Holoprint

Holostrations

Juke Box

Rainbow Vuvuzela

Didgeridoo

Contact Us

Commitment
by
Goethe

Inform... Engage... Enlighten... Inspire...

Home	AAHA Learning	Dr Bruce Copley

Reading Rooms

Forthcoming Events

Shopping Basket

Playing the CLARYTONE

By Dr Bruce Copley

Read more about the CLARYTONE here.

Getting Started

1. Hold the instrument in your palm with the narrow part at the top of your hand and the concave surface of the flute facing you.
2. Place the flute firmly but gently over your mouth and position the curved inner ridge of the flute firmly against the septum or bottom part of your nose.
3. Open your mouth, pout your lips on the surface of the flute and move your mouth/face muscles until you get the most comfortable position with the flute.
4. Take a deep breath and blow a steady stream of air using both nostrils into the small chamber at the top of the flute that has a narrow slit While it is even possible to play the Clarytone with a blocked nose, the best results are achieved when the nose is clear.
5. Keeping the flute in position simply breathe in through your nose. Each inhalation should be fast and deep going down below your rib cage. It is also possible to breathe through you mouth or alternatively through both the nose and mouth simultaneously. The breathing is very similar to that used when singing or whistling.
6. If you are not getting a sound try subtle position changes of the flute, movements of your face muscles, shape and tension of your mouth and/or changes in the position of your lips especially your bottom lip. Make sure you are directing a flow of air down into the flute. It is important that the fipple or opening on both sides of the flute are kept clear at all times.
7. Changes in pitch (high to low) are made by altering the tension and shape of the mouth. Tensioning and flattening the circular shape of the mouth raises the pitch while relaxing and rounding the circular shape of the mouth lowers the pitch. During these changes in mouth tension and shape, it is important that the position of the lips firmly positioned on the inside surface of the flute, are kept unchanged.
8. The lowest notes produced on the Clarytone are softer while the highest notes are louder since they require an increased air flow.

Going Further

Once you are able to create sounds on the Clarytone, you may like to try the following :

1. Begin playing WELL KNOWN TUNES, MELODIES and SONGS that are in your head starting with simple ones like Happy birthday, Jolly good fellow, Row your boat, etc. Do not be critical of how you sound at first and embarrassed when you are unable to hit the proper note. You will start making progress very soon and all that is required is to spend some time practicing.
2. Go UP and DOWN the scale (range of notes) and try to hold each note clearly without changing the pitch. The higher and lower notes are more difficult to control so focus initially on learning to play the mid range notes (1,5 to 2 octave range) accurately and consistently before turning your attention to the lowest and highest notes in the Clarytone range.
3. Learn to SLIDE in and out of notes which requires a smooth and gradual change in mouth tension and shape.
4. Create a VIBRATO effect which involves a slight oscillation of the pitch to enhance the expressive quality of the note is achieved by subtly moving the back part of the mouth up and down. Note that when doing the tongue should be in a fixed position at the bottom of the mouth.
5. Create a TRILL effect which involves a rapid alternating of 2 different notes. This is achieved by rapidly tapping the front part of your palate (top of your mouth) with the tip of your tongue.
6. SINGING and HUMMING through both your nose and mouth while playing the flute can with some practice and note matching provide some very pleasing and unusual effects and sounds.
7. Put on some of your favourite music and try to play along by finding the correct KEY in which the music is being played. Also experiment with playing in higher or lower octaves. With a little practice you will sound progressively better and in a very short space of time compared to mastering other musical instruments you will find that you can become a skilled and active co-creator of the music that you love.
8. Begin to create your own original tunes and songs and experiment with volume (high notes can be heard 800 meters away), walking and running while playing and playing along with music that is unfamiliar to you.

For further information please Contact AAHA Learning.