I need some advice from the experienced guys and gals on board for getting "unstuck". I feel that my progress has sorta slowed and I seem to be playing simiar combinations, give or take, over and over. I have officially hit a "plateau" and need some help . I don't have any play along CDs, perhaps that would assist my progress?

Thanks so much
Blake

Well, if you're still playing the basic 5 note scale, I suggest learning and become proficient in some of the alternate scales.

Hi Blake,

I think this is common ground for many. As with any instrument, there is that plateau that we all tend to hike to and then hang our feet over, often scratching our heads and hoping for a sign.

There isn't a single, official answer but this is a GREAT segway into a new thread of discussion as we can all identify with it. I will begin with giving you a few examples of what I usually do.

1) I found immersing myself in many styles helped greatly in excavating the rhythms that were just beneath the surface. If you do not have the luxury of purchasing a wide range of CD's, youtube.com and other such resources on the Internet will expose you to many different artist. I know that this is how I became familiar with Mary Youngblood, R. Carlos Nakai, Scott August, etc. just to name a small percentage.

2) I picked up some accompaniment CD's, much like "An hour in A Minor".

3) I began attending a flute circle. If you do not have one, start one!

4) I would use tree lines or other such things on the horizon and try to play the associative pattern... basically letting Nature be my tabliture.

5) I would have someone give me a "phrase" - or come up with a bunch on my own and pick from a hat. This would be a simple statement like "the cat played with a crumpled piece of paper on the kitchen floor" and then I would try to play a musical representation of what that would sound like. (On a side note, if you did this for 2 weeks you would be surprised how many new melodies you came up with). The key is to NOT think about it, but to let it pour forth, even if it at first sounds like you just ran over Daffy Duck . Trust me, it will get better .

6) Practice, practice, practice. Give yourself at LEAST 15 minutes a day, religiously.

7) See number 6 above.

8) Print out some blank Nakai tabliture and tab out what you are CURRENTLY doing in your repetitious slump. You might find this will help you become highly aware of what you are doing and, as such, what you might consider doing .

I look forward to hearing others' suggestions!

What i usually try to do when i feel like i am stuck is to pick an extended scale note. Try to pick a note that you do not play frequently. Then i try to create melodies that highlight or use that note as the centerpiece of the playing. This will really help to give you an understanding of the relationship between the basic and the extended scale notes of the flute, and help to bring more creativity to you're playing.

Or pick two extended scale notes and incorporate both into a simple melody. Explore the half notes. Learn the scale well enough that you can go up or down a half note from any other note without thinking about it. Play, play, play.

Simply limit the fingers you use to play, and let those fingers find something not previously explored.

Works well with 2-4 fingers.

Deliberately seek out new fingerholes to start from. Also find some songs that you like to listen (non flute) and transcribe them to flute music. i know what it is like to hit a plateau and the "key" is to do something different.

Good Luck,

Angel

I have tried that and that can be very interesting. Mary Youngblood likes to do this at times.

Angel

EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT Ideas from all of you! I think I am going to do a mixture of all of the above stated ideas. I really like the "pick a phrase" idea as well as buying a CD to play along with. Thanks so much everyone, and perhaps we should put all of our ideas together and make this a "sticky" in this particular forum. I bet a lot of noobies will have this question.

Off to practice. Thanks so much everyone.

All of the above suggestions are wonderful. I have not noticed if you have any kind of amplification system. I know that many players don't feel justified in purchasing even a basic system or feel that a wind instrument should not be tainted with electronics. I can tell you that when you first have the experience of having reverb, you will quickly get over all of that. You will be hooked and that stuck feeling will be gone. I usually bring my little PA system to flute circles and the new players are ALWAYS reluctant to hit the mic, then they hit that first note and their eyes get wide. You can see them relax, close their eyes, and let it rip. Pretty soon they are no longer thinking about playing and that seems to be when the magic happens.

We all have hurdles or walls, getting unstuck for me has meant trying something new or visualizing a significant person, place, or animal while playing. My most important suggestion is simply to close your eyes. You will be shocked how that helps to tap into the more creative side of your brain. Though I might not suggest this to everyone, I stopped trying to play music already recorded by others and just let the music come out of me. I found it easier to improvise then memorize.

If you decide to go with the amplification, I priced out (on Ebay) what my first system cost. It was a little Peavey Keyboard Amp ($50), a Shure SM 57 mic ($50), and a Danelectro Dan-Echo effects unit (for reverb - $30). With cables and mic stand you will have a sound system for under $200. It will not give great sound, but the difference will still seem staggering. I know that it is hard to give up the price of a new flute, but it will make every flute in your collection sound damned good. You will also be able to play with the subtlties within a note in a way that will shock you. You may find that your playing changes as you play more extended notes than busy fingering.

Good luck. I don't want to speak for others, but I am guessing that we all go through this from time to time. The challenge is to keep playing through it. Take heart, YOU WILL GET PAST IT!

Alex

Hi Alex,

As a newbie who is STILL waiting for that first flute to come , I appreciate your giving precise info as to what you used. I really don't have any good places to go (inside or outside) that will give me good reverb, so I will be looking into this.

Hello


great suggestions.....I will be trying a few myself...also helps to have different style flutes, that helps with the "not getting stuck" time.

If I am going to peform or play somewhere, I immerse myself with flute music, drums and chants for 48 hours before, or all week , then my soul is singing with the music.

Getting stuck happens to everybody, but after you get unstuck, you will reach a deeper and higher plateau.
Playing along and harmonizing with CD's can help. Mary Youngbloods CD's are great to play along with because she puts the flute maker and the key of the flute on each song. Her CD, "Dance with the Wind" is an excellent CD for this purpose. When you see that she has used a diatonic C flute, you can harmonize with an "A" flute, and it is beautiful.
If you have digital TV, listen to the new age channel because they play native music and other music that goes will the flute. Have your flutes lined up and ready because they dont tell you what key the song is in, and you have to find it fast while the music is playing.
Also, take your favorite songs that really move you, and try tabbing them. You can find blank tab sheets on www.naflute.com or www.flutetree.com.
This is a great exercise and learning experience. :

Sorry for the long delay in response everyone. I am swamped with my final semester at my current college and I have not even sat down near the PC.

All of this advice is much appreciated. I plan on putting together a small PA system within the next couple of months. When I do hear reverb it adds a whole new side to the flute, so I agree, it is probably a great tool to have. Thanks again!

Boy, do I know what you're saying! My grad school classes this semester are going to be killers! I have a paper due every other week!!

We'll just have to play those flutes for stress relief!

Blessings!

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Hello Blake,
I have a few suggestions for you. First, take your mind out of the music and stop thinking too much. I suggest that you have a well known song in your mind and play it without any care about how close to the actual song it sounds. Before you know it you'll have stumbled across something new. It's also helpful to play the tree line. As the tree lines goes up, so do your notes...you get the idea. I don't suggest playing along with other flute players unless you want to sound like them. This may seem okay until you understand that this is about expressing the music within "you!"
Best of luck and keep us posted!

~El Flute-a-dor

Blake, go to Flutetree.com and open "Tips" then open "Fibonauci Technique". This system is as I understand it is used by Ken Light and R.Carlos Nakai at their week long training session once a year. What you do using this system is transpose letters and numbers for tones or notes on the flute. You write down your name and phone # then transpose them with fingerings on the flute which you get from the matrix in Fibonauci Tech. It's a lot of fun plus forces you to play a crazy melody which the rythem is set by you with a few trills and pauses thrown in as you desire. Try it!

Barry

Thanks again for these tips! I'm going to head to Flutetree now and check that out.
Thanks!

And then play over it with your G minor flute! Just to loosen those mental cobwebs.

Victor.

I know this is kind of elementary, but it is a great way to become "unstuck".
Have fun with it...you will be surprised what you come up with.

http://www.flutetree.com/playing/fibonacci.html

Good Luck,
Michael Cedar - Hawk

Here's a couple scales I use frequently in my playing. I'm sure they're not novel, but I have no idea of what they might be called. Try the 5 note version and when you get comfortable with it, go to the 6 note version. The 6 note version is really just the standard NAF scale with an extra note tossed in.

Enjoy!

'Just bumping this in case no one has seen my last post.

Hey "Wyrd", today I recieved my Mini Mic from the Oregon Flute Store and I plugged it into my Roland Micro Cube and let me tell you it is awesome! This combo takes you to another level of NAF playing! With this MINI MIC you hardly have to breath into the flute to get great BIG sound, and the reverb effect is out of sight. This will diffently get you out of the "rut" or "unstuck".

Barry

Hello Blake,
Your situation brought up some great responses.
I've been playing these flutes for about 20 yrs. now and have found that learning is not a curve but more a series of plateaus.
When I want to go to new places I've found that percussion will help. I record different beats using drum, rattle or other toys, and play along. Using different flutes can bring out different songs as well.
The recording doesn't have to be elaborate, cheap recorder with a 5 gallon plastic bucket can do.
But, as mentioned, the most important thing is to play, play, play. Keep a flute handy, by the computer, tv etc. Play during comercials, play while a file is downloading.
Having dial up connection has allowed me to get some notes on my Anazasi flute.
Time and love of the flute will get you unstuck.
Kuz

This is excellent advice, Kuz. I have a little field recorder (digital recorder) that I take with me on trips just because one never knows what they might find in nature by way of "natural percussion".

I recently began recording me beating on my buffallo drum, and udu, and found that helpful as you suggested. In nature I find that with the right recording device even simple things as raindrops in a bucket off the eve, or a waterfall, or even wind in a grove of creaky pine trees provides a wonderul, natural percussion (not in the sence one typically thinks of percussion, mind you) that is wonderful to play as nature - like percussion instruments - provide a natural rhythm that is unmatched.

I am inspired again to grab my H4 and get some more natural samples from my journeys.

Thank you for posting your thoughts on this, and on the reminder to keep a flute handy. I bought a nice, but inexpensive high B at a flute festival that is sturdy enough to through into the car or briefcase to take wherever I go. Its nice to have a flute on business trips too, as I find that sometimes I am in a city I could care less about exploring and spend time in my hotel room with a flute, a carton of chocklate milk, and a good book .