth pointing out. Historical Period refers to what playing style is being observed that takes the genre into consideration especially with established songs. For instance a song like Oh Danny Boy would probably be played with more reverence than as if you were playing the jaunty Deck the Halls. In original music it may be helpful to consider what genre or historical tone you might be going for. Again this keeps with the idea the often notes happen even before we play them. Research songs so that you will know how to preface them in performance and maintain the lineage of the song. NUANCE Nuance refers to the subtle personal style inflections of the player. Often times when we hear a flute CD we know who is playing without being told. This is due in large part to the nuances and personal style of the player. Ornamentations like yelps, pops, slides and vibrato are often ingrained with players so in a sense become their signature. Discover your personal nuances by recording yourself playing and listening back while taking notes. Nuance is key in expressive playing. You may have a very rapid vibrato or play with a straight tone only to add vibrato at the end. Exercise: Play for other s while they take notes and compare. Whatever your reason for playing the Native American Flute the important thing it to just play. Play in every definition of the word. Your song it your own, may it bring you happiness. BIO: Randy Granger is a professional musician and recording artists with an extensive background in music instruction. He lives in Las Cruces, NM and has a B.A. in Journalism from New Mexico State University as well as a license in Massage Therapy from Crystal Mountain School of Therapeutic Arts, Albuquerque, NM 1991 and is an ordained Minister.