Vocal or Not
    Flutists traditionally have played using a vocal approach. A round vowel is built into the instrument, higher notes are louder and lower softer. Much has changed over the years, but still most of the music is undoubtedly intended to sound vocal to some degree. Additionally most music, old and new, generally follows these characteristics in terms of energy: climaxes usually happen at high points, and lower pitches often contain the least musical drama. In terms of phrase shaping, as a general rule, there should be more emphasis at the higher part of the phrase. For example, in the opening of J.S. Bach’s Sonata in E Major, emphasis at the top of the musical line occurs naturally.

    As certain types of music gradually became liberated from the church and contained more references to personal human drama, so too did instrumental practice become free of the constraints of vocal imitation. Instrument engineering followed suit. Theobald Boehm’s (1794-1881) modifications furthered the flute’s ability to expand the dynamic range. Flutists such as Charles Nicholson (1795-1837) became known for their tonal capabilities in the louder dynamics. Repertoire and studies for the flute became more technically and tonally challenging. Danish flutist and composer Joachim Andersen (1847-1909) wrote etudes for daily use in which a descending crescendo involving wide leaps is standard practice, as in his Etudes, Op.33, No. 24.

Voicing
    In Andre Maquarre’s popular Daily Exercises for the Flute (1923) the first general rule in the book insists that one must imitate the natural dynamic tendencies of the human voice. Somewhat to the contrary, the concept behind Marcel Moyse’s De La Sonorite is uniformity of tone throughout the instrument, which implies the idea that the lower register of the instrument should be stronger. Change between the low and high registers should be seamless. The book includes specific studies for strengthening the tone of the low notes, encouraging equality between the low and high notes.
    Trevor Wye Practice Book for Flute Volume 1, Tone, expands this notion further: the tone in the high notes is generated from the low register. He states: “Assuming that you wish to start by putting the roots of your future tone work firmly in the ground, practice the low register.” And, “let it be understood that unless the low register tone contains overtones or some richness and colour, the middle and high registers will be the more difficult.” This forms the basis for his entire series, extending to phrasing and intonation.
    Thus, the idea is that the higher notes should be based on the strength of the fundamental first octave. By building the tone from the bottom up, one evens out the dynamics and tone of the instrument. This has real implications on interpretation and execution.  For a good legato, notes should be balanced, or matched, as well as connected. The higher notes will not awkwardly stick out if the low notes are strong enough. Use of this concept can be called voicing, similar to the way a pianist will decide which chord tones to play louder.
    In Mozart’s Concerto in G Major, voicing can be used to enhance the characterization of the phrase in this ascending passage.

    Start the upward scale in thirds at forte as if to answer the orchestra’s gruff preceding statement, then reduce the dynamic at the top of the scale to complement the buoyant, light character of the next bar.
    Composers of all periods do often require that rising figuration be played with a crescendo, as in Ibert’s Concerto, third movement. Here the crescendo and diminuendo are an integral part of the music, and should even be exaggerated. However, the primary melody of this section beginning at 52 is another story.

Think about balancing registers between the higher, longer note of the melody and the interspersed moving notes. Lean in to the triplets, even though they are much lower. They carry the momentum forward to the next long note. The last note of the triplet can be strong, and the higher long note emerges gently as a result. Remember that longer notes naturally sound louder than shorter notes.

    The opening theme of Reinecke’s “Undine” Sonata represents another example in which higher and lower notes must be balanced.

    Voicing can affect the mysterious, dreamy atmosphere of the music. Fill out the lower notes, and de-emphasize the higher notes to achieve a poetic legato. Also, keep full dynamic and rhythmic value to the eighth notes or you will sound like you are bumbling about from quarter note to quarter note.
    Flowing water is then depicted in fast scales for the piano. As the exposition closes, the flute takes up the idea, like water swiftly flowing into the distance.

    Note that Reinecke purposely omits crescendo and diminuendo. The lower notes in the scale should be a bit louder, (especially right before the final ascending scale), and the top notes softer, making the scales sound placid.
    Exercise No. 4 from Daily Exercises for Flute by Taffanel-Gaubert is a perfect vehicle for making this ascending scalar diminuendo a normal part of your playing vocabulary. Mr. Maquarre might be turning in his grave, but persist.

    Immediately in the development section of the first movement, Reinecke presents a tough problem. Melodies which integrate intervals ascending to difficult notes like high E and F# contain particular challenges because these notes are often shrill and stand out.

    Feed the B natural preceding the top F# plenty of air. When this note is louder, then the F# presents itself without screeching like a barn owl. It also helps to finger the F# with right-hand 2 instead of the standard fingering with right-hand 3.
    Then Reinecke uses the natural tendencies of the instrument to create the effect of water cascading downward by starting the phrase in the high notes. Still, try to combat the tendency of the high G# to stick out awkwardly by voicing it.

    In the opening phrases of Lowell Liebermann’s Sonata for Flute and Piano, first movement, mm. 13-17, there should be a very pronounced dynamic difference between the high and low registers in order for the top notes to fit in the line. Like the scale passage in the Reinecke example above, this melody is another example of the non-crescendo.

    Here, the composer omits the crescendo from a passage where one would be expected or assumed. When you notice this, actually make a diminuendo up to the top notes. Do not sacrifice legato.
    All intervals, even small ones, can benefit from voicing and should be considered in context, but octaves always deserve attention. Most of the time, the top note of the octave should not be louder than the preceding note, especially in this passage from Enesco’s Cantabile et Presto where the addition of the octave is an ornament of the melody.

    This is not always the case. In the following solo from Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration, connect the octave seamlessly, but do not back away dynamically from the top of the octave; both notes should lead to the downbeat.

Loosen Down
    The basic skill of a descending crescendo should be firmly in place to achieve success with voicing. Interestingly, Trevor Wye actually indicates the crescendo in his version of Moyse’s famous chromatic study.

    The ascending diminuendo is important as well, but if one cannot expand the low notes, the foundation of the tone is shaky. De La Sonorite also contains an advanced exercise which allows for work on equalizing volume in different octaves and working for tonal uniformity in intervals.
     Attention to continuous blowing between the notes is important, especially when connecting notes into the low register, where the air column must travel slower. Relax the embouchure for flexibility.

    With modern flutes, playing loudly in the low register has become commonplace, perhaps to a fault, and sometimes at the expense of tonal beauty throughout the instrument. With a greater range of choices about instrumental characteristics comes greater responsibility. Awareness of tonal characteristics, especially regarding voicing and balance, is more important than ever for the flute artist.  

The post Voicing for Expression appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    I first heard the Slippery Rock University Flute Choir perform Irish tunes at the 2006 NFA convention in Pittsburgh. They also perform this music each year at their spring flute choir concert. Their performances are filled with enthusiasm and energy and also serve to stretch their musical skills and creativity. 
    Stacey Steele, director of the Slippery Rock University Flute Choir and assistant professor of music at the school shares how she guides the students to perform in a style that seems so different from the traditional flute choir music that comprises the rest of the program. 

What led you to bring Irish flute into your flute choir curriculum?
    Several years ago, I heard a group of high school students from Ohio perform a concert of Irish tunes at the Campbell Pottery Shop near Edinboro, Pennsylvania. They were mostly string players, but a few other students were included, such as an oboist. Each student in the group was also a member of their high school orchestra, playing traditional literature. It was the best of both worlds for these students. They maintained a busy schedule playing gigs and were clearly very disciplined, all the while having a great time with their friends. Musically and artistically, they were impressive. The flawless hour-long program was in two sets, and every note they played was memorized.
    My sister-in-law is from Dublin, and my initial interest in this type of music perhaps came from her stories of her small family home or the homes of friends often being filled with traditional music (sometimes called Trad) as entertainment, sometimes including traditional dances up and down their narrow hallway. Her son, my nephew, John Fetter, who is on the faculty at Eastman, wrote his dissertation on alternative styles in music education including identity development and curriculum design. I became fascinated with the concept of engaging students by enlarging the scope of traditional American music education.

Where did you find the tunes to use with your flute choir?
    After hearing that high school group perform, I wanted to venture into this realm of music with my flute choir. I spoke to the director of the high school group and asked where he found the tunes they played. He explained that there were no arrangements for what he did, and there was also no specific source. He found the tunes from a myriad of places and went from there to arrange them for his own ensemble. I began buying books from reputable sources, including a few Irish sites online and just dove in. I played through dozens of tunes and chose three that with easy key transitions and varied tempos to introduce the music to our flute choir. Over the years I have discovered many resources, some that I have bought in Ireland, and others that are readily available here, such as O’Neill’s Music of Ireland arranged by James O’Neill.

How do you use to teach the tunes to your students?
    The best and only authentic way to learn an Irish tune is to play it by ear. I have witnessed young children sitting in a pub next to their older relatives, picking up the tunes little by little until they have learned them. That is the tradition. Sometimes they learn the tunes phrase by phrase, as I play each section and they echo it back. That method feels uncomfortable to students who prefer learning from the printed page, but it is a valuable skill for them to develop. Other times I do give them printed music, and they memorize it on their own. Memorization, however, is always  mandatory.

What do your students think about learning Irish flute techniques?
    It has become a tradition to include Irish tunes on the spring concert, but I only want those students who are eager to try it to take part. Usually, that is everyone, but sometimes it is not. I let that be. The students in the flute choir all have differing abilities on flute, including some who are not music majors. This music also works well for students at all different playing levels. In Ireland, as I mentioned before, a seven-year-old might play along with older relatives and neighbors. Every-one can participate. 

What part does improvisation play? 
    The entire flute choir plays the basic tune, and any student who wants to try to improvise may do so. It has been my experience that only those who know they are capable of succeeding offer to take an improvised solo. Some of the ways in which improvisation may be added to a tune are simple and quite similar to Baroque ornamentation. The students are free to use it as much or as little as they choose.
    If a student is interested in playing a solo, I work with them on a few simply ways in which to ornament the tune. There are many books that serve as an easy guide to teaching traditional ornamentation, such as The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle by Grey Larsen and The Complete Irish Flute Book by Mizzy McCaskill and Donna Gilliam. However, folk music in its truest form is an aural tradition learned when you are young. For adults who learn to ornament a tune by reading about it in a book, it can seem quite difficult. A few years ago, I had a student whose family played Irish music, so it was already in her ear and improvisation was second nature to her.
    During a sabbatical in July 2007, soon after I began using Irish music with my flute choir, I attended the Willy Clancy Irish Music School on the west coast of Ireland. I signed up to take a class on penny whistle instead of Irish flute. When I arrived they asked me how many tunes I knew, and when I answered three, I was put in a class with a group of nine-year-olds despite my many years as a professional musician. Luckily, the teacher was happy to answer my many questions, and I learned many new tunes and the process of adding ornamentation.

What percussion instruments do use with the Irish flute music?
    The only percussion instrument we use is the Irish bodhran. I have also used bass, mandolin, violin and guitar. I supply the bodhran and am always able to find a percussion student eager to learn how to play it. It is usually not an instrument they have had prior experience with.

What skills should flutists have before working on Irish flute choir music?
    At the college level, all they need is enthusiasm and desire. The music is never too difficult for them if they are willing to spend the time memorizing it. In 2006, I was the director for the NFA High School Flute Choir, and we used a medley of Irish tunes for their performance. They came to the first rehearsal with the music memorized, and I supplied the accompanying instruments with students from my university.

How can directors incorporate Irish flute into their programs?
    I have found that it works best for us to choose a medley of three tunes in a variety of tempos that are in the same key. Typically, they are written in AABB form. Play each tune in unison as many times through as you would like before going on to the next one. End each tune by holding the last note followed by an eight-measure intro by the rhythm section, which serves to set up the tempo of the new tune. After experimenting with a variety of possibilities, let the students know, or have them decide, what you are going to do on the concert, such as repeating the entire tune three times on each tune.
    Being classically trained, it took me a long time to accept that there is no right way to determine how to play this music. I usually decide how many times we will play a tune based on how many students wanted to solo, and how many minutes I have for it in the program. If you have only one student who wants to play a solo on a particular tune, assign them an AABB section to play alone with the rhythm section. The entire group will come back in when the solo section is finished. If more than one student wants to solo on the same tune, just keep playing and adding more AABB sections, so they each get a turn.
    When I first started using Irish music in my flute choir concerts, I was worried about doing something wrong. I kept asking questions of those whom I thought might know the rules. The response was usually just a confused look. Other than knowing what the style of the tune is – an air, a jig, etc., and interpreting it accordingly, just have fun and explore.    

The post Using Irish Flute Techniques in Traditional Flute Choirs appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Re-Teaching Rhythm
    If a student who is having rhythm issues is older, it may be best to reteach finding the pulse in music and music notation. To help students find the pulse, ask them to walk or move to a CD playing various musical styles.  Begin with folk and nursery songs before advancing to works that have a less obvious pulse. Teachers who play piano can play passages and speed up or slow the pulse.
    While playing on the headjoint is usually a pedagogical tool for teaching beginners, it is equally valuable for older players. I regularly practice slurring octaves on the headjoint to develop embouchure flexibility. For students with rhythmic problems, practicing on the headjoint eliminates issues of balancing the instrument and fingering the notes so students can concentrate solely on the rhythm.

Echo
    In 4/4 meter I play one measure using only whole, half, and quarter notes. I play a rhythm and then have students echo what they hear back to me. If this goes well, we exchange places and the students create a rhythm using these note values that I echo back. As students become more adept at this, I alternate playing several notes in a different register as a beginning exercise to develop the ear. I start every lesson with this exercise for several months, and gradually add to the complexity of the rhythm. My goal is for students to understand the rhythm aurally before being presented with the task of reading the rhythm.

Teaching a Code
    The first step in teaching notation to younger students is to relate the rhythmic proportions of music to something they already understand – money. A roll of quarters is a good teaching aid. Tell them that one quarter is a quarter note. Two stacked quarters is a half-note. Three stacked quarters is a dotted half-note. Four stacked quarters is a whole note. Explain that music is organized by meter such as 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4. Create one measure in 4/4 meter visually for students with quarter notes by positioning four quarters in a row on a table. Touch each quarter from left to right as the student plays a note on the headjoint in time with your pointing. Repeat several times.
    Then in ping pong style (alternating back and forth between teacher and student) play the measure several more times. Explain that this rhythmic example is one bar or measure in 4/4 meter.
    Create another measure (stack two quarters for a half-note for the rhythm half, quarter, quarter ) and repeat the process of pointing to the money while the student plays and then practice the measure ping ponging. Next explore the rhythms of quarter, quarter, half; quarter, half, quarter; half, half; and whole.
    At this point switch have the student create a 4/4 measure for you to play. As students develop an understanding of this concept, lengthen the examples to include two, four, and eight measures. Place a tooth pick between the quarters to represent a bar line. You could use a small stack of Legos or other items to symbolize quarter, half, and whole rests. Sometime I play the measure incorrectly to see if a student is listening carefully.  

Other Ideas
    When I was a student at Eastman, the theory curriculum included part-writing, aural skills and keyboard harmony class. In aural skills we worked on dictation (all four parts, not just soprano and bass lines) and on sight-singing. The skills I learned from this class are ones I have used my entire musical life.
    For sight-singing, we were presented a melody that we had never seen before and did the following. The right hand conducted the beat pattern, while the left hand tapped the background (simple or compound time) on the desk. All this was done while singing the note name on the correct pitch and in the correct rhythm. It took practice and concentration to coordinate doing all these elements at once, but once I could do it, the quality of my sight-singing greatly improved.
    To this day, I use these elements when I am learning a new piece. If I can conduct the composition while singing and tapping the background, I am prepared for the rehearsal and concert. Even when I am preparing something that I have performed before (i.e. Dumbarton Oaks), I go through these steps again to hone my skills.
    At the time, I asked my teacher why we were being tortured – because it did feel like torture. He said the creator of this curriculum, Allen J. McHose, thought that the more body parts you get involved and organized, the better the understanding.
    So while working with the quarters, I also ask students to tap the pulse first which the right foot only (rocking on the heel from the ankle), then the left foot only, then both feet together, and finally alternating the left foot and the right foot. This alternation of foot tapping is sometimes called cello-style foot tapping.

Written Notation
    The blackboard in my studio has several painted staves. If you do not have a blackboard, staff paper will work as well. The next step is to equate the money (each quarter) with written symbols of the quarter, half, dotted half, and whole notes. After practicing reading the above rhythms written in standard notation and executing them accurately, a student is ready to proceed into a beginning method book or rhythmic studies book. When working with slightly more advanced students, I have them sing the passage while clapping the rhythm and then sing while clapping the rhythm on each leg. Another useful technique is to have students say “sh, sh, sh, etc.” to the rhythm. This is especially beneficial for wind players because it brings wind coordination into the mix.

Lack of Rhythmic Pulse
    Some students intellectually understand rhythmic notation, yet have difficulties executing certain rhythmic passages well. When patting their foot, they often play the and note before the foot is in the up position and then play the next down too soon. Wind players who have a headjoint or mouthpiece are unable to count aloud and as a result come to believe that feeling the pulse is counting. I have had great success with the voice feature on some metronomes that counts the beat numbers out loud. I personally use this feature when learning new works especially ones that have many meter changes. I encourage students to work with the this feature as it adds a spoken input into their counting.
    Some students seem to lack the ability to sense a steady rhythmic pulse. One theory is that they may have spent too much time the first year of their lives in an infant seat rather than being carried next to the mother’s heart.  Whether this is true or not, the problem exists. The following exercises can help students feel a steady beat.

Pendulum Exercises
•    Rock in a rocking chair concentrating on how far forward and back each cycle is. Use the metronome clicking on the forward  or back position turning point.
•    Jump rope and swing the rope at varying tempos. The metronome can also be used with this exercise.
•    Roll a ball to a partner in time with a metronome. Early childhood researchers have said that a ball is the best toy for a child. In Montessori classes, I observed young children rolling a ball back in forth in time with the music. They soon discovered that the faster the music went, the closer they had to be to one another. Tennis players are instructed to bounce the ball a few times before they serve. A tennis teacher told me this was to get the rhythm of the ball in my head before I served.

Large Motor Skills
    Ballroom and tap dancing classes are beneficial for teaching people to coordinate large muscles with a beat.
 
Tick-Tock
    Replace a digital alarm clock with a wind-up ticker so the student hears the steady pulse of the clock while sleeping.    

Count Aloud
    Counting aloud, while doing repetitive motions such as climbing stairs or sweeping a walk or shoveling snow coordinates the mind with the muscles. For swimmers, suggest they try to count the time in between breaths.

Juggling
    A regular feature of my summer flute camps was to teach everyone to juggle. One student asked why we were doing this and I said, “Just wait, you will figure it out.” A few minutes later he responded, “Oh, this is about counting and waiting – just like in music.”

    In a perfect world, all students would be rhythmic. In the real world, teachers have to look for a variety of methods to develop this skill. Because everyone learns differently, it can take a great deal of creativity to find  methods that resonate with each student. Share ideas that have worked with your students (or yourself) on the Flute Talk .    

The post Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    With an unpredictable job market musicians and academics often have to adopt a certain degree of flexibility regarding job location and salary, especially for those with a spouse in a similar situation. Many apply for every teaching or performing job available which can lead to frequent relocation to new cities. Turn lemons into lemonade by learning how to quickly set up, market and recruit students for private studios in new locations across the country. I have moved to seven different cities over the past decade and have successfully taught privately in each location, instructing flute students young and old and building new and lasting relationships within the surrounding communities. It was not always easy but with a little time, a lot of communication and a bit of elbow grease I have transplanted my studio around the country.

Market Yourself
    The key to relocating a studio is to apply some practical entrepreneurial techniques and reach out to local teachers, students and parents. When I was graduate student in San Francisco, marketing myself was something that I took for granted and consequently my studio suffered. I focused on the insular life of the university and forgot to take advantage of the resources available in the large surrounding community. It was not until I moved to Walnut Creek, California that I began to make appropriate connections with other teachers, musicians, community bands, and parents. With this renewed effort, my studio regained its pre-graduate school popularity. Many people are uncomfortable marketing themselves, but it is an essential business skill. Start by looking critically at how you present yourself professionally to the outside world. It may help to ask a colleague for an impartial opinion.

Update Your Materials
    Once you learn that you are moving to a new location, update your CV. Include the names of groups with which you have performed, conference talks you have presented, awards you have received, and masterclasses you have attended or hosted. Update your website, or set one up if you have not yet done so. Make sure that studio policies, biography, sample recordings, testimonials and any other important links are accurate and easily found. This is part of your overall web presence, and the first place that new contacts will go when performing initial research on you.
    Upon moving to Davis, California, I immediately set up a website listing basic biographical information, links to online recordings, studio policies, teaching rates, location, and contact information. Having this information readily available on the internet made it easy for parents in the area to quickly research my qualifications and policies before scheduling lessons.
    I created links to my website on the Davis Music Teachers Association website and circulated my URL to a handful of local teachers. Later I added a number of new tabs containing copies of my CV, DMA paper abstract, performance schedule, conference presentations, and a flute blog. Hosting a flute blog has connected me with  musicians across the globe and gives parents and students a clear picture of my pedagogical methods and teaching style. I have received many emails of inquiry from parents and students who simply enjoyed my weekly blog and wanted to practice some of the exercises from blog postings in their own flute lessons.

Use Social Media
    Create a Twitter account, a LinkedIn account, a Facebook artist page and a YouTube account to further build your internet persona. If you are an academic or hold an advanced graduate degree, set up or update an Academia.edu account. Here you may upload articles you have published, conference paper abstracts, and any other creative projects developed during your graduate career. I receive many new contacts from these mediums and have found Twitter and LinkedIn to be particularly effective marketing resources for my weekly Flute Friday blog posts. The web has made it possible to research a great deal about an artist or a teacher long before you meet them in person. It is therefore crucial that your internet footprint accurately and professionally represent who you are as a teacher, researcher and musician to the outside world before you begin to advertise your services.

Old Fashioned Networking
    With your materials updated and a bit of razzle-dazzle applied to your online profile, the next step is some good, old fashioned networking. Email has replaced the standard cold call system of the past, and Google has made it relatively simple to compile a list of email contacts for band and orchestra directors in your future community. Create a simple email of introduction stating your educational background and studio location and request that your contact information be passed on to flute students searching for a private instructor.
    Attach a copy of your CV and a lesson flyer to be posted in common areas. I have used basic Microsoft Word templates to create one-page flyers throughout the years and have found that color flyers with interesting photos or graphics, as well as a decent headshot, are most effective. A flyer should contain information about where your studio is located, a short biography listing educational degrees, former applied teachers, any community performing groups with which you perform regularly, contact information and website links. I have experimented by listing lesson rates on the promotional flyer but find it best to keep the flyer simpler and list rates on my website where interested students can gather detailed information before inquiring about lessons. 
    In the email to the band teachers offer to host an after school woodwind sectional. Many of my students have signed up for lessons after having an opportunity to meet me in person and test drive my teaching style at a group masterclass or flute sectional. I have taught flute sectionals at local high schools for a number of years and find that word-of-mouth recommendations from these students to their friends spread like wildfire. The ensemble director is also a wonderful reference and will likely give your name to other students and directors if they notice a significant improvement in the quality of playing within their flute section. The recommendation of a school band or orchestra teacher can carry a lot of weight.
    Connect with the local flute community. These are by far your most important contacts when moving to a new city. Send introductory emails to local flute teachers letting them know that you will be relocating to the area and would love to collaborate with them on any performing or teaching projects. Find out if there is a flute club nearby and become a member. I have created numerous, lasting connections through the Sacramento and Houston Flute Clubs and have recruited several students using their organizational resources and recommendations from other flute club members. Many flute clubs circulate directories of teachers to educational and community organizations to aid students looking for private instructors. Flute clubs also offer valuable opportunities to perform in flute choirs or participate in masterclasses as performers, auditors or as volunteers. The Sacramento Flute Club, for example, hosts a flute choir of local teachers and sponsors masterclasses throughout the year.
    If a flute club has not been established, communicate via email with other local flute teachers on plans to create a new organization. The most valuable experiences I have had in recent years have come from the relationships I have developed with other flutists in local flute organizations. This is a critical networking step for your studio but also important to your development as a flutist.

Get on the List
    Many larger cities and suburbs host music teacher organizations that connect private instructors to potential students by advertising studio information on websites and distribution lists circulated at local instrument stores and music supply centers. Be sure to add your name to these organizations as they often reach out to students and parents. I received many new students after they saw my listing at a local music store while they were there selecting their first rental instrument.
    Research local music stores and circulate email introductions to store managers, again attaching your CV and lesson flyer. Ask whether they offer studio space to local teachers. Giving lessons at a local music store introduces you to the community and provides free advertisement and access to books and supplies for your students. The downside to teaching at a music store is that there will typically be a fee to use the space. Arrange meetings with music store managers to discuss studio rental fees, how often fees are paid, how much flexibility you will have regarding rates (some music stores set their own rates in advance), scheduling, available studio hours, what types of marketing they are able to provide (internet postings, store newsletters, direct referrals), and to which audiences they will advertise (customers, schools, etc.). It may be beneficial to begin your practice in a music store to easily recruit a greater number of younger, beginning students before moving to a home studio location once you are more established as a teacher and performer within the community. Another option is to split your time between a home studio and store lessons.

Offer a Masterclass
    Upon arrival in your new city one of the best things to do to increase interest in your studio is to host a free flute masterclass at a central location within the city. Possible venues for masterclasses include schools, churches, and community centers. Develop a simple yet beautiful flyer for the event and circulate it via email to local schools, flute teachers, music stores, youth orchestras, amateur groups including community bands or orchestras, and any local music organizations or clubs. Similar to the studio flyer, this should be a one-page advertisement for the event using bold colors and a nice headshot. List the time, date and location of the masterclass, as well as application and audition instructions. Don’t forget to include a short biography with your email and website information. 
    The masterclass should contain a healthy balance between one-on-one instruction with soloists and larger group activities that appeal to flutists of all levels of experience. Large group activities could include breathing, articulation and postural demonstrations. At a recent masterclass I hosted at a high school in Houston, I asked students to play a two octave G major scale using a simple too syllable. On the next repetition I asked them to use a coo syllable. On the third a too-coo articulation to introduce the basics of double tonguing. On the next repetition I asked students to play the same scale using the syllables ukta-tuka which further strengthened the backs of their tongues and tut-cut to practice short, staccato articulation. Finally, they played the same G major scale using chirps, or tones created only with the air stream. This is a great exercise to teach students how to practice different styles of articulation using a single scale and how different syllables produce different types of sounds that can be used in a variety of performance scenarios.
    I also led students through an improvisation exercise, giving each student an opportunity to improvise over a sustained drone performed by the rest of the group. Much like a drum circle for the flute, students were offered a chance to explore their own creativity. This demonstration is similar to an exercise I lead students through during the final minutes of a typical private flute lesson. Once students have experienced your teaching style, give them an opportunity to ask questions about studio policies and scheduling availability. Be sure to direct interested students to your website and other social media links for more information. Hosting additional free masterclasses at different locations  will widen the geographical pool of potential students and increase the likelihood of recommendations throughout the community.

Set up a Calendar
    As you begin to schedule new students, create and maintain an accurate studio calendar (such as in Google Calendars), setting up reminders to circulate invoices either at the beginning or end of each month. I like to color code the calendar for each student and add notes about repertoire they are working on, techniques that they may be developing, or outstanding invoice payments. Asking students, “What are you working on?” at the start of each lesson is not very professional and does not lead to lessons that build constructively upon previous lessons. Have the calendar handy at each lesson to iron out scheduling conflicts. Your students and their parents will appreciate attention to organization, and you will run a much more efficient business. These small but important considerations have helped keep my studio running smoothly over the years despite the often crazy schedules of my students.

Skype Lessons
    When you move, you do not have to abandon former students. Skype lessons have gained popularity in recent years and allow teachers to connect to students all over the globe. Offer a special discount for Skype lessons and devote two evenings or so per week to students learning at a distance. I post a schedule on my website and update it as new students commit to Skype lessons. Assignments may be emailed as PDF attachments and links to new music and supplies can be included in the body of the email. Skype students may also participate as auditors at studio masterclasses using a multi-participant connection on a computer positioned facing the stage. Many of my students who have moved overseas have stayed connected via Skype lessons.
    When teaching with Skype, make sure students have a decent microphone. Lapel microphones are fine, but condenser microphones connected to a laptop using a USB chord provide a better sound quality in the higher register. If students live in a different time zone, make sure that you calculate the lesson time correctly and give them the schedule based on their own time zones. Ensure that the internet connection on both sides is sufficient.   A poor internet connection can eat away precious minutes or even end the lesson prematurely. Proper lighting is also important. They should position a light to shine on them and not the camera. The camera should also be positioned far enough away for you to get a good view of their overall posture and hand position. This will make it easy to note postural problems and correct faulty fingerings or movements of the arms or feet. Skype is a wonderful resource for teachers and allows us to truly create mobile studios.

Students’ Priorities
    Student, parent and teacher priorities vary widely from one location to the next. In one California community, I discoverd that students devoted much of their practice time to successfully auditioning for one of the four regional youth orchestra programs. In our lessons students focused on learning scales from memory, selecting and polishing audition repertoire, and hosting several mock auditions to work on audition skills and performance anxiety. In Texas, however, students in band programs across the state audition for placement in honor and regional bands and are assigned a series of three required pieces or etudes to learn during the fall semester.
    Meet with students and teachers in the new community and research the dates and audition requirements for local honor bands, solo and ensemble contests, youth orchestras and any music festivals students may compete in for experience, scholarships or other prizes. Check the performance schedules of school programs to avoid conflicts with studio events. Develop goals with your students and adapt your teaching approach to help your students attain their goals.

Pitfalls
    A misconception I held throughout my early experiences moving from place to place was that there would be students simply waiting for me when I arrived in my new town. Before I moved to Davis, I was told that there were numerous students in the surrounding cities constantly searching for a teacher and that I would have no trouble setting up a full studio upon my arrival. What I did not realize was that the high school and middle school music programs already had flute teachers on staff and finding students who were not already taking lessons was rather difficult. I also assumed that filling my day with students would be easy and that there was no need to seek outside employment. Wrong and wrong. Building a successful studio takes time, patience and hard work. You may need a part-time job outside of music until your studio gains popularity. It may take a few weeks or months to build your empire! In the meantime, stick with it. Join local performing groups, attend recitals, and connect with flute teachers. Every little bit helps establish you within the musical community of your new town.    

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    Internationally acclaimed Dutch flutist, Wilbert Hazelzet has performed and recorded with Europe’s most prestigious Baroque ensembles including Musica Antique Köln, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Musica Antiqua Amsterdam, and the Orchestra of the 18th Century. He frequently collaborates on Baroque chamber music projects with harpsichordist Jacques Ogg and gambist Jaap ter Linden.
    Hazelzet’s many years of teaching at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, the Akademie für Alte Musik Bremen, and the Utrecht and Tilburg Hogescholen voor de Kunsten have inspired generations of Baroque flutists. His passion for Baroque music combined with his positive guidance in the development of young musicians has made an indelible impact on the field of Early Music. 

How did you become interested in playing the traverso?
    I come from a family with a strong connection to music. Since my parents grew up in a time without radio, television or computers, they created their own entertainment through music lessons, choirs, amateur opera associations and chamber music ensembles. During the winter seasons, their concert and theatre abonnements provided them with inspiration. 
    As a child, I was given piano and flute lessons, and later studied flute with Adriaan Bonsel at the Utrecht Conservatory. There, one of the people who had a great impact on students’ musical life was Hans Brandts Buijs. As the conservatory choral conductor, he was passionate about Bach’s music and founded the Utrecht Studenten Koor & Orkest’s Bach tradition. From the 1940s to 1960s, Buijs painstakingly wrote out individual orchestral parts from the scores of many Bach cantatas. Buijs’s successor, Jaap Dillen, invited me to participate in performances of the great Bach works. Later Syntagma Musicum’s flautist and keyboard player, Barbara Miedema, sent me to one of Bart Kuijken’s first summer courses. Soon after, Ton Koopman and Jacques Ogg heard me and invited me to collaborate with them.
    Having been recommended by Ton Koopman, I became a member of one of the first Musica Antiqua Köln ensembles in 1977. In fact, it was not yet an orchestra at all. Reinhardt Goebel’s idea was to create an Early Music Ensemble that worked together as intensely as a romantic string quartet, but with a mainly trio instrumentation (two violins and basso continuo) plus additional winds. This was only possible through long rehearsals, repeating our pieces until they seemed to sit well and became fully established in our reflexes. We started rehearsing at 10 am, with a lunch break from 1-2 pm, continued rehearsals from 3-7 pm, and finished with an hour of repertoire sightreading until 8 pm. This thorough training was obviously not always easy nor without stress.
    This type of methodical preparation marks you profoundly. It is not only musical, but shapes your personality also. By chance, Musica Antiqua Köln was a group of people who wanted to work in this intense way. Even so, one should not start believing that the whole world is into this. That would be a mistake, and might lead to wrong expectations of people for whom this approach simply does not work. 

What is your teaching philosophy?
    I believe in supporting students and not just leaving them too much alone at a masterclass for example. I think that it is important for a student not to feel in opposition to a teacher or the public. This can really have a big effect on a young student who is taking a risk playing in public classes. I remember that from my own experiences. We should not forget this when we stand on the other side of the line as the teacher.  
    Here, the philosophy of the next step comes in. There are so many reasons that somebody’s performance might be less satisfactory. It may be the consequence of something the night before, the day before, the year before, or the decade before. A teacher cannot always possibly know, but whatever the moment offers, there is always something to learn. One can discover the next step and move from less to a little bit more. The goal of a masterclass is not necessarily to prove that one is up to playing at Carnegie Hall. If a teacher can simply help a student discover the next step, then the public or individual lesson has had its function. 
    Contact with students is a wonderful exchange and a gift of life. You cannot see that when you start teaching, but it is revealed over the years. I am grateful to continue to teach today. In European conservatories, the mandatory retirement age is 65, but I have been asked to still help out a little in the Utrecht and The Hague conservatories, in addition to ongoing summer courses at the Baroque Academy at Amherst, Baroque Instrumental Programme in the Twin Cities, and the Berwick Academy. Teaching helps to stay alive  creatively and spiritually.

What are some common mistakes that you see in teaching?
    Teaching styles seem to have evolved over the last 50 years. Up until the 1950s and 60s at European conservatories, it was quite common to put pressure on students by being negatively critical, hoping that students would psychologically and musically fight against their teachers and improve. I really find this difficult to believe in.  Supposing that a musical person is a sensitive person, I think that just like an oyster, you close up in a suppressive atmosphere. This is counterproductive to creativity, musical production, art, and expression. 
    Try to understand the students’ goals and perspectives on learning. Teachers are often tempted to use masterclasses to display their skills and virtuosity. That is not so useful to students. We might believe that the public is amused or impressed by it. However, if students are standing there ready to play a piece, hoping for some help from the teacher, and instead have to stand there listening to a conference and a beautiful speech, they easily lose all the fun and the attitude of playing. Then the masterclass is just a disaster.
 
Why do you sing the bass line while teaching?
    Understanding harmonic context is indispensable. To help with this, one can play, arrange and transform any bass line in the flute part, which gives students a musical surrounding to better understand the piece. As a usable harpsichord is not always available, and playing a stringed bass instrument does not belong to my capabilities, I simply use my bass voice. Singing the bass line has two advantages. First, it is rather convenient and often more efficient to indicate musical inflections in the piece in a suggestive way. Second, while singing, one can even express a little comment or stimulating hint by adding a text to the notes. We may also hope that by mere identification and imitation, the musical intuition of the student is triggered.

Why do you focus so much on teaching variety and precision in articulation?
    If a composition is like a speech, and playing should be like singing, and singing like declaiming, then good articulation and diction become essential to conveying a musical message. For example, in his method, L’Art de Bien Chanter, Bénigne de Bacilly writes more about declamation, articulation, and diction than about voice placement or development. If performing is like declaiming, in many cases it is certainly like declaiming in a foreign language. This means that we should pay attention and mind the details, just as we do when listening to a text, spoken or sung. For example, in speech we have to distinguish clearly between plural and singular nouns. We should strive to do the same when learning a piece of music. We should try to understand the shape of the musical elements and their meaning and pronunciation. Try to define and analyze smaller and larger structures, the phrases and their grammar and syntax, as well as the emotional value or affect in order to put everything together again and try to create a complete story of music. Then we could be ready to present it to others.

How is the voice related to teaching and playing the flute?
    When you are not afraid of your voice and feel free to make a noise, you can make music with a clear presence, and you can play the flute. If it is still difficult to open that door, daring to make the voice resonate, then the process of making music may have a slower, more difficult start. Sometimes students come into a lesson, whispering as if they need to apologize for their presence. In this case there is a lot of work to do. In general, when someone comes in with a resonating presence, I feel a lovely relief because the ways to expression are free.
    Technically, voice awareness allows a conscious relaxation of the whole throat area, which is of course crucial for flutists. When there is less restriction or tension in the throat, sound production most likely is easier and more satisfactory. So many of the techniques that modern singers use to free up the larynx and mobilize all the resonances in the body are also quite useful in flute playing.

What advice do you have for young musicians?
    Reserve time for dreaming and imagining. Maybe spend a few hours really identifying with Bach and his life in Köthen, trying to imagine the atmosphere of the building, the composer’s way of living, the sculptural and pictorial art, literature and social structures of the period. This can become a different way of developing your musicianship. It is a big pity that just when all the technical skills are in place, and everything could just start, that some young people seem to stop. I understand that the reality of a young musician’s life today needs to be so practical. It is not so easy for young professional musicians these days. There is not so much time for dreaming. It is all a matter of getting the notes together, presenting yourself, and getting known. Maybe their music comes out a little bit straightforward as a result and not so extremely inspired, personalized or deep as one could imagine. However, when young musicians grow and take the opportunity to look back on their performances and their work, they should take more time to reflect on it. They might discover different ways of creativity and find the time to allow for the integration of ideas into their imagination and vision. 

What are the main points about Baroque music that you teach to modern flutists?
    With 18th century musical texts, there are many ways of reading the music. Musicians can learn from the information found in treatises that describe the ways of playing that are not marked in the music. They concern the imagination of unmarked, but supposed dynamics, sound shaping and articulations, and possible realizations of ornamental symbols that lead to hidden effects.
    Everything basically results from a general idea of unevenness. This can be found in dynamic intensity, rhythm, and tonalities, as well as in the period instruments themselves. Unevenness in music is comparable to expressive language in conversations. This kind of understanding leads to developing and deepening the sensation of telling, or declaiming the musical texts. These historical sources often compare musical performance and public speech through the use of impulses and inflections. Many players have proved that these effects can be incorporated into performance on modern instruments. 

How should flutists ornament Baroque pieces?
    This is an immense answer, but the short answer is to get hold of Hans-Peter Schmitz’s most valuable book, Die Kunst der Verzierung. Play and read all of the musical examples and discover how melody transformation into ornaments can work in different styles. Then look at the bibliography for more examples from the repertoire. This is a practical way to start, allowing orientation in the field and providing a rich basis for future study.
     Another recommendation is to obtain some of the inspiring and practical compilations by Betty Bang Mather and David Lasocki, including Free Ornamentation, The Classical Woodwind Cadenza, French Music, and The Art of Preluding, and proceed in the same way. It is a matter of building up your own stock of ideas. Look at learning the ornaments as the vocabulary of a foreign language.

What is your favorite style of traverso music?
    I have a small preference for the Empfindsamer Style because of its sudden and dramatic affect changes. Identifying with this style triggers a type of musical intuition; it allows us to express and to reach expression. Of course, you have to figure out, how to do it – which constellation of notes to link with which expression, and how to follow the roads, seeing the switches. When you plan to perform this type of music on stage, you need to allow yourself to experience the feelings, at least while practicing. Take to heart Quantz’s words, that real emotion can only be conveyed when the musician is touched by the emotion of the music. We are meant to simultaneously be actors and musicians.

What are your thoughts on the importance of research for a performing musician?
    Research allows the development of historical awareness, situating the chosen works, and defining their function in life and cultural environment. For flutists, these factors may influence the choice of sound, timbre, volume, dimensions of presence, the choice of types of flutes (if there even is a possibility to specify), and diversifying the use of accompanying basso continuo instruments. Research brings us into deeper contact with the impact and meaning of a composition, provides a richer variety of views and possibilities concerning the execution of the music, and so, enriches our imagination.
    The discovery process is long term and also mixed with so many less well-documented performances. We should collect documentation material over the years, while still enjoying the music itself, feeling it intuitively, and being inspired and touched by its mere presence. For example, while the Willem Mengelberg version of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, is considered stylistically completely anachronistic nowadays, it deeply touched thousand of listeners in its time.

What qualities do you look for when purchasing a new traverso?
    I look for timbre and direct speech and refined articulation. Tuning, according to the period, is the next important feature. Pitch may play a role.  Personally, I prefer to pull out the flute, to fundamentally having to push its pitch up. I deeply thank the few traverso makers Alain Weemaels, Roderick Cameron, Rudolf Tutz and Remko van der Vegt for their relentless and beautiful work. The one-keyed instruments by Jean Hyancinthe Rottenburgh and Carl August Grenser always have been a great inspiration.
    Although I do not own any playable original traversos, having a chance to play and hear an original instrument is often an encounter with irreplaceable timbres and resonances. These originals teach us that modern performance circumstances (especially when a large orchestra is involved) often oblige us to go far beyond the nature and the capacities of the original instruments and distort their beauty. An enlarged Mona Lisa needed in order to cover a skyscraper might indeed lose quite a bit of her charm.

   I wish for future generations that people keep their sense of curiosity and find time to let their imagination to develop. People take the time to discover all of the fantastic museums waiting for us. Reserve two hours to visit inspiring collections like the gorgeous Frick collection in New York City, the impressive historical instrument museums such as the Dayton Miller Collection and National Gallery in Washington D.C., the wonderful Cleveland Museum, and the National Music Museum in Vermillion. They provide so much information about music and cultural life in former times and can provide inspiration for years of concerts.
    Let us hope that the future provides Early Music with courageous organizers, who will set up situations that keep confronting the public with the intimacy, subtlety and sensitivity of early chamber music, as opposed to the very tempting tendency of going bigger and louder. It is a huge challenge to find spaces, funding, and the right publicity. The future seems to promise an enormous variety of musical experiences, showing that the creative process of interpretation will always bring kaleidoscopic results.    

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Volière from Carnival of the Animals

    As the movement began, and I saw his conducting gestures, my flute life passed before my eyes. There was no way that I could double tongue eight notes to the quarter at 120. Well, maybe for a while but not continuously throughout the 75-second movement. As the first measure was concluding, I looked over at the principal cellist who mouthed “good luck.” I had to make a decision about what to do  because if things continued as they were, I would certainly crash and burn.
    In those few seconds, I remembered a performance of Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme for cello and orchestra, Op. 33 that I had heard when I was a freshman at Eastman. I don’t recall the conductor, but Joseph Mariano was playing principal flute with the Rochester Philharmonic.
    Variation IV features the cello in a chattering passage featuring a bouncing spiccato bow stroke. At first the cello asks and answers questions, but as the movement evolves, the flute and cello have a rapid exchange of very quick 32nd notes. The cellist became more and more excited, and the more excited he became, the more he accelerated the tempo. I saw a look of horror and disbelief cross Mariano’s face and wondered what he was going to do. By now it was going faster than anyone could ever double tongue on a flute. I held my breath as Mariano entered. To my astonishment, the first passage at bar 10 came out sparkling clean. The the next passages were equally clear. I soon realized that he was flutter-tonguing the passage. The speed of his flutter-tonguing (done in his throat) perfectly matched this excited tempo. After the concert, Mariano’s colleagues complimented him on his ingenuity. I immediately went to the practice room to work on my flutter-tonguing.

Variations on a Rococo Theme

    Back to my Volière. By the beginning of the second measure, I thought about flutter-tonguing the passage as Mariano had done. I decided against this solution as my flutter-tonguing (done with the tongue) was never as clean and clear as Mariano’s. I quickly scanned the orchestration in my head and recalled that for the first six measures of the movement, the strings play the same F major chord tremolo. I knew what I was going to do.
    Since there was no harmonic change in the accompaniment, I decided that when I came in at measure three I would set the tempo back to 90 by indicating the tempo with the end of my flute while looking intently at the conductor and hoping he would realize his mistake and follow me. Fortunately it worked, and the movement was saved. Later he apologized for his error.
    Mistakes happen. When you are a student, you think professional musicians play perfectly. They try to, but don’t always succeed. At the beginning of a masterclass, former principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Dale Clevenger extended his arm to a young horn student and said, “Touch me. I am human and I make mistakes.” The student looked back in disbelief, but I do think it put him at ease.
    Arnold Jacobs, former tuba player with the Chicago Symphony, often mentioned the problems brass players develop when trying to play perfectly. Players who strive never to play a wrong note or chip an attack often overly squeeze the embouchure rather than using the support of the air stream. These players often develop pain when they play or are unable to play at all. Jacobs’ advice was to play musically on the air and realize that sometimes you may make an error.
    So what is the take away from these anecdotes? First come to rehearsals and concerts well-rested, prepared, focused, and sober. Work with the metronome so you always know the proper tempo. Georg Solti used a pocket metronome to check tempos just before he went on stage. I use one when playing chamber music where the flute gives the initial tempo for the movement.
    Study the full score so you are familiar with the orchestration and what the other parts are playing. Write cues in the music to check where you are and know other parts’ entrances. You may be able help someone get back on who gets lost.
    Practice passages faster and slower than marked so you never have any surprises. And for flutists, develop your flutter-tonguing (both kinds) as you never know when you might need it!

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