Singing While Playing Ex. 1
George Crumb, Vox Balanae (opening)
The technique of singing and playing the flute
simultaneously was pioneered by jazz musicians and developed by
composers seeking not only new sounds for the instrument, but ways
to utilize the flute as a polyphonic instrument. It is produced by
forming a normal flute embouchure and literally singing through it.
Several possibilities exist for singing and playing simultaneously:
singing pitches different from flute notes; singing pitches in
unison with fingered notes; or singing in octaves with the sounding
flute pitches. The latter two are most effective because the
resonance of the tube is enhanced by the frequency of the vibrating
vocal cords.
The example is one of the most famous in
contemporary music: the opening of George Crumb's Vox Balanae.
Although Crumb specifies the passage to be sung an octave below the
written flute line, it may be performed in unison to accommodate
female performers. The excerpt also features the technique of
covering the embouchure hole completely and singing through the
flute while fingering specific pitches (notated in the top
line).
Singing While Playing Ex. 2
Ofer Ben-Amots, Avis Urbanus (p.2 staff
3)
The technique of singing and playing the flute
simultaneously was pioneered by jazz musicians and developed by
composers seeking not only new sounds for the instrument, but ways
to utilize the flute as a polyphonic instrument. It is produced by
forming a normal flute embouchure and literally singing through it.
Several possibilities exist for singing and playing simultaneously:
singing pitches different from flute notes; singing pitches in
unison with fingered notes; or singing in octaves with the sounding
flute pitches. The latter two are most effective because the
resonance of the tube is enhanced by the frequency of the vibrating
vocal cords.
This example, from Ofer Ben-Amots’ Avis
Urbanus, contains a unique use of singing and playing. The flutist
sustains a single note, while singing the highest pitch possible
for the voice and bending the pitch downward. Because of an
acoustical phenomenon known as "resultant tones," the listener
hears two simultaneous glissandi, one upward, and the other
downward. Ben-Amots’ notation clearly reflects the resultant
sound.
Multiphonics
Edward Taylor, Voices in the Night (VIII, mm.
19-24)
Another technique for creating polyphony on a
flute is through use of multiphonics, two or more notes sounded
simultaneously. These require the flutist to possess extremely
precise control of the embouchure and airstream, as well as the
memorization of nonstandard fingerings. Further limitations exist:
not all combinations of notes are possible, some work only at
specific dynamic levels, and the ease of production can vary
greatly from instrument to instrument. Composers should first
consult one of the sources listed in the bibliography, and then
work with a performer, before employing multiphonics into a work.
Also, performers find it extremely helpful if composers specify the
fingerings to be used. This passage from Edward Taylor's Voices in
the Night illustrates an effective use of multiphonics.
Artificial Polyphony
James Romig, Sonnet 2 (m. 21-4)
Another device composers use to create
polyphony is based on an aural illusion. In James Romig's Sonnet 2,
the following performance note appears in the score: "To create the
illusion of sustained sound in the lower voice, the staccato note
in the upper voice is to be played as quickly as possible before
returning to the lower note." If the performer is successful in
creating continuity in the two separate lines, the resultant effect
is like a flute duet. The technique works best in reverberant
acoustical spaces.