Finger Gymnastics: Developing Flute Technique

Finger technique is a critical part of becoming an incredible flutist. Honing these skills can lead to better control, speed, and precision in your flute playing. So, it’s important to practice and build strength in individual fingers as well as build precision and synchronicity between fingers. You can do this with finger exercises, scale practice, and proper hand position. If you’re wondering what yo do and how to do it, read on!

The Foundation: Hand and Finger Positioning

The keys to proper hand positioning are curved fingers and anchor points. The anchor points are KEY to this because if the anchor points are incorrect, the finger position will be incorrect, therefore you cannot have fast, comfortable fingers with clear, resonant tone.

The anchor points are step one. Anchor points are the points where your body touches the flute, holding it in place. It takes a little finesse, but things will be much easier once you get those anchor points down. Your first anchor point is your left hand, the first knuckle, where your finger meets the hand. The second anchor point is your right-hand thumb. Now, this one can be a little tricky because depending on your anatomy, you might find your thumb to be directly on the pad or on the side of the pad, but one way or another, you don’t want it to be a balancing act. You want it to be a firm anchor. I find it best to be directly on the pad towards the front of the finger. You don’t want it to be resting on the knuckle.

If your anchor points are correct, your fingers should fall naturally curved, and rest the pads directly on the key cups. You don’t want your fingers to be flat or overhanging the keys in any way. You want them to be natural and comfortable with no tension, almost as though you’re holding a stress ball very lightly in your hand.

Your wrists should be straight and natural with no bends and no tension. If you’re bending, then you’re likely rolling your flute in or out, which will cause your tone to suffer along with your technique. Having proper wrist and hand position lends itself to proper whole body position which means you’ll have better tone and technique.

Warm- Up Exercises

Warming up is extremely important to make sure you’re playing at your best and learning at your peak. Scales and arpeggio exercises that you’re familiar with, including chromatic scale exercises are a great way to begin your practice time. I also like to begin warming up with memorized excerpts, like the Bach Badinerie, because I’m familiar with them and can play through it while listening to my tone and my fingers, making necessary adjustments as I’m getting warm and ready to play.

Remember that warm-ups are not just about your fingers, but also about your tone. Long tones will help stabilize and ground your brain, allow you to hear yourself critically, and warm up your fingers (slowly). I like to start my warm-ups with long tones, then scales, then excerpts and familiar pieces.

Fingers Strength, Flexibility, and Dexterity

Finger strength and flexibility are key to great technique. There are exercises that you can do to strengthen individual fingers or hands as a whole. I would recommend Moyse’s Scales and Arpeggios, Trevor Wye’s Technique book, and Taffanel and Gaubert’s 17 Daily Exercises to build strength and flexibility not just in individual digits, but in the whole hand.

Building this strength for 20 or so minutes per day (or per practice session) is a great way to quickly build your finger chops as a flutist. It’s extremely important that you’re working on these types of exercises regularly so that not only can you move quickly, but also play runs evenly and beautifully. There’s nothing worse than playing 16th-note runs choppily. Practicing these types of exercises will lead to smooth and beautiful flute playing.

Practicing trills in 16th and 32nd note patterns can help build individual finger strength, especially when it comes to the ring fingers, which tend to be really weak for most of us. Remember, as you get older, finger strength will continue to decline, so be sure you’re practicing these things regularly.

Advanced Techniques

There are many advanced technique options that you can look into once you’re ready, including Trevor Wye’s Practice Book 6, Advanced Technique and Moyse’s Technical Mastery for the Virtuoso Flutist. You can also begin looking into other advanced and modern techniques such as whistle tones, multiphonics, and more with composers like Robert Dick and others.

It’s also important to remember that having a rotating etude practice, especially in the advanced stages, will help you build technique and keep your strength up. As you continue to advance, if you aren’t still working on these chops, like any other strength or exercise, the muscles will atrophy, so it’s important to have a technique practice continuing, even when you feel like you may not need it.

You can also continue your technique with different types of scales and chord arpeggios (like 7th chords, whole tones, or jazz scales), running chromatic scale exercises in different configurations and rhythms, and working on perfecting trills and tremolos.

Troubleshooting Common Finger Challenges

Finger technique issues often are a direct result of tension and incorrect hand position. Keeping your fingers curved, your wrists in the correct position, and your mind on easing the tension in your fingers and hands, you can continue to build faster technique. Doing body-scans during practice, practicing fast chromatic scales while actively releasing tension, and practicing technical exercises daily can help you overcome most, if not all, of the challenges you face, including flubby and sloppy fingers, slow fingers, and high-flying fingers.

Remember that the ring fingers tend to be the most troublesome, so spend some time focusing on clean technique there and don’t be discouraged if you find it hard to get that finger in-sync with other stronger fingers. Keep working on those fingers slowly and deliberately.

The Role of Slow Practice

Slow, deliberate practice will change the game for your finger technique. Practicing slow and increasing the tempo over time will make sure that you’re playing it correctly and not teaching yourself bad habits. You can practice your scales, repertoire, AND your technique exercises at the fastest tempo you can play them perfectly, then slowly nudge the tempo up over time. This is hard for most students, especially the young ones because they want to play fast right away, but slow practice is how you get fast playing. Practicing slow will help you refine your finger technique and leads to faster and more accurate playing in the long run.

Recording and Self-Assessment

Recording yourself can be a great tool for overcoming issues in your playing, particularly when it comes to technique. There are so many times when I’ve thought I was playing a run perfectly even, only to record myself and think “Wow, I was way off!” - it’s easier to hear yourself from an outside perspective than it is when you’re actively playing. Even just recording your technical finger exercises can be a big help - and the best news is that you don’t even have to share them with anyone, I promise!

So, grab your phone, hit record, and see what you see. It’s helpful to have a pencil handy and take some notes while you’re at it, this way you can incorporate those notes into several practice sessions to come.

Conclusion

Consider your technique practice like practicing gymnastics. You’re building large and small muscles and exercising to be a better musician. You’re becoming nimble, dexterous, and learning to trust yourself all in the process. It’s incredibly helpful and the rewards are worth the time spent. Your flute playing will flourish if you spend time and dedicated work on finger technique.

Check out my Flute Resources to find more technique books to build your finger technique.

I would encourage you to try all of these exercises, rotating through them as you find you’re improving, and implementing finger technique into your daily routine.

If you’re looking for a flute teacher that encourages growth across all areas of your flute playing, check out my online lesson options or send me a message!