Baroque Flute Third Register: Why It's Hard and How to Master It

Above: Trevor Wye’s “Complete Daily Exercises for the Flute”​

Back to basics! Third register is quite a stinger on the baroque flute, because it doesn’t come as smoothly and easily as on the modern flute. You may easily drop the octave on a C-sharp, or any of those notes above E are going to feel harsh and hard on the lips. Your lips may tighten, they can tremble or buzz, and don’t feel embarrassed if you’re “spitting“ a lot on these higher notes too.

My advice? KEEP GOING. You need to develop the muscle strength and memory to internalize these notes, just like a singer. Besides that, it can help to use very little tongue surface to tongue, and keeping the inside of your mouth tall and open. Keep your nose open like you’re smelling roses. The goal is to get to a place where you have strength for creating and sustaining the necessary airstream and embouchure shape, but not needing to force. It's a bit like being able to hold on and hang yourself from a bar but not tensing up the entire body at the same time.

Pattern exercises like the one shown above are helpful for such purposes, it's not any different than training for a sports activity. Consistency will help develop strength and muscle memory, and that internalization will ultimately help us free up the body so that we can use the minimum to achieve the maximum.