WHY DO FLUTE PLAYERS USE AMPLIFICATION?

AN ARTICLE ABOUT FLUTES & MICROPHONES

by Alan Aungles
Appeared in June 2001 issue

One of the best features of using a microphone is that you don’t have to blow any harder
to be heard in a large venue or location with poor acoustics. Many large concert halls
often have microphones hanging from the ceiling to boost low volume instruments like
the flute. If your sound is being amplified already, then it is better to take control of that
process and reproduce the sound which you want to hear. The purpose of this article is
to encourage flute players to join with loud instruments like trumpets, saxophones and
electric keyboards and be heard at the same volume.
The flute is a beautiful instrument which can be heard in jazz bands, folk groups, rock
music, church bands, world music bands, orchestras and in many other formats. It is a
very flexible instrument that lacks volume. Amplifying the flute is the answer and this
is your chance to find out how to do it. It is easy to do if you follow a few basic steps.
The biggest problem for a flautist is the variety of sound equipment that can be used.
This article will take the mystery out of amplifying flutes and takes you through the
various steps involved. It provides tips on the best way of reproducing a beautiful well-
balanced tone.

Flute players terminology:

For non flute players or beginner players the following terms will help.
1. The barrel is where the headjoint goes into the body of the flute and where most
makers engrave the name of the flute.
2. The crown is the cap on the end of the headjoint. It has a thread which screws onto
the headjoint tube. It looks like a small metal spinning top. Inside the headjoint is the
cork bung called the headcork.
3. The lip plate is where you blow across the hole in the headjoint to produce a sound.
4. The word embouchure (pronounced om-boo-sher) is used to describe the way players
purse their lips together to blow into the flute. It comes from the French word ‘bouch’,
which means mouth.

There are four main advantages to using a microphone:

1. You can produce a normal sound without having to force the tone to be heard.
2. Because you don’t have to force the tone to be heard, you can play for a much longer
time without feeling totally exhausted and dehydrated. You also don’t have to struggle
with the intonation problems caused when forcing the tone.
3. You can choose a wider variety of pieces with varying dynamics without having to
worry about problems of low volume and not being heard in the bottom register.
4. It puts you on a level playing field with instruments of substantially greater volume
such as saxophone, brass, keyboard, percussion and modern electronic instruments.
How professional flute players amplify their instruments:
Many jazz players such as Don Burrows say they prefer to use a stand based
microphone as they can work the microphone. In other words they use the fading effect
caused by moving away from the microphone to their advantage. Of course the good
jazz and rock players have excellent equipment like AKG, Neumann and Sennheiser
brand microphones. Often classical players don’t like having microphones anywhere
near their flute because they believe a microphone too close produces unwanted key
noise, which to some extent is true, especially if your flute is in desperate need of
servicing. It’s a bit like the dentist syndrome. Some people don’t go to the dentist until
something is wrong with their teeth. Most flute players don’t visit a repairer till there is
something wrong with their flute.
I’ve have worked with some classical flute players who won’t let a microphone come
within 10 metres of their flute. On the other hand many jazz players like having the
microphone right in front of their embouchure. They like to include these fluffy and
fuzzy effects produced at the lip plate to give the playing an edge, which is very
acceptable and even encouraged by jazz musicians. Ian Anderson (the flute player from
the rock group Jethro Tull) has his microphone just about touching the left side of his
lip. Geoffrey Collins (Adelaide Symphony Orchestra principal flute and freelance
player) attaches a high quality wireless vocal lapel (tie pin) microphone to the barrel of
his flute to reduce the possibility of key noise. He suggests that mounting it away from
the embouchure is less problematic. He also keeps the microphone off the wall of the
instrument so as not to impede the natural resonance of the flute. Jane Rutter uses a clip
on microphone attached to her clothes and placed around the position of the heart, just
left of centre and between the shoulder and chest. Robert Dick (the New York author of
The Other Flute) prefers a headset microphone which enables him to switch quickly
between alto, bass and normal flute. He is a legend when it comes to contemporary
techniques. His knowledge of alternate fingerings is mind boggling. His contemporary
music concerts often feature amplified flutes producing many unique sound effects.
It is interesting to note that the classical guitarist John Williams often uses
amplification at his concerts even when the acoustics are naturally good. The classical
guitar, like the flute, suffers from a lack of projection and it is encouraging to see
probably the very best classical guitarist in the world using gentle amplification. Of
course there is a big difference between these styles of using microphones but the most
important point for any flautist to be aware of is the equipment they are plugging into. I
spend 20 to 30 minutes getting the sound reproduction right when I use different
amplification equipment even though I always use the same microphone and generally
similar style equipment.

Five ways to amplify your flute:

The five alternatives that I am aware of for amplifying a flute at present are:
1. Using a microphone mounted onto a heavy floor based stand with a boom arm. The
microphone cable then goes into a professional mixing desk and is amplified. This is
mostly used by professional jazz and classical flautists for commercial recordings and
live performances.
2. Replacement headcork units, such as the Barcus Berry, which require the existing
headcork of your flute to be permanently replaced with a headcork that contains the
transducer (microphone).
3. Microphones mounted on the tube of the flute by a variable clamp, such as SDS (SD
Systems are makers of the popular Sax Microphone) and AMT (Applied Microphone
Technologies) style flute microphones. The low cost alternative is using blue tack to
attach a tie pin microphone.
4. Headset units. These consist of a headphone style band worn over the head with a
condenser microphone mounted on the end of a gooseneck (flexible arm).
5. Microphones mounted on the thread of the headjoint crown with a flexible arm, such
as the Aungles Flute Microphone.
Most of these microphones can be used with wireless transmitter radio systems but this
adds a minimum of approximately $500 upwards to the price and that is the bottom end
of the single channel wireless receiver/transmitter market. Wireless radio microphones
work on the same technology as mobile phones. All of the five alternatives have good
and not so good features. None of the five methods by themselves are the perfect
solution to a flute sound totally free from key noise. Obviously for a
restaurant/busking/outdoor situation a low cost option like the headjoint mounted
microphone or a low cost headset is appropriate and will provide you with a more than
satisfactory result. For large concert halls and serious professional performances a stand
based microphone of top quality will be required. For jazz and energetic rock music
performances a wireless radio microphone system is a must.

A few tips for amplifying you flute:

1. When choosing a microphone spend lots of time trying it out before you buy it. Take
it away (if you can) and try it with your sound system.
2. Spend time getting to know the amplification equipment you are using. Keep a
written record of the levels at which you normally operate your sound system. This
makes it quicker the next time you set up the equipment.
3. Always try the complete set up (microphone, equalisers, amplifiers, speakers, etc.) in
the location you are about to play in. The sound will always be different for every
performance venue even if you always use the same equipment.
4. If you have the luxury of a sound engineer be polite and persistent. Many don’t
appreciate the idiosyncrasies of the flute so they need to be educated in a positive way.
In other words don’t go and tell them you hate the awful noise coming out of the
speakers but calmly explain the flute is piercing up high and fluffy down low.
5. Always get a musical friend to check the sound quality and balance all around the
performance area and not just in one spot. Don’t rely on your own assessment of the
sound as this is often very misleading.
6. Check the balance of the sound in all registers and both legato (slurred) and staccato
(short) playing.
7. Be careful to store your microphone cable/s coiled and never kink or fold or bend
them. They do not take kindly to having equipment rolled over them when they are on
the ground. No microphone cable, no matter how thick, will last if ill treated.
8. Using a graphic equaliser helps to clean up the flute’s inherent problems of limited
projection down low and too much projection up high. All professional sound desks
have them. A microphone is essential for jazz playing on alto or bass flute due to the
very low volume of the overall sound. It is such a rich and beautiful sound it is a waste
not to hear it.
9. If you use a good quality microphone then you are more likely to have complications
with key noise unless you have some suppression device to counteract the frequency at
which key noise is emitted. Therefore choosing a microphone is a bit of a juggling act.
You want a good reproduction of your sound but you don’t want to exaggerate key
noise and unwanted articulation and breathing noises. A wind sock on the microphone
will eliminate a lot of the breathiness but when recording you can never totally
eliminate breathing noises picked up by sensitive microphones.
10. If you want to get rid of the surges in sound that occur due to the flute’s uneven
volume use a compression device to eliminate the spikes. Compression devices are
used all the time in the recording industry. If you have ever wondered why the
advertisements on the TV are always louder than the TV programmes you watch, it is
because the sound track to most TV advertisements are run through a compressor so the
volume output is more constant and intense.
11. An octave doubler is a great way of filling out the sound. It is usually worked by a
foot pedal switch.
12. Digital delay is another effect that is often used to enhance the sound. It adds
warmth and softness to the sound by adding an echo effect. The amount of delay can be
varied.
13. Reverberation is a similar effect to digital delay. It is often found on portable
mixers and amplifiers. It is simply called reverb. It adds the echo type effect but is
usually fixed and unable to be varied like digital delay. However, some systems have
several reverb. types such as large concert hall, vocal, and or small hall.
Finally, once you have got your set up right turn up the volume and enjoy playing with
a trumpet, saxophone or electric keyboard and being able to compete on the same
dynamic level – it’s a great feeling. The only downer is that back in your practice room
the next day your sound feels pathetic.

Simple guide to the technical talk and hype for players thinking about using a flute
microphone for the first time:
There are four commonly used terms used to describe a microphone. There are two
basic styles of microphone.
1. Condenser microphones which require a power supply usually provided by a small
battery (watch battery, AAA, or AA size). Often these microphones are physically
smaller in size, such as the tie pin/lapel style microphones and pencil shaped
microphones.
2. Dynamic microphones which don’t require a power source. These are often the
larger hand held type such as vocal microphones. Once again price is the deciding
factor. The more you pay generally the better the microphone and the more reliable the
sound reproduction. The next two terms are used to describe both condenser and
dynamic types of microphone.
3. Balanced outputs usually have a three pin metal plug on the end. They are referred to
as Canon or XLR connectors. They are found on the more expensive brand
microphones and contain three leads inside the cable.
4. Unbalanced outputs are usually found with a single plug. They are referred to as
PMG, 1/4 inch, or 6.5 mm tip and sleeve connectors. This plug is the same type found
on hifi headphones which you plug into the headphone jack of your home hifi system.
Most electric guitar and keyboard amplifiers use this style of connector. Because there
are only two leads inside the cable these microphones are more susceptible to
interference from other electrical sources.

The Aungles Flute Microphone:

I have often been asked how I began making flute microphones. My interest started
when I worked for a radio station recording live classical music concerts and producing
radio programmes in 1980. I set about trying different types of microphones which
could be mounted on a flute. Miniature microphones soon became the obvious choice.
Finding a way of mounting them took much longer.
The genesis of the idea came about because I got tired of packing up crate loads of
cables and microphones after each performance. Many of the existing flute microphone
mounting systems at that time created scratches on the instrument. So I looked for an
alternative way and came up with fitting the wooden crown on the headcork thread. I
wanted to use it with any flute so the wooden crown was designed to fit a piccolo, flute,
alto or bass flute. The bendable arm was mounted in the wooden crown and then
supported the miniature microphone.
When I starting using the prototype it generated great interest from the onlookers and
requests from other flute players to make one for them. From that moment on I decided
to start manufacturing microphones for flutes. I decided right at the beginning to
provide flautists with an opportunity to amplify their flutes at a low cost and in a way
that does not damage their flute or require sophisticated mounting systems or a
background in electronics to operate. It appears many other flute players think the same
way. As a result the Aungles Flute Microphone is now sold all around Australia and
internationally.
However, I am still searching for the perfect method to amplify flutes. My aim is to
invent a flute microphone with no cables containing a transmitter that can be hidden
inside the headjoint between the crown and the headcork. Perhaps it might even include
a mini video camera for live performers. Given the developments in miniaturisation of
electronic components maybe that day is not too far away. Video camera technology
has come a long way in 10 years as witnessed by the cat eye video cameras used for
sporting events like the stump cam. in cricket and lip stick cameras for motor racing
mounted in the kerb. I believe the more you know about how to amplify a flute the
better your sound will be. Knowledge is about the sharing of ideas for the greater good
of flute players worldwide.

Alan Aungles has been a flute teacher for over 20 years. He has played with the
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, was Principal Flute of the State Opera Orchestra of
South Australia and has worked for the South Australian Education Department
Instrumental Music Service for 15 years. He was appointed in 1997 as Lecturer in
Flute at the Northern Territory University. He has been making microphones for flutes
since 1990.