IMPROVING YOUR FLUTE SOUND WITH THE "HARMONIC ROLL"
by Bill McBirnie

Video demonstration here

John Coltrane is one of the most significant instrumentalists of the 20th century. Musicians of such calibre and depth occur very rarely. Indeed, such extraordinary performers come along only once every few generations.

Coltrane has been a source of tremendous and continuing inspiration to me even though I play a completely different instrument in a completely different manner and style.

Now, you may be wondering (and quite legitimately) why I am talking about John Coltrane if the topic I have set out is about improving your flute sound. Well, in the course of listening to Coltrane, I heard him executing an unusual effect from time to time, the sound of which intrigued me. The effect is something of a Coltrane trademark and is difficult to describe. It can perhaps best be characterized as a "harmonic roll".

Over time, I experimented on my flute trying to mimic this sound. Ultimately, I managed to approximate what I heard Coltrane doing. I also determined the range over which it was feasible to execute this effect on the flute and what seemed to be the best fingerings for doing so.

What was curious about the process of my investigation is that, in the course of it, I found I was not only mimicking Coltrane but I was also enhancing my sound at the same time, particularly in the third register.

I am setting out this effect as an exercise because it can be extremely helpful, not only to classical flute players, but also to flute players who double on other reeds and who have experienced the difficulty and frustration associated with launching into the third register and attaining some measure of comfort and security way up there.

I recommended that you be patient with yourself as you proceed with this exercise since many of the fingerings are "false" and, in addition, the result is not entirely uniform from note-to-note and tone-to-tone. With just a little diligence, you will find that the exercise is really not that difficult to execute. However, more importantly is the fact that the payoff in terms of your sound and control makes the exercise well worth the effort.

It consists of playing the same note (or close to the same note) with three different fingerings in rapid succession in order to create a shimmering...or rolling harmonic...type of effect. Rhythmically, the pattern is simply a triplet figure; i.e.,

Start slowly at about 72 per the half note and, as you become familiar with the fingerings, increase the tempo. I myself never practise this exercise at more than 92 to the half note in order to ensure that my fingerings are carried out as evenly as possible. In performance, I would typically execute this effect a LOT faster.

All of the required fingerings are set out below. Please note that these fingerings are presented for notes commencing at "A" above the staff and they proceed chromatically upwards for the interval of a minor seventh.

In order to get the most out of this exercise, it is also very important to do the following things at the same time:

And for those of you who perform in improvisatory situations, you will find that you now have a new and interesting effect at your disposal which can add a different texture to your playing, particularly in free situations (where "textures" rather than "notes" are critical).

In summary, this harmonic roll effect is not only an interesting device aurally, it is also a remarkably formative exercise for purposes of your sound and control.

c Bill McBirnie 2003