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How To Play THE FLUTE AND PICCOLO

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THE FLUTE AND PICCOLO

flute player

The flute is made of silver and its tone is usually described as
"silvery," which is about as close as one can come to it. It is a
beautiful, pure tone, which is used in many different ways to
supplement the tones of the other instruments and enrich the
ensemble tone of an orchestra or band.

For playing solos, and for playing duets or trios with the
violin, viola, clarinet or saxophone, the flute is an ideal instru-
ment, for its tone adds a quality that no other instrument can
produce.

The piccolo is used chiefly in orchestras and is usually played
by one of the flute players or flautists. It is a high-pitched,
exciting little instrument that plays an octave higher than the
flute. You have probably heard it in the "Ride of the Valkyries"
in which its shrill trilling, piercing through and over-riding the
sonorous tones of the mighty brasses, whips the music up to its
tremendously exciting climaxes.

Producing the Flute Tone

The flute is held with the mouthpiece or embouchure just
below the lips, and with its length extending out to your right.
The fingers of the left hand rest on the upper keys, and the
right-hand fingers on the lower keys. The word embouchure,
by the way, is built up around the French word bouche, mean-
ing "mouth" and is pronounced "ombooshure."

At first, most people have a little difficulty blowing into the
embouchure the right way to get a good tone. If you have the

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