Harmonics

George Crumb, Vox Balanae (Sea Nocturne, p. 14, top)

Harmonics are produced on the flute in a similar way as on brass instruments: by fingering one note and manipulating the embouchure to produce higher pitches corresponding to the harmonic series. These alternate fingerings affect both the tone color and the pitch of the written note. Composers exploit flute harmonics in a variety of ways. One particularly beautiful passage is the "Sea Nocturne" variation in George Crumb's Vox Balanae, or Voice of the Whale. Here, several harmonics are alternated with regular fingerings in rapid succession to create a "shimmering" effect. Crumb uses the standard notation of a small circle above the note head, and indicates the fingered notes in parentheses.