Economic recession has caused budget cuts in public schools across the United States. Music education and arts departments are disappearing from curricula. Some community music centers, afterschool programs, and college outreach initiatives have developed music enrichment programs to partially fill the void. As a professional, experienced musician, I decided to devote some of my time to teaching at a community music center. I expanded a middle school outreach program through group flute classes.  
     On a cold January morning, the first objective was to recruit ten students from a first-period study hall in a low-income Boston Public School. This supposedly simple act was met with everything from sexual innuendo to calls for my immediate departure. With the help of the study hall teacher, six boys and four girls were reluctantly recruited. Graduate school training did not prepare me for what happened next. I learned that my classroom was to be the opposite half of the study hall room, without any divider, with the remaining study hall students forming an audience.
     Previous teaching experience proved useless in this setting. In essence these children were being forced to learn how to play an instrument. High-minded teaching concepts ran head first into the real world. 
     First day pleasantries were abandoned for fear that any real student interest would be met with ridicule from the eavesdropping classmates. I knew that I had to build capital with my students, and I set a goal for them to play Hot Cross Buns by the end of class.
     Very quickly it became obvious that many of the students were functionally illiterate, not fluent in English, weak in math skills, unfamiliar with the U.S. monetary system, and possessed poor dexterity skills. In addition to abandoning more traditional curricular expectations and teaching techniques at every turn, the dilemma became how to not embarrass these already mortified students in front of their non-participating friends. Every aspect of teaching had to be translated into a non-traditional format, including the physical set-up of the classroom, to create a safe, sequestered space. After abandoning the original lesson plan, I literally made do with what I had in my bag for that first class (colored markers, stickers, a forgotten chocolate, an empty water bottle, and a cocktail straw).
     Adapted Dalcroze eurythmic exercises allowed students to physically master note durations. Rhythmic values were converted into a series of lengths based on fruit names (quarter notes became grapes, apples morphed into eighths, and plums were half notes). Translation into traditional nomenclature occurred only at the very end of the exercise.
     Notation was taught through a color-coded system. The note B appeared in blue, A in red, and G in green. This allowed non-English speakers to find success, as some students never realized that B, A, G spelled a word. Naming the notes with the color names, we sang the song in rhythm, slowly substituting letters for colors. Lastly, we sang it while fingering the notes on the right wrist.
     To form an embouchure, students simulated blowing across the lip plate with a water bottle and used the cocktail straw to illustrate the size of the aperture. They competed for a chocolate by blowing through a formed embouchure in an attempt to hold a sheet of paper against the wall. I then slid my finger in and out of the headjoint like a slide whistle to spark their interest to try to produce their first sounds. 
     I carried over the color-coding to the flute by placing appropriately colored stickers on correlating keys. To combat dexterity issues, students grasped the barrel of the flute with their right hands while their left hands found the colored stickers. Bringing the instruments to their faces, students sang note names while fingering their clunky student flutes.
     Putting all of those non-traditional elements together allowed students to successfully blow into their flutes and create sounds after a few tries. Incessant snickers from the other side of the study hall fell silent save for whispers that someone wished they had volunteered. By the end of class, competition ensued to stand and play a solo. 
     Many of these students could not take their instruments home for fear of bullying or theft. Lacking a budget, making PVC flutes as a class project was not possible. Instead, I made mock flutes out of dowels, creating a lip plate cutout and indentations for colored tone holes so students could practice by naming fruit rhythm, name-sing-finger rhythm, and blow and fingering rhythm at home. Eventually some students received permission to take home plastic fifes. 
     Each day, every class required the same intense on-the-fly ingenuity to keep students behaviorally in check. Over time, the real curriculum emerged:
     • To learn responsibility to themselves and each other.
     • To learn to do their share of a larger task.
     • To set and achieve long-term and short-term goals.
     • To experience boundaries for the first time in their lives.
     • To meet and work with an adult who would not abandon them.
     Lesson plans for each subsequent class focused on one of these life lessons as the primary goal with flute playing as a secondary focus. The first class unfortunately dwindled in numbers to two students who performed a concert for the principal, who recorded their efforts so that the students could share their success with their families.
     With a second class, I used the flipped classroom model that is gaining popularity today. I did not call it flipped classroom; it was just survival. Students explored at-home instructional materials online or worked with activities from a handout and CD. This allowed class time to be devoted entirely to activity-based exploration. 
     Their level of inquiry increased, as did their growing confidence. Students became engaged in learning to play, and many showed an increased interest in exploring new avenues. Each class began with students demonstrating accomplishments and then figuring out what take-home lessons were required to learn a piece of music before the next class so that they could be part of the flute ensemble. This led to performances in school assemblies.
     These students did learn to read music and play the flute, but it was the coupling of the flipped classroom, creative teaching techniques, and shifting the focus to life lessons that led to their greatest achievements. These students found success and excitement about learning that they will carry with them for a lifetime.  

The post Plan B appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Performing with perfect intonation on the piccolo is one of the most important and challenging skills for a piccolo player to master. A performer might have the most beautiful sound, a flawless technique, and breath-taking phrases, but if there is poor intonation, none of that matters.
    Professional piccolo players differ in the distance they pull the headjoint from the body of the instrument. I generally pull out about 1/8 inch, but if a piece of music is very loud and constantly in the high register, such as Shostakovich Symphony No. 10, I pull out as much as 1/4 inch. Some professional piccolo players feel that the headjoint should always be in one position on the body of the instrument and they never move it. They store the piccolo in a case that allows the piccolo to remain in one piece and dry the interior of the instrument with an extra-long swab. Other piccoloists frequently move the headjoint in and out during the rests of a piece while performing to accommodate pitch. Basically there is no right or wrong solution. Find the way that works for you.
    Just like the flute, temperature can affect the pitch of a piccolo. Cold temperatures make the piccolo extremely flat, and warm temperatures make it sharp. In these instances place the headjoint in a slightly different distance than normal to accommodate for the change in pitch. In cold temperatures place a soft cloth over the piccolo when it is not being played to keep it warmer so the pitch is more stable.
    One of the characteristics that makes the piccolo difficult to play in tune is its small size. The late Jack Wellbaum (former piccolo, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) used to tell his students, “Everything you do on the piccolo is like putting your flute playing under a magnifying glass. If you are out of tune on the flute on a particular note, you will be really out of tune on that note on the piccolo. Every tiny movement on the piccolo produces a big change in intonation.”
    So, how do we develop perfect intonation on the piccolo? The answer, of course, is to own a tuner, practice with the tuner, and listen when playing.

Tuner Practice
    Set the tuner to A=440. Tune the first and second octave As. Pull the headjoint out if you are sharp, or push the headjoint in if you are flat. Since the piccolo is small, even a small change makes a huge difference in the intonation. With the tuner, play a long tone on each note on the piccolo first at forte, then at piano. Produce your most beautiful sound while maintaining A=440. Begin on the middle octave B and descend chromatically to the low octave D. Then begin again on the middle octave B and ascend to the highest C. If necessary, roll the headjoint in if it is sharp or out if it is flat. Use very small increments for these minute adjustments.
    Next, develop a sense of pitch by repeating the exercise. However, this time look at the tuner only after adjusting the pitch. If it is out of tune with the tuner, repeat this exercise noting any pitch tendencies on the instrument. Record these pitch tendencies in a notebook for further review.
    Finally, set the tuner to produce sound on the tonic note of the key of the piece you are preparing. For example, when playing a piece in A major, set the tuner to produce an A. Play the piece slowly relating each note to the tonic. When the music modulates, change the tuner to produce sound on the new tonic note. 

Performing with Others
    The notes on the piccolo are so high that most other instrumentalists in the orchestra simply cannot hear the intonation of the piccolo. The piccolo player should tune to them rather than the reverse. Practice with the tuner every day to develop your ears so you can quickly adjust to others. Sometimes this adjustment requires the piccolist to play out of tune on purpose to accommodate other instrumentalists on certain notes.
    When playing in an ensemble, tune the piccolo to A=440 before the rehearsal or concert as it may be difficult for the tuner to register when others are tuning. A contact microphone that plugs into the tuner and attaches to the piccolo can be quite useful.
    If the instrument becomes out of tune in the middle of a piece when you cannot stop to fix it, adjust the amount of pressure used to place the piccolo in the chin. Increase the pressure to lower the pitch or lessen the pressure to raise the pitch. Another pitch raising tip is to push the piccolo slightly away with the right hand only. This works well when making a taper or diminuendo on the end of a long held note.
    Explore alternate fingerings that can be found online or in several of the excellent piccolo tutors. A good way to learn which alternate fingerings work the best is to take some lessons with an experienced orchestral piccolo player. Incorporate these fingerings into a daily long-note tuning practice routine.

Alternate Fingerings
1. 1230, 1230 (to slightly raise B above the staff), no thumb.

2. 1230, 1030 (to slightly raise C above the staff), no thumb.

3. 0230, 0234 (to slightly raise C# above the staff), no thumb.

4. 0234, 1004 (to slightly raise D above the staff), no thumb.

5. 1030, 1034, thumb.

The way to learn how to perform with perfect intonation on the piccolo is similar to the answer to, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Practice, practice, practice and listen, listen, listen.

The post Perfecting Intonation on the Piccolo appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

J.S. Bach’s Sonata in E minor

Initial Try
    The plan is to work hard on the first phrase, make decisions, and refine skills which I will apply specifically in the rest of the movement. After warming up with some long tones (Moyse De la Sonorite, with good posture and breathing) and scales (various sections from Maquarre Daily Exercises), I record and listen to the first bars as a baseline recording take.

Tempo, Breathing, and Tone
    I sing through the first bar, and with the continuo part in mind, I choose a tempo of mm=69 for the eighth-note, Adagio, but still in 4/4 meter. I record and listen to myself playing with a metronome, so I gain sensitivity to the pulse. Next, I decide to play this phrase in one breath. Posture, breathing, and tone must be perfect to accomplish this. I explore more extensive, non-vibrato scalar and triadic long tones, especially emphasizing the first octave, pushing my air capacity. Relaxing the throat and checking the alignment of my embouchure with the blowhole in a mirror, I match the timbre of the notes. I record this tone work and listen occasionally. Then I play the whole phrase for the recorder again, without vibrato or expression. Now each note is clear, resonant and focused.

Pitch
    You must be really objective to notice your intonation flaws. Using a tuner to establish the first couple notes, I then work through the rest, concentrating especially on the open intervals, fourths and fifths. I was hearing the B natural and E natural on the low side of the pitch, and this made some other notes sound sharp. Flexibility will be needed with the continuo, but now I have good awareness. When I record again without vibrato in 10 minutes I note that I have made big progress on basic tempo, breath control, tone, and intonation. This work will enable rapid progress in the rest of the movement.

Vibrato
    After another recording, I hear that my vibrato is too haphazard. It becomes fast and tense with some of the moving notes or before leaving tied notes. For Bach I want a consistent, moderate vibrato speed and quality, somewhat narrow and emotionally cool in character. I define the vibrato speed: a gentle waver of sixteenth notes at mm=72. I also do not want it on every note.
    I compartmentalize vibrato in two areas: quality of vibrato and continuity of it. For quality, I do a few minutes of basic pulsing exercises (very firm pulses with good tone, throat relaxed, on one mid-register note at slow, then faster speeds), and then record segments of scales and arpeggios, with vibrato staying within my strict parameters. For continuity, I record the phrase with an intense continuous vibrato on every note, and then with the gentler vibrato I have chosen.

This Note or That Note?
    As is common in phrases with moderate moving notes, I must actually decide where to continue or discontinue vibrato. I use plain tone on the first two notes, the D#, E, and B of beat 3, the moving notes of measure 2, beat 3, and the final B natural. I record and play to make these decisions. Vibrato intentions, especially in passages that have more long notes, are flexible; it is the control and awareness that I am after. Next I work for a few minutes to stop and start the vibrato discreetly. I have spent 20 minutes on this phrase.

Phrasing
    For phrase shaping I hear three points of emphasis, two of which are liberated from the traditional downbeat-oriented hierarchy of stresses in a 4/4 bar. Measures one and two have an increase of energy to the tied notes in the middle of the bar (measure two being the most important), and the last emphasis is on the D# downbeat of measure three. Recording again, I cross-reference traits. For example, I use slightly more intense vibrato on the tied G natural, my principal phrasing note. I also make small indications in my part regarding the movement of the continuo and harmony, and decisions regarding dynamics, degrees of stress on structural notes, rubato, and articulations. I record and cross-reference each.

Model
    Performing these first bars for the recorder now, I intend to use them as a model for the rest of the movement. After a total of about 45 minutes of work, I record and listen to measures 1-17. Tomorrow I will record the whole section and see how much I have retained. Practicing the entire movement in the next days, things come together quickly.

Slow Work, Fast Results
    Work of this type may be tedious, but it is worth it. Improvement of fundamentals affects everything you play. Progress is rapid, and retention is greatly improved. Recording may seem to inhibit spontaneity, but I have found it actually encourages flexibility, as elements can be manipulated in performance, and self-awareness and intentionality are increased.
    Progress results from combining many beneficial factors. This is a 45-minute demonstration of a certain way of practicing part of a slow movement. There are other methods as well, and much has been written on the topic by noted instructors, such as Leonard Garrison, Samuel Baron, John Krell, and Patricia George. You should be open to as many ways of improving as possible.

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    The most common form of the blues, the 12-bar blues, is a cyclical (repeating) musical form, usually in a 4/4 time signature. Most of the original blues melodies were based on the minor pentatonic scale. This scale is an important resource for improvising.

    The minor pentatonic uses what we refer to as blue notes, specifically the minor 3rd and the minor 7th. These blue notes, or more specifically, the harmonic tensions they create, are what characterize the sound of the blues. One additional blue note is the diminished 5th. Although absent from the minor pentatonic, it is equally important in playing the blues.
 
Form
    Understanding the form of a tune is an important first step in improvisation, and one that is often overlooked by beginners. This may explain why one of the challenges facing a novice jazz player is how to keep one’s place in a tune while improvising, without the melody indicating the form. Simply put, if musicians are not aware of the form, it is easy to get lost. The solution is also simple. To play by ear jazz musicians should first train themselves to rhythmically feel the built-in phrases within a tune.
    With the 12-bar blues, this is relatively easy. Think of it in three 4-bar sections. Then, taking a cue from the early blues singers, break down each 4-bar section into two 2-bar sections. Most of the original blues songs consisted of a 2-bar melody (roughly 2 bars), which kicked off each 4-bar section. Using the call and response technique, a tradition prevalent in many aspects of the African culture, the vocalist sings a 2-bar phrase based on the minor pentatonic (call), which is followed by a vocal or instrumental 2-bar fill (response). This call and response pattern shaped each 4-bar phrase within the 12-bar blues. With this in mind, listen to several blues songs and observe how the melody loosely resembles an AAB form: the theme is stated in the first 4 bars, repeated in the second 4 bar phrase (AA), and followed by a variation of the theme in the final 4 bars (B). Melodically, this outlines the basic 12-bar blues form. (see below)
    Develop the ability to feel the length of the 4-bar phrase by listening for the 2-bar call and 2-bar response pattern. It is built right into the blues form. Once musicians begin to feel the length of each phrase, they can take the next step and hear the changes or chord progression.

AAB 12-Bar Blues Form

Chord Progression
    The basic blues chord progression consists of three dominant 7th chords, built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees of the tonic scale of the tune. The dominant 7th chord is a major triad with a minor 7th. (I7-IV7-V7). For example, in a blues in F, the chords are F7 – Bb7 – C7.

    Next, examine the AAB blues form of the melody in relationship to the harmony. The first four bars are on F7 (I7 chord). In the second 4-bar phrase, the melody (and lyric) is repeated, although the Bb7 (IV7 chord) now provides some harmonic tension for two measures. In the third 4-bar section, both the melody and the lyric are different, and played (or sung) over C7 (V7), adding even more harmonic tension, before it resolves back to F7, the tonic key. The C7 in the last half of bar 12 is called a turnaround, harmonically setting up the return to the beginning (top) of the tune. Hearing the changes becomes easier with practice.

The Blues Scale
    The blues scale is derived from the minor pentatonic scale, and the minor pentatonic from the major pentatonic. Just as every major key has a relative minor, so it is with the pentatonic scale: any relative minor (key or scale) is built on the sixth step of a major scale. While a major pentatonic and its relative minor share the same five notes, the tonics are different, the exact same relationship as with major keys and/or scales and their relative minors.
    The major pentatonic contains the following steps of the major scale: the first (root), second, third, fifth and sixth steps. The blues scale modifies the minor pentatonic by adding one note, the flat 5th (also known as tritone, diminished 5th, augmented 4th). This blue note is another essential dissonance in the blues.

    Both the minor pentatonic and its derivative, the blues scale, provide a complete set of notes, albeit limited, for improvising on the blues. While it might not seem possible for a single set of notes from either scale to sound good over all three chords, a quick look at the basic construction of dominant 7th chords shows why this works. The two chord tones in any dominant 7th which virtually define the chord are the root and the minor seventh. By isolating these two notes in each of the three chords in the blues progression, we are left with the five notes of the minor pentatonic scale, merely out of sequence.

    This means that an improvisation based exclusively on the minor pentatonic scale (in the tonic key) will work over a blues progression, provided listeners have become accustomed to the dissonance created by a minor 3rd (in the melody) played against a major 3rd (in the harmony). This blue note, and the melodic tension it creates, gives the blues its distinctive sound, as does the b5 of the blues scale, which is simply a chromatic passing tone between the 4th and 5th steps of the minor pentatonic scale. Because of the tritone’s chromatic proximity to both the 4th and 5th steps of the minor pentatonic, a smooth resolution from the unstable interval of a tritone is only one half-step away, in either direction which is classic voice-leading.
    Hopefully, this brief analysis of the blues will be a helpful first step for the aspiring jazz flutist. 

The post Jazz Improv 101: The Blues appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

What led you to become a composer?
    In my first week at Red Fox Music Camp, soon after discovering classical music in 10th grade, I heard Paul Creston’s Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra, and I’ve never been the same since. I was so riveted and enthralled by music that sounded to my innocent ears as somewhere between Gershwin and Tchaikovsky, that there was no decision to be made – that was my life’s mission as of that moment. A week later I was exposed to The Rite of Spring at Tanglewood, and there was no turning back. My parents handled this wisely. They made sure I knew what I was getting into without romanticizing the career of a composer. They encouraged me to go to Aspen the next summer to be surrounded by more advanced composition students, and they trained me to make the important decisions in my life, armed with ample knowledge and research.

Were there musicians in your family?
    There are excellent musicians in the far reaches of my family, and my parents listened to WQXR when I was growing up, but my only real exposure to playing music was in public school. By high school I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life. The head of my high school’s music department was a composer named Harold Gilmore. He wrote songs for Billie Holliday, studied composition with Nadia Boulanger, and was an arranger for the NBC Orchestra until hearing loss forced him to switch to teaching. Mr. Gilmore was invaluable in guiding us through discovering music, and he was very realistic about career prospects. There were several dedicated musicians in my graduating class; he urged all of us not to go into music professionally. A few years later I asked why, and he answered that the others took his advice, meaning they would have become discouraged before long as a musician’s world is a lot tougher than his warnings. I was too stubborn and determined to listen to him, which meant I had the conviction and drive to stick with it.

Tell us about your studies at Aspen.
    When I was a novice at Aspen, I tried to write what was expected of composers – atonality, jumpy fragmentation, and sounds that had never been heard before, as long as it mimicked Carter or Boulez, and not Copland or Barber. I also played in a saxophone quartet that needed repertoire, so one weekend I wrote an 11-minute, 3-movement quartet for my ensemble, spontaneously using a language that just flowed out of me naturally, rather than “trying to be a composer.” I found my creative zone by creating repertoire that I’d want to play.

What was Elliott Carter’s response to hearing your music at Aspen?
    He said my compositional language was obsolete in a post-World War II world. As a 17 year old, I replied, “I’m a comfortable middleclass Long Islander. Schubert suffered a terrible life. He should be the abstract expressionist while I write pretty melodies.” I have always thought that true self-expression should be self-expression rather than trendy.

Why did you choose to study at Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania rather than at a conservatory?  
    Those were the two hardest decisions of my life. In both cases I was accepted into Juilliard and wanted to study with Vincent Persichetti, who was famous for not having style prejudices in his teaching. Weighing against that was the opportunity to study every subject in the world at Cornell and have a B.A. just in case. This was followed by the opportunity to study at Penn with George Crumb, and George Rochberg who had just switched his creative language toward more traditional tonality. I often wonder about the road not taken. I learned a tremendous amount about music of all eras and how to think critically at those outstanding musicology schools. This choice in education left me without any college friends who became professional performers, while other composers were getting wonderful exposure and commissions from conservatory classmates going on to performing careers. In pragmatic terms that is a mistake I made twice. However the broad and deep education I got at Cornell and Penn prepared me both as a composer and as music editor to work knowledgeably on critical editions of music from Bach to Ives.

Describe your compositional style.
    Much of my music has pentatonic motives built into themes, perhaps because that is often where my imagination starts. I am originally a saxophonist and I grew up on popular music in the 1960s, playing in stage bands in high school and college. I believe pentatonicism is natural in the human brain. Folk music from China, Africa, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Native American, and African American spirituals is full of pentatonic melody in various ways. There has to be something primal in the human brain that causes so many unrelated cultures to spontaneously develop the same tuning system and melodic patterns. Why my music sounds French is a deeper question. My aesthetics are generally similar to French composers from Debussy through Poulenc, using a pretty surface and carefully crafted neo-traditionalism, but why is another question. Maybe this is because I began composing as a saxophonist memorizing Ibert and Bozza. I do have the same birthday as Ravel.
    Most of my works are programmatic; even Sonata (Three Lakes) and Sonatine de Giverny have formal titles with references. My music often creates little worlds of escapism, and as long as the music works on its own, I like the added dimension of evoking a lake in Maine, or a woodland reverie. Some flutists imagine programs far beyond these titles, and that is gratifying because it means the music kindles their imagination.
    When Jan Gippo commissioned a 10-minute piccolo piece, I had already planned a family trip to Giverny. Walking through Monet’s estate, it became clear that the busy flower garden, calm lily pond, and nearby town were analogous to a three-movement form, and the concept for Sonatine de Giverny was born. Likewise when the Monmouth Winds commissioned a wind quintet, I knew within a day that it would be a 5-movement suite called Cape May Breezes, with each movement capturing something about that quaint New Jersey beach town where I’ve vacationed many times. I’ve occasionally designed cover art with trees for music with no program at all, such as Nocturne Caprice with a cover of a full moon shining through a barren many-branched tree. That just seemed to match the music.

What do you mean when you tell performers to make it their own?
    I tell performers to pretend I am no longer alive and am just a chamber music coach. Many performers (of all ages and levels) want to play exactly what the composer indicated, and sometimes that can be too literal and lifeless. “What the composer indicated” includes being expressive through color, dynamics, tempo, and phrasing, beyond what’s literally on the page. Sometimes I’ll say “play it like Syrinx” meaning that once you know a piece well, it’s necessary to explore where to add rubato or swells, and how much. Some pieces or movements should have a rigid pulse, and these can be brought to life with dynamics and phrasing. We interpolate in Fauré and Brahms, and there’s no rule that living composers don’t want the same musicality. Imagine if actors read theatrical monologues like a newscast. Playwrights offer the words and sometimes parenthetical instructions, and performers must breathe life into those words. Music has a very strong correlation. The Bach Partita or Syrinx shouldn’t sound like a midi file – flutists first learn to control what’s on the page, then bring it to life; that’s what I intend for my music. Bernstein and Karajan each recorded the Beethoven symphonies several times. They weren’t wrong the first time – they just found alternate interpretations that were equally compelling.

How did you end up working in the publishing world rather than becoming a teacher?
    When I finished graduate work at Penn, I’d never been out of school and was weary of other composers (classmates as well as teachers) telling me what harmonic language was valid for my works, so I took a break from academia before looking for a teaching job. To pay the bills in my hiatus year, I did free-lance proofreading for Theodore Presser Company. That led to part-time work in the office. When their editor retired a few years later, I was offered his position. I was reluctant to make a commitment to a year-round office job and less composing time, but I love producing sheet music, working with the amazing panorama of Presser’s composers, and having a steady income.

Has editing other composers’ works influenced your writing style?
    I try to learn from everyone, and naturally I digest every composition that I edit and proofread. However, composing is really about building a musical structure over time, not about choosing a style. It is very analogous to books and drama – language is just the vehicle for the real storyline, and a book isn’t good or bad based on the dialect or language of the characters, but how the story is built and unfolded. I always look to further my craft, so in learning from other composers’ music, the actual sound is generally not relevant.

* * *

Compositions

Compositions for Flute 
9 Walks Down 7th Avenue for Flute & Piano
Andante Con Variazione for Flute & Clarinet
April Whirlwind for Flute & Piano
August Idyll for solo Flute
Cape May Breezes for Woodwind Quintet
Dances and Canons for Flute & Clarinet
Flash! for Piccolo & Piano (or Band or orchestra)
It Takes Four to Tango for Flute & Guitar
It Takes Four to Tango for Flute Quartet (3 C & Bass)
Nocturne Caprice for solo Flute
Perennials for Flute, Clarinet, and Piano
Serenade to Eve, After Rodin for Flute & Guitar
Sonata (Three Lakes) for Flute & Piano
Sonatine de Giverny for Piccolo & Piano
Three Little Waltzes for Flute & Clarinet
Three Romances for Flute & Clarinet
Through a Misty Arch… for C Flute Ensemble
Trees (After the Poem by Joyce Kilmer) for solo Flute with Narration
Tweet for solo Piccolo
Two Cats for Flute & Clarinet
Woodland Reverie for solo Flute
The Year of the Rabbit for Flute Quartet or Ensemble (3 C & Alto)
Xena and Zoe for Piccolo and Bass Clarinet (in progress)

Selected Arrangements
A Treasury of Bach Duets for Flute & Clarinet
A Treasury of Mozart Duets for Flute & Clarinet
A Treasury of Puccini Duets for Flute & Clarinet
Variations on “America” (Ives) for Flute & Piano
Wir Eilen (J.S. Bach) for Two Flutes & Piano

The post Meet the Composer: A Conversation with Daniel Dorff appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

NFA 2014 – Chicago
    The 2014 convention will take place in Chicago from Thursday, August 7 to Sunday, August 10. (Selected pre-convention activities occur Wednesday, August 6.) The convention will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not only will talented flutists of all ages be in attendance, but the convention site is one of the most exciting cities in America. Come early and stay late to take advantage of everything the NFA Convention and Chicago have to offer. The convention will be held at the historic Chicago Hilton on Michigan Avenue. Go to for more information.

    Recently Beth Chandler, the President of the National Flute Association, asked me to read over her latest letter to the NFA membership before sending it off to the printer. In it, she talked about the upcoming NFA Convention that will be held in Chicago this coming August for which I am Program Chair. What struck me while reading Beth’s letter was her mention of her very first NFA Convention in 1992, held in Los Angeles. She talked about all the wonderful experiences she had, performances she attended, friends she saw, and new friendships made during her 4-day stay in the City of Angels.
    After reading Beth’s letter, it got me to thinking about the first convention I ever attended, back in 1981 at the Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. At the time I had just graduated from high school and was getting ready to head off to study with Mr. Willoughby at Oberlin (to this day, Mr. Willoughby has told me, “Call me Bob!” but I just can’t do it. To me, he will always be Mr. Willoughby.) My high school teacher at that time was Glennis Stout, and she had encouraged me to apply for the High School Flute Choir. I was accepted, so come August I found myself at the convention just taking it all in for the entire four-day run.
    The following are just a few of the memories I have of the 1981 convention:
    •    Hearing various performances of La Merle Noir by Messiaen for the very first time in my life at the Young Artist Competition
    •    Attending the Orchestral Audition Competition
    •    Meeting Mark Sparks who would become a classmate the following fall.
    •    Seeing Gary Schocker in the elevator and being star struck.
    •    Attending the Concerto Gala at Orchestra Hall.
    •    Hearing Alexander Zonjic play a jazz cabaret concert that was amazing.
    •    Seeing Mr. Willoughby at an event and feeling slightly overwhelmed knowing I would begin studying with him the following month.
    •    Playing the concert with the High School Flute Choir with Trevor Wye conducting.
    I never would have imagined that 33 years later I would be the Program Chair for the 2014 Convention (with the help of my good friend Alice Dade, Assistant Program Chair). At that point in my life, I was just beginning my musical career. The 2014 convention includes many of the people I have met at school, summer festivals, professional engagements, and past NFA conventions between then and now. What a great thing to be able to say that many of the performers and presenters are people that have become good friends over the years.
    There are four evening gala concerts featuring Christina Jennings, Jonathan Keeble, Cecilie Løken, Maxence Larrieu (2014 NFA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner), Nicola Mazzanti, Carol Wincenc, Claire Chase, Nancy Stagnitta and friends, Project Trio, Julien Beaudiment, Leone Buyse, Robert Dick (2014 NFA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner), Mary Kay Fink, and Sarah Jackson. During the convention there will be recitals and concerts, masterclasses, flute choirs, competitions, workshops, lectures, and panel discussions,
    In the last 18 months as I have worked on the convention plans, I have met many new people who will be in Chicago – performers, presenters, and people affiliated with the NFA. I hope many will become friends for the next 33 years. The flute world is very small, and the NFA convention is a wonderful opportunity to cross paths and develop relationships with colleagues. It is exciting to think that among the young players attending the convention this August, one of them might be Program Chair in 2047. I look forward to seeing many of you this August at the Hilton in Chicago.

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Having Fun in Chicago!
    The reward for living through a Chicago winter is its glorious summer, and visitors to the NFA convention in August will find countless choices of things to see and do. Flute Talk is based in the Chicago area, so we wanted to share a few of our favorite places.

Ravinia
    The long-time summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the lush green lawns of Ravinia are a soothing summer playground for music lovers and wine sippers alike. In recent years the musical schedule has leaned toward rock groups, and even the symphony concerts are designed to draw the masses. Getting to Ravinia is simple as the Metra commuter train stops right at the gate. On August 7 and 8 the park will show The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on giant video screens with musical accompaniment by the Chicago Symphony. ()

The Jazz Showcase
    A Chicago musical institution since the 1940s, the Jazz Showcase has occupied many addresses during its long history, but club owner Joe Segal had maintained the strength of the music. Nearly all of the greats of the post-World War II era have played at the club. For information on the schedule and directions to the Showcase’s excellent location in Dearborn Station, visit jazzshowcase.com.

The View from Above
   The glass skydeck at the former Sears Tower suffered non-structural cracks in its protective coating this spring, making national news and scaring the wits out of tourists. Now, the rival John Hancock building has raised the skydeck stakes with Tilt, which allows visitors to have a bird’s eye view of the city as they lean against glass panels that tilt forward up to 30 degrees. So far, there have been no reports of broken glass on Tilt.

A Thriving Restaurant Scene
    Chicago has always had great restaurants, but in recent years, a number of new restaurants have added excitement for Chicago foodies. One of the hardest reservations in the city is Girl & the Goat, led by Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard. Fans from around the world fill the restaurant to dine on lamb-stuffed calamari, pig face, and the best green beans you have ever tasted. Although the restaurant books up months in advance, savvy diners know that you can often find a seat in the comfy lounge area near the bar and order off the entire menu. One great source for restaurants is the Eater Chicago website with its helpful lists of the hottest restaurants, best brunches, and best places to drink.  ()

Baseball on the North Side
    The Cubs will play the Tampa Bay Rays on August 8-10 at Wrigley Field. With the team in the midst of a wrenching rebuilding effort, it is easier to get tickets at the box office on game day. Changes are afoot at Wrigley with a planned $575 million renovation scheduled to start later in the year. While nearly everyone agrees that the century-old ballpark badly needs some updates, the renovation plan also includes a controversial jumbotron next to the classic manual scoreboard. Come see Wrigley while it is still Wrigley. ()

Music in Millennium Park
    One of the great additions to the Chicago park system is Millennium Park, which transformed a 24.5 acre parcel of parking lots and abandoned rail tracks into a new jewel along Lake Michigan. The story goes that former mayor Richard M. Daley had dental appointments across the street from the unsightly property and would see it out the window as he was getting his teeth cleaned. Although the park endured delays and massive cost overruns (this is Chicago after all), everyone who visits the park marvels at the Frank Gehry designed pavilion and the giant sculpture known casually as the Bean. During the NFA convention, the park will have concerts by the Grant Park Symphony including a new work called Aurora Borealis by composer Christopher Theofanidis with awe-inspiring images from space. ()

Museums and More
    Chicago is known for its world class museums. The Museum Campus, located on the lakefront just minutes from the Hilton, includes the Field Museum of Natural History, the Adler Planetarium, and the Shedd Aquarium. Others not to miss include the Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute of Chicago. There are many others to explore as well. Nearby Navy Pier is home to a wide variety of attractions including the Chicago Children’s Museum, a giant Ferris wheel, and the IMax Theatre with a six-story movie screen.
    Be sure to take time to enjoy Chicago’s summer weather with a jog along the lakefront path, a stop at the beach, or a river or lakefront cruise to admire the city’s magnificent architecture.

The post NFA 2014 in Chicago! A Letter from NFA Program Chair Philip Dikeman appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Move to Los Angeles
    Beaudiment’s audition for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra was quite different from the usual American audition process. “I received a letter from the orchestra in December inviting me to come over and play. They had heard my playing online and liked what I did. I did not know anybody here. I was invited for a week to play for the orchestra, four concerts with the principal conductor Gustavo Dudamel. I was also asked to play excerpts with the orchestra and a full recital. It truly has been the American Dream to get this job.”
    For those taking auditions he suggests, “Many students think of an audition as a punishment. For sure, it is not natural to play alone for 30 seconds or so at a time. Think of this as a recital with 20 little pieces, each with its own unique character and sound. Make your own program out of it. You are really being asked to play with a good sound, in tune, and with the correct rhythm and tempo, which is both easy and difficult at the same time. Rampal said that the person who wins an audition is the one that each member of the jury likes a little bit, and that nobody dislikes. Think about all the things that will affect you, such as the temperature on stage, whether you are hungry, and what it is like to play in the silence. It is a job interview, so show all your skills. Waiting to play also has to be part of your preparation plan.”
    He has found LA Philharmonic to be very different from his previous experiences in Europe. “The schedule is much more intense in the U.S. than with European orchestras in terms of the sheer hours. When we were on tour with the Lyon opera orchestra, we would play one day on then one day off, just so the singers could get their vocal rest before the next performance. This is not so with a symphony. The LA Phil just got back from a domestic tour, and we had one day off per week. The rehearsal periods are much shorter too, because compared to opera, symphonic music is not quite so complex. It also does not have to deal with staging and sets. I played my first complete Daphnis and Chloe ballet score on one rehearsal. When rehearsals are over here, we stop precisely on time. Even if there are only 15 measures left of the piece, we do not finish. There is a fantastic efficiency to working in America and I love working here.
    “In France, I would bring in my students if we needed substitutes so they could get some experience. In Los Angeles there are professional players on a substitute list, and they play with us. It is not as relaxed in America, it is always a little more on the edge. You must be more ready to create. Sometimes this atmosphere is not the best for making music because one almost has to play it more safe, more ‘in the box’. It takes time to take great risk. The challenge is to try and risk in a short amount of time. I find the American brass sound glorious and the best in the world. In many ways the LAPO is more perfect sounding than the Berlin Philharmonic, whereas Berlin can show more of a sense of artistry and risk and freedom.”
    Beaudiment believes that the flute and bassoon are the most important instruments in the woodwind section of an orchestra. “I think the high voices are really essential, and I am sorry for the oboe and the clarinet here, but the highest voice is usually leading the key lines (sometimes with the piccolo of course), and the lowest voice is so important for stabilizing the intonation and leading the counterpoint. I have to say I am very privileged here at the LA Phil, as our principal bassoon, Whitney Crocket, is just fantastic. I also think musically that the flute has a rather glamorous and sexy role in the orchestra. Playing works like Daphnis, Le Faune, and Carmen allow us to express a sensual side to making music.”

Performing
    Beaudiment’s favorite concert halls are sprinkled throughout the world. “Walt Disney Hall gives us a close feeling with the audience and is so visually beautiful. The exterior is iconic and stunning. I love Symphony Hall in Boston, La Maison Symphonique in Montreal, and Le Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris. They are wonderful historic halls. Royal Albert Hall in London is a treasure. It was used in the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much. (I am a huge fan of Hitchcock movies and soundtracks.) The Tokyo Opera Hall has exceptional acoustics. A hall that has a special place in my heart is the Paris Opera Hall because I always wanted to be principal flute of this orchestra when I was young.”
    In addition to orchestral work, Julien is passionate about chamber music and has had some very interesting and unusual collaborations. “Chamber music involves fewer people, and they can be people you love. I accompanied the famous dancer/choreographer Regine Chopinot and Benjamin Millepied performing Bach’s Partita all over the world. This is where I learned to be professional. No matter what I did that day, or what I ate, or how I felt, I had to be in the moment at the performance. I was on stage with the dancers, and we would respond to each other. Their posture was so beautiful that I would always stand a little taller when playing. After all, the movements of this piece are rooted in rhythm and dance. The Sarabande is a dance in a slow three, triple meter, so you must show this. I was not playing alone ever on this stage, and I was very responsible for the dancers, in terms of providing them the correct mood, tempo and styles of music.”

Teaching
    Beaudiment has held teaching positions at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon and was artistic deputy at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in Switzerland. He has also taught many masterclasses in the US, Europe and Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan). He finds teaching exciting because “I can see the light in a student’s eyes, sometimes more than in a colleague.”
    Due to the rigorous performance schedule with the LAPO, he has not been teaching as much as he did in France. “I was teaching about 21 hours a week before I arrived in Los Angeles in July. To give what I know about music for me is very interesting. I always remind students that there must be a balance between the music and themselves. I don’t want to see what I can’t hear. In other words, extra movement from players is not necessary. I ask myself sometimes what should I tell students? It’s all about what the composer wants you as a musician to deliver. Sometimes you have to be a teacher, a coach, and a father figure, all at the same time.
    “I also think there is an art to receiving a lesson. I don’t enjoy using my energy to wake up a student. Students today have an easier time finding materials to prepare. There are free downloads, YouTube and yet they are not necessarily more prepared because of all of this convenience. It is important to learn all you can about culture in general to be able to bring that to the music as well.” Beaudiment recommends that students read Quantz’s treatise, On Playing the Flute, Stanislavski’s The Actor’s Handbook, biographies about famous composers, and Paul Eluard’s poems. “Students should be curious and look for inspiration from many places.”
    “I do not like to make students scared about the future, but I want to make them understand that there is no success without work and passion. I have sacrificed a lot of things to come as far in my career as I have. It is a privilege to get paid to do what I love, but I work like a dog to keep my level, and I have been working like a dog for a long time. It is a highly competitive world, and there are very few jobs to be had. Be as versatile as you can be. Play piccolo, and play it well. Play jazz, improvise, play with dancers; do any of these things if you are passionate about them. Now, as I say this I recognize that I can only play the flute! I am extremely bad at playing piccolo (just ask my colleague Sarah Jackson), and I don’t know how to improvise or play jazz. But perhaps, I was good enough to become a flute player, and I worked very, very hard at that. When all my friends were playing soccer, I stayed home to practice my scales. When I was living in Paris by myself at age 16, I missed my family, but these are the sacrifices made for the goal.
You may sometimes need to put your private life on hold because you have to concentrate on an audition which could be life changing for you. At the same time, you must find balance in your life. As they say, what does not kill you will make you stronger.”

Playing Advice
    For tonal shading and coloring, he advises flutists to start “first with the air. If you think about the lips too much, you will not be able to produce as many colors. It has to come from the air. Air is the key to phrasing, not the lips or the fingers. I think of blowing from my eyes in the low register, from my chest in the middle register, and for the high octave, I feel the sound is coming from above my head. I am very connected with my body when I play. There is an interesting exercise to feel the air moving. Perform a long tone while walking forward, and then, play the same tone while walking backwards. You will feel that the air is coming more from above you while you are moving backwards. For projection, I try to focus on what the audience will actually hear and to put my ears in the very last row of Disney Hall. Usually, the LA Phil has a very, very big sound, so all nuances must be obvious and never too subtle. A solo might be marked piano, but I will actually play mezzoforte with a calm vibrato and phrasing that is easy so that the audience will still hear the piano, dolce phrasing. That is one of the secrets of orchestral playing. Our hall flatters the high registers, and I sometimes find I am playing too bright, so I try to darken up the high register as much as I can.”
    For technical practice, Beaudiment calls Taffanel and Gaubert exercises the Bible. “I have used these exercises every day for many years. I don’t feel that I have an easy, natural technique, so after years of playing scales like mad, I still face resistance from the fingers. Because of this I decided to see technical challenges through new eyes. I don’t have anything really special for practicing technique, but I have noticed so much of technical skill is wrapped up in the brain. For example, you may sightread something perfectly the first time, and then it falls apart after a few more repetitions. The reason you played perfectly the first time was due to a higher level of concentration and more air. The secret to good technique is thinking and blowing.”
    When asked about his daily warm up, Beaudiment shared these thoughts: “I play long tones first forte, then piano, because the standard warm up of Moyse De La Sonorite, where all notes are one dynamic, does not really warm up all the sound. I play scales with very little sound to relax the lips and warm up the fingers. I prepare the difficult passages in the orchestral music further in advance than the pieces that are really good friends, like Brahms Symphony #1 for example, where I can prepare the day before the rehearsal.”
    With his many passions for orchestral playing, teaching, and chamber music, Beaudiment feels that the hardest thing in life is to find balance. “It is one thing to have a great job; it is another to know exactly the kinds of things that are good for you and right for you as a person. There are some things I am not willing to do for my career any more at this stage of my life. It is easy to be a good person, and it is also easy to be a difficult person. The key is to have this wisdom beyond the job. Sometimes it takes just one person in an orchestra to make things difficult. There is an art to being a great colleague. I am motivated by the love of music, certainly not just money, and by sharing this music. To improve, to be better 15 years from now, as well as to create what the composer wanted, that is the goal. I want to find the perfect balance and peace between my private and professional lives in the future.”

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French School of Flute Playing
    Beaudiment’s style brilliantly represents the French School of flute playing. “The French School is characterized by a sound that is full of color, not forced, and not powerful at all costs. It began after the French Revolution in 1795. François Devienne was one of the first teachers at the conservatory, and woodwind instruments were at the core of this sound revolution. There is clarity of tone, and vibrato is approached in a more relaxed, less mechanical way. It is not taught with x number of pulses per beat. The delicacy of Impressionism, from Debussy to Ravel, also influences the sound, as does the lighter style of French food, as opposed to heavier German fare. There can be an intensity of sound without any vibrato at all, and conversely a player can be very non-musical with vibrato in their sound. Vibrato is a tool for expression. In the 1930s most French flutists sounded similar with a tight throat, which closes off the air stream, and a tighter vibrato. Rampal was one of the first players to come along and perform with a deep, more open and relaxed vibrato and tone quality.”

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Beaudiment’s Favorite Etude Books

Joachim Andersen, Op. 33,63,15, 60
Ernesto Kohler, Op. 33, 66, 75
Sigfrid Karg Elert, 30 Caprices, Op. 107
Theobald Boehm, 24 Caprices, Op. 26
Leonardo de Lorenzo, Op. 34
Paul Jeanjean, Modern Studies

Transcriptions of Violin Works
Niccolò Paganini, 24 Caprices
Henryk Wieniawski, Caprices

The post Success From Hard Work and Passion: A Conversation with Julien Beaudiment. appeared first on The Instrumentalist.