Long Tones Boring You?
For aspiring flutists, there is no better warm-up on the planet than long tones. Closing your eyes, inhaling fully, listening intently, and discovering the heart of every long note (especially in the low register) lays a solid foundation for the rest of your practice session. Long tones are great for breathing, tone production, intonation, embouchure development, consistency, endurance, and lots of other flute playing skills.
Unfortunately, many flutists have trouble engaging in this magical, therapeutic, transformative practice each and every day, because they feel bored or impatient.
It's pretty tragic, but true.
In today's fast paced, instant gratification, gotta get exactly what I want exactly when I want it world, long tones require a kind of stillness and patience that is getting harder and harder to access.
Though I could use this blog post to talk about mindfulness, focus, and delayed gratification, instead, let's just focus on...
MAKING LONG TONES FUN!
Anyone who's read much of my blog knows I'm a huge fan of playing flute with a pop music soundtrack. A strong beat and a familiar song can make even the most repetitive exercises entertaining and the most intimidating etudes accessible!
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| Download the descants by clicking the link below! |
If you just don't have it in you to diligently practice long tones, and you need something a little more simple than my Epic Warm-up, I hope you'll enjoy these Adele & Pharrell Long Tone Flute Descants instead! Play them along with Rolling in the Deep and Happy, and enjoy the benefit of long tone practice with the fun and spirit of singing along (mentally) to your favorite tunes.
Happy Practicing!
Terri Sánchez
If you've enjoyed posts from The Self-Inspired Flutist, head on over to my new creative project, Practice Junkie!
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Sincerely,
Terri Sánchez
