Where do you place your cork?
    On my current piccolo I rarely adjust it from where it was placed by the maker or repair technician. In the past I have experimented with moving it in and out a bit. Moving it in helps get the high notes out better, but the sound is a little smaller. Moving it out results in a more resonant sound, but makes the high register more challenging. It is worth it to experiment a bit to see what cork placement gets you the best overall results. A small adjustment can make a big difference.

How do you align the headjoint with the body?
    I line up the blowhole to be approximately in line with the C key on the body. When all is said and done, it is probably turned in very, very slightly from that, but the C key is a good approximation.

Do you wear one or two ear plugs?
    At some point I always end up using two earplugs while practicing because I need to do long tones in the high register. In performance I like to just use one plug in the right ear so I can hear the section to my left better. I may add the left plug as well if the music is loud for an extended period of time. I always mark in my music when to put in or take out each earplug.

What alternate fingerings do you use on a regular basis?
First and second octave A: Add the G# key. Do this on flute as well to stabilize the pitch and add resonance to the note.

Third octave A: I sometimes add RH 3 and move my pinky from the D#  key to cover the end of the piccolo. This helps bring the pitch down a little and stabilizes the note.

Third octave G: To slightly raise the pitch, I sometimes add the G# key + RH2,3.

Third octave G#6: Add right hand 2 and 3. This fingering, also useful on the flute, should be considered a standard fingering for piccolo.

Third octave B: To flatten the pitch, I sometimes use the first trill key instead of the second even though this is a more resistant fingering.

Third octave B: Use both trill keys and RH 3.

Third octave C: Add RH 2 to the regular fingering. I also sometimes finger high B without the thumb. This fingering is more resistant and can be flat, but it is in tune when played very loud. 

Third octave C#: I often use LH 2,3, and RH 1 or LH 2,3, and RH 234.

Fourth octave C#: LH 2,3,4 and RH 1

    While alternate fingerings are great, know your instrument and be in tune with yourself. You will still have to make some adjustments in rehearsals, but at least you know you will be in the ballpark.

How do you warm up?
    I practice a long tone warmup in the low register to find a good sound. I try to be aware of where the piccolo is placed on the lip (higher than on the flute). I check my body alignment and think about relaxation. I know I tend to carry tension in my right shoulder and jaw, so it is important that I take care of that first thing. Then I move to the middle register via octaves off the low register or harmonics off the low register. It is also important to play long tones in the high register with a tuner. I practice loud and soft playing in each register with a tuner including crescendos and diminuendos. Also, I do a basic articulation warmup in each register that addresses both single and double tonguing.
    For fingers I almost always play the Ab Major, A major and Bb major scales in the upper register and work on some of the more difficult cross fingering two-note combinations, such as E/F#, F#/G# (basically anything alternating with G#).

Do you have any tuning tricks when playing in an orchestra?
    Listen, listen, listen. Always try to hear if you are playing in unison or octaves with someone else in the orchestra. Hear the next note you are about to play in your mind’s ear before you play it. For tricky wind chords, know which note you have in the chord. If you are having trouble, play quieter so you can hear what is going on around you better.

What are your thoughts on vibrato when playing the piccolo vs. the flute?
    Piccolo vibrato is produced in the same way as on the flute, but the waves should be shallower since they will overly disturb the smaller airstream if produced as vigorously as on flute. 

Do you single tongue or double tongue most things?
    I tend to rely a lot on double tongue. Maybe more than I should. I do try articulated passages that are “on the edge” so to speak both ways to see what will work best for me.

What are the top excerpts a piccolo player should know well?
    Sousa’s Stars and Stripes, Rossini’s Semeramide, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, Ravel’s Bolero and Mother Goose Suite, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Shostakovich’s Symphonies No. 5 and 9.

Which piccolo players have influenced your playing?
    Sarah Jackson, Los Angeles Philharmonic piccolo, taught me the most about how to play the piccolo in a way that worked for me personally. My colleague Roma Duncan is always an inspiration and makes a beautiful open sound I aspire to emulate. Jim Walker, who while not a piccolo player, per se, was a big influence with his encouragement and demonstration by example of how not to be intimidated by the instrument. He sounds terrific on piccolo, by the way!      

The post Q&A with Greg Milliren Minnesota Orchestra appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Know your instrument
    Handle it with respect and if it needs adjustment, take it to a good repair person. Ask members of your group for recommendations.
    Work with a tuner to determine which pitches are problems with your particular instrument. Use a marking pen to put a line on the instrument to indicate where it is in tune to the tuning note your group uses. This gives you a consistent place to start when tuning in the group. If your flute is built to A442 and your group tunes to A440, pull out. If you are consistently sharp on a particular note (which you know from working with the tuner), mark that note in the music so you will remember to play it down. I consistently play sharp on high F# so I have to play it down; this is just how it is for me. Everyone has notes with such problems. Pitch is a random variable, and you have to do what you can to control it. 
 
Intonation is relative
    This means that while you might be in tune with the tuner, you might still be out of tune with the group. Listen and make adjustments to be in tune with the group. Pitch changes with room temperature, atmospheric pressure, and even the condition of your lips. The tuner gives an absolute pitch based on physics and does not vary with other factors. If each member of the group uses the tuner to get the tuning note pitch, then the group will be close to in tune, but remember that a tuning pitch is just a starting point. Agreement with the tuner just gets everyone in the same pitch neighborhood; use your ear to get to the right address relative to the group.

Learn your part
    This may seem obvious, but there is nothing more irritating than a player who consistently practices a passage while the director is trying to explain how the group should think about that section. Rehearsal is for learning how all of the parts fit together. Practice at home. There are five aspects that you should practice at home: learning the notes, intonation, rhythm, tone quality, and interpretation. Use a metronome to help with the counting, and subdivide on difficult passages. Do not just go through the motions; engage your brain.

Be on time to rehearsal.
    This means get there early to get set up and warm up, so that when it is time to begin, you are ready. This can take some time for those with several instruments. For example, I often play bass, C flute, and piccolo in a given program. Sometimes alto and contrabass are added to that mix. It can take considerable time to prepare to play all of these instruments. Do your best on this; your colleagues will appreciate your effort. If you know you will be late, let the group know so that the order of the rehearsal can be changed if needed. 

Respect the director
    This can be a problem in community groups; socializing is important but the minute the director takes the podium, it is time to get serious. Stop talking, pick up your instrument and be ready to play. Generally, when the director raises the baton, you should get the instrument in position to play and take a breath so you can produce a tone at the downbeat. There is another side to this. Some directors have a bad habit of raising the baton and then talking about the music. In such a case, the players sit there holding their breath while the director talks. When the director stops in the middle of a piece by lowering the baton, stop playing. It wastes everyone’s time to wait until you get the message that the group has stopped. Directors lower the baton because they want to make a point about rhythm, interpretation, intonation, or musicality. Pay attention.
 
Think about your part
    Notice how your music fits with the rest of the part. You should know who has the melody and who is playing the harmony. If you cannot hear the person on either side of you, you may be playing too loudly. You cannot tell whether you are in tune with the group if you cannot hear the group. Balance is important, and directors manage this by asking for more or less from various players. With one group, I had to change to a piccolo that was less powerful in order to get the balance that the director was after.  
    This is a lot to think about. However, we can all enjoy playing as a member of the ensemble more if we are mindful of these principles.     

The post How to Play Nicely with Others appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Photos
    High-quality photographs of yourself are helpful for a variety of situations. They are useful for concert programs, website design, job inquiries, press releases, author photos for publications and so on. Photos should be taken in high resolution (MB rather than kb file size) and saved in a standard format (TIF or JPEG). It is much easier to have a variety of photos available in advance rather than frantically scrambling to find one under pressure. Be aware that photos used online are usually uploaded at a substantially lower resolution than those needed for printing. Take all photos at a high resolution and save the original high-quality images for future use. In other words a photo pulled off of Facebook will look blurry when used as an artist photo in a printed program.
    It may be worthwhile to hire a professional photographer for a photoshoot. Good focus and photo quality are critical, and a variety of pictures with different outfits and backgrounds will give you more options. Take both horizontal and vertical pictures as well as posed headshots and pictures of you playing. It is a good idea to find an objective friend to help evaluate the pictures.
    Think about what is in the background of the image. If there is clutter, remove it. Don’t wear clothing that is the same color as the background. Be sure to align the flute as you would when you perform and check the photo for good posture, hand position, and embouchure. Other good photos to add to your file include pictures of you performing in a recital, in an orchestral flute section, teaching a student or masterclass etc. Take new pictures periodically to reflect what you are doing. Decades-old bio pictures might have fewer wrinkles, but they will not accurately depict your current professional appearance. If a photo credit is required, save that information in a way that is easy to locate.

Biographical Information
    Organize pertinent information into well-written bios. Different situations require bios of different lengths. Write a short 2-3 sentence bio with only the most critical facts. This might include degrees and schools and key professional experiences. You should also write one that includes more detailed background information for a concert program or website. Look at what others have done for ideas. The bio might include information about your career, professional achievements, and education. It also might include professional affiliations, career highlights, quotes from major reviews, current projects, and how you like to spend your time when not performing. Vary your sentence structure and avoid starting each sentence with your name. In general less is more. Ask someone with good writing skills to check it over for clarity and interest as well as grammar and spelling errors. For those with varied career paths, slightly different bios for each one may be helpful. For example, one might focus on teaching while another emphasizes performing experience. Save them in a file for easy access, and update several times a year.

CV/Resume
    Most professionals have already compiled a CV or a resume. The important thing is to update it frequently. Just as with the bio, consider writing a CV or resume to reflect different aspects of your professional life. You might have one CV for teaching, another for auditioning for an orchestra, and another for conducting or coaching a flute choir.

Online
    Your social media and general internet persona is extremely important. Assume that people will look you up online before hiring you or attending your performances. Make sure that your image is consistent and professional. Make it easy for people to learn who you are and the skills you have to offer. Be sure to update online information regularly. (“”, Jan. 2016 offers some practical tips that can be applied to a performing career as well as a teaching studio.)

Calendar
    Have a calendar that is used only for your professional life. Keep it close at hand so when you get a call to play a recital, sub in an orchestra, or teach a masterclass, you know immediately if you are available. For income tax purposes, jot on the calendar your payment as well as any transportation and meal costs and other deductible items.

Recital Repertoire
    In late spring I compile several recital programs for the next year. There may be a few pieces that will be on each program, but there are others that are different. This is a program I rehearse with my pianist so it is ready to go on a certain concert date but also prepared for performances that come up with little notice. Make sure that your selections are versatile and can be used for different occasions. For example, I include something that I could play at Rotary, at church, or at a funeral on an hour’s notice. The piece for Rotary might be an encore on the recital program, and the piece for church might be a slow movement from a sonata or a complete Baroque or Classic era piece. During the year, I may switch out a piece here and there so that by the end of the concert season, the first and last program are completely different. This type of program planning works well for chamber musicians as well.

Concerto Repertoire
    Every flutist should have a few concertos that are ready to play on short notice. For pieces in public domain I also own the accompaniment/orchestral parts and have my own bowings, articulation marks and dynamics notated. These include such concertos as the Bach Suite in B Minor, Bach Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2, 4, 5, Vivaldi, Goldfinch Concerto, Mozart Concertos in G, K. 313 and D, K. 314, as well as works by my husband Thom Ritter George (Concerto for Flute and Piccolo, Legend for Flute and Orchestra, and transcriptions of the Chaminade Concertino and David Popper Hungarian Rhapsody).

Symphonic Repertoire
    The flute, piccolo, and alto flute parts to works in public domain may be downloaded from www.imslp.org. Several times in my career, I filled in for someone at the last moment and was happy that I had the orchestral part to review before the rehearsal or concert. The League of American Orchestras collects data from 62 professional orchestras. (See below for compositions performed by five or more orchestras during the 2010-2011 season.) These are the works to learn first to be prepared for the future. Notice how many of the pieces are either piano or violin concertos.
    Flutists seeking acceptance into a summer orchestral program, a conservatory or school of music may be asked to include recorded excerpts. Record-ing and then re-recording these on an ongoing basis should be a prime goal. (Check the sidebar below as many of the standard excerpts in the orchestral studies books are not included on the most performed list. For piccolo players learn the Sousa Stars and Stripes in both keys. This is a favorite encore for both bands and orchestras.)

Equipment
   Be sure your flute, piccolo and alto flute are in excellent playing condition. Schedule a COA at least a couple of times a year. If you do not play piccolo regularly, practicing it every few days will make sure you are ready to accept a last minute job. Have appropriate clothing  – usually all black and with long sleeves – that is appropriate for the season. There is nothing like shivering in the winter and perspiring in the summer. Comfortable shoes that you can wear and walk in for long periods of time and that help with good posture are essential.

Miscellaneous
    If called at the last minute, make sure you have someone who can babysit, feed the cat, and walk the dog. In the busy seasons, have gas in the car and an up-to-date passport. With a little advance thought and preparation, you can be ready for almost any opportunity at a moment’s notice.    

* * *

Most Frequently Performed Orchestral Works
    Each of these composition received five or more performances during the 2010-2011 season. (62 orchestras contributed to this list based on 1,247 performances. Information provided by the League of American Orchestras.)

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19
Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Symphonies Nos. 3,5,7,8,
Violin Concerto, Egmont Overture
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14
Bizet: Carmen Suites Nos. 1, 2
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture, Piano Concertos No. 1, Violin Concerto, German Requiem, Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4.
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Debussy: L’après-midi d’un faune
Dvorak: Carnival Overture, Cello Concerto, Symphonies Nos. 7,8,9
Elgar: Enigma Variations
Gershwin: Piano Concerto, Rhapsody in Blue
Glinka: Ruslan and Ludmilla
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis
Holst: The Planets
Liszt: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2
Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5, Symphony No. 41
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos No. 2, 3. Symphony No. 2
Ravel: Bolero
Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Rapsodie Espagnole, Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade
Schumann: Symphony No. 4
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Symphonies Nos. 2, 5
Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, Piano Concerto No. 1, Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, 6.
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries

The post Ready to Go appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    As the end of the school year approaches, it is time to plan your summer vacation. For student flutists, there are wide variety of opportunities that will allow you to grow and develop as a musician. Over the years, I have attended summer masterclasses, NFA Conventions, and orchestral and chamber music programs in addition to private study with a variety of teachers. When I returned to school, my professors commented that I made as much progress in the three summer months as during the entire previous academic year. These experiences propelled me forward in my studies and prevented me from regressing.

Deciding on a Program
    Each type of summer program presents its own distinctive benefits. Masterclasses offer the chance to study closely with a teacher and allow you to observe how the teacher interacts with others. Masterclasses are designed to expose you to a wide array of repertoire, flutists of various performance levels, and one or more flute professors. In addition to meeting new flute friends, there is the opportunity to work with a teacher with whom you may be interested in studying with in future degree programs. Many of the teachers I worked with in masterclasses ended up being teachers that I was interested in studying with in graduate school. The experiences also gave me a leg up on the competition as I had already forged a personal connection with the professors.  
    During my undergraduate years, I also attended summer orchestral programs to develop and hone my skills. Prior to attending my first summer orchestral program, I had not been placed in the orchestra at school. After my first orchestral intensive, I was placed in orchestra every semester for the rest of my undergraduate career, with consistently strong placement within the section. The opportunity to play and perform orchestral repertoire every day, as well as work with outstanding conductors, helped me figure out what I needed to do to become a strong orchestral player.  
    While finances may be a prohibiting factor for some summer programs, do not rule out the possibility of summer study. Many programs offer scholarships, financial aid, and work study opportunities. Additionally, there are programs in the United States and abroad that offer a small stipend for students to further their studies.

Networking
    One of the biggest benefits from my years of summer study has been the chance to meet teachers, conductors and fellow musicians who will eventually become your colleagues. Almost every summer, I have run into someone I had met at a previous program. The chance to work with multiple conductors and teachers is priceless. It is comforting to walk into an audition with a teacher or conductor you already know. 
    It is advantageous to have friends in schools across the country who can show you around campus and perhaps offer you a place to stay while on the audition circuit. Leaving my undergraduate university was much easier knowing I was coming to a school where I already knew a few people. 

Opportunities to Explore
    In addition to growing as a musician, summer study provides the opportunity to grow as a person. Attending a summer program in a different area of the country is a great way to discover another environment, perhaps a new region or even a new country. Last summer, I went to both the mountains of Tennessee and the beaches of Cape Cod for summer festivals. You can learn about the politics and history of the region, sightsee, explore new libraries, or even learn a new language.  

Lifelong Skills
    Summer study provides an opportunity to take risks without the consequence of a bad grade or poor ensemble placement. During my first orchestral program, I was placed on piccolo for Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, despite having never played piccolo in an orchestra before. Terrified, I came to the first rehearsal filled with fear and hesitation until my teacher pulled me aside and said “Just go for it! Who cares if you mess up, you’re on a mountaintop! Who is going to hear you – the cows?” I approached the rest of the week with excitement for the challenge and had a great experience in the concert. Since then, I have discovered a true passion for piccolo and have been given piccolo parts in most of the orchestras I play with because the conductors notice I am not afraid of the instrument.
    Due to the short nature of summer programs, everything is intensified from the rehearsals to the concert cycles. This gives students a feel for a professional music career. I saw tremendous improvements in my sightreading skills and part preparation because of this fast-paced schedule. I have changed how I approach my preparation for ensembles and am known as the go-to substitute flutist for any of the ensembles or chamber groups at my graduate school because I can quickly learn a part and fit into a new ensemble. I have also subbed with local orchestras which has led to even more opportunities. This exposure to a wide variety of orchestral and chamber repertoire has made me a more well-rounded and knowledgeable musician.
    At my graduate school we frequently hold orchestral reading sessions where we play two to three works that will not be programmed on any concerts. For most people, nearly every piece is new to them, but at every session in the fall, I found that I had already performed each of the pieces. This made me stand out to the conductor as an informed, experienced musician.  
    Summer study is a fantastic way to stay in shape over the long break. It is also a great opportunity to expand your musical horizons, make new friends, and return to school a better player. 

The post The Benefits of Summer Study appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Attending a summer music festival or masterclass is a great way for aspiring professional musicians to spend their summer. Festivals provide an excellent opportunity for musicians to find new motivation and grow during what can otherwise become unproductive time between school terms. Unfortunately high tuition rates, travel expenses, time commitment, and the competitive acceptance rates into these programs may make them out of reach for many students. This does not mean that they should resign themselves to a summer of unproductivity and living vicariously through social media posts of friends who are attending these festivals. There are ways to build a personal summer music festival from the comfort of your own hometown.

Structure and Daily Routine
    Perhaps the most valuable, and often the most overlooked, advantage of a summer festival is that musicians are provided with a set schedule of classes and rehearsals and all the goals that go along with it. Participants grow as musicians simply by attending rehearsals and preparing music in an allotted time. Similar to school, expectations are outlined by teachers or conductors, and success can be measured through competitions, assignments in ensembles, and performances. When musicians are removed from this structure, they often struggle to stay motivated, and their musicianship can suffer from the lack of practice and drive that follows.
    To avoid the doldrums of a lack of structure, begin by making an honest list of fundamental techniques that are lacking in your playing. If you are unsure of the worth in learning something, ask yourself, “Can Emmanuel Pahud play it?” If the answer is yes, put it on the list. 
    My list is divided into the following categories: tone exercises, fingered exercises (such as measured trills), scales (major, minor, chromatic, pentatonic, whole tone, octatonic, blues, modal), scales in sequential patterns, intervals, extended techniques, and repertoire. Repertoire includes etudes, solos, and orchestra compositions.
    From this list compile a realistic and tangible set of specific goals for your summer do-it-yourself music festival. Create a daily practice routine that mixes elements from each category. Just as if you were at a festival, set specific times to practice. Set an alarm to practice early or squeeze in an extra hour before bedtime. Do what is necessary to meet the practice goals.
    For each category select appropriate materials. Explore the standard and less traditional technique books, etudes, solos and excerpts. Summer is a good time to catch up on areas in which you are behind or that need improvement.

Masterclasses and Lessons
    Most summer programs offer an opportunity to learn from celebrated musicians and educators. While there is no substitute for working directly with these professionals, there are ways to learn from the greats from the comfort of your living room. At least three times a week schedule a youtube session and watch videos of masterclasses or tutorials. There are also videos of full classes taught by Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Galway, and Phillipe Bernold. Robert Dick and Greg Patillo have tutorial videos on learning extended techniques, and Alexa Still has videos on many of the standard orchestral excerpts available for free through her website. There are many others.
    Search general topics such as vibrato, phrasing, breathing, and stage fright to learn what non-flutists have to offer on these topics. There are a handful of TEDtalk videos that are relevant to music and arts fields. Take notes as if you were paying to observe a masterclass at a festival. Incorporate these ideas into your daily practice.
    In addition to observing classes online, make a reading list on music related topics including phrasing, performance, flute/music history, historical performance practice, Alexander Technique, and professional development. Some great books to start with include: The Simple Flute by Michel Debost, Kincadiana by John Krell, The Flute Book by Nancy Toff, On Playing the Flute by Quantz, The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallway, Musicophelia by Oliver Sacks, Sound in Motion by Dave McGill, The Art of Practicing by Bruser, and This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitan.
    Take private lessons from different teachers to get a new perspective. Your options will depend on where you live, but start with musicians in area orchestras and teachers at local universities. If you live in an area with few options, consider a road trip to the nearest town with a large orchestra or university and take lessons from a teacher there. (Another option might be to take a lesson with an outstanding teacher of another instrument to get a different perspective.) Even if you do this just once a month, you could get several incredible lessons from teachers with varied approaches and styles by the end of the summer. It is also likely to be a fraction of the cost of a summer music festival. Many teachers also offer online lessons.

Play in Ensembles
    The focus of many summer music festivals is the ensemble program. This might be the most difficult element to recreate on your own. There is no replacement for the interactive experience of performing live music under a conductor with fellow musicians. Join a local community ensemble even if it is not at a high playing level. Playing in a community flute choir or summer band will keep your skills up and usually provides the opportunity to play some fun music in a more relaxed setting. It can also be a great way to network with other musicians in your area. If you cannot find a community ensemble to join, assemble friends and colleagues to periodically read through some music.

Play with a CD
    An excellent goal is to learn all the parts (flute 1, flute 2, piccolo etc.) to the standard orchestral repertoire and then play each part with a CD performed by a professional orchestra. I recommend blasting the music so it feels like you are playing in the middle of the orchestra. This can be challenging without a conductor, but it teaches you to listen to the other parts in the orchestra, especially during long rests. A great place to start is with symphonies in public domain including those by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Learn two symphonies a week and at the end of the week give a performance with your favorite orchestral recording. For example, you could work through all of the Beethoven symphonies over the course of the summer, something that you would not accomplish at most summer music festivals.

Attend Concerts
    Attending concerts is another great part of summer music festivals. Check out the live performances in your area. Often there are a variety of free outdoor concerts. If you can’t attend live performances, find online videos of standard repertoire performed by great orchestras of the world. (I would also recommend purchasing a subscription to the Berlin Philharmonic’s concert streams.) Make the video watching a social event. Invite your friends to watch with you. Serve refreshments and drinks, turn down the lights, and watch the performances as if you were having movie night. Create a diverse program of standard orchestral, chamber, and solo programming. Try to do this every weekend over the summer.

The Final Concert
    Summer music festivals end with a bang, so set a goal of giving a performance at the end of your summer. Collaborate with a pianist to give a full flute recital, perform a concert of solo flute works, or perform with a chamber ensemble. Find a local school or church to host the concert or use your own living room. For larger performances, use the experience to learn how to make programs, write program notes, and advertise the event.

Parting Thoughts
    As a student, I always worried that if I did not attend the best music festivals, I was shooting myself in the foot. The flute players at those festivals were sure to get better than me, and there was little I could do about it. Your situation is really what you make of it. Summer music festivals are great, but it still takes individual practice and discipline to get the most out of that opportunity. Creating your own summer music festival is not only a way to stay motivated and improve your skills, but it is an exercise in discipline and personal drive which are qualities that the best musicians all seem to share.   

The post Build Your Own Music Festival appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Scales
    Scale practice does not have to be boring. Change the rhythm or the articulation, and pause sometimes to allow the scale to breathe. Vary where you place a crescendo or decrescendo. Explore different styles such as a jazz  or blues scale or try to imitate the styles of Aaron Copland, Miles Davis, or Mozart. The possibilities are endless. This type of practice allows you to tackle all types of technical problems, from articulation to keeping a musical line going across rests. To work on intonation, set the tuner to a drone on the tonic note and slowly play the scale starting on the drone pitch. As you play, tune each interval with the drone.

Explore Emotions
    With a musician friend, take turns giving each other an emotion to improvise upon. They might include silly, surprised, annoyed, indifferent, calm, nostalgic, sad, happy, or angry. Afterwards, the listener discusses what came across and offers suggestions on how to improve. This exercise is also a wonderful way to practice interpretation of standard repertoire. In every piece, I think about what emotion I should convey. Use tone color, quality of the attack, dynamics, and vibrato speed to convey various emotions.

One Note Only
    Use one note to improvise a piece while trying to be as interesting and creative as possible. You can bend the pitch, jump the octaves, vary articulation and note durations, incorporate silences, explore dynamics, and use extended techniques. Once you feel you have exhausted the possibilities with one note, expand to two notes, then three and so on.

Play with Contrasts
    Freely improvise using a certain style, then change abruptly to something completely different. For example, start out by playing something that is loud and abrasive, with many accents and short fast notes. Then suddenly switch to playing softly and lightly. Another option might be to play long, legato low notes and then suddenly switch to short, fast notes in the high register. Be as extreme in the contrasts as possible. Play the soft notes like a whisper, and loud notes like thunder. Make the accents as punchy as possible, and then when conveying lightness, make your tongue hit like a soft brush stroke. This is a lot of fun, but more importantly, this is important practice for performance. The more contrast you bring out in a piece, the better you will hold the interest of an audience.

Play with Rhythm
    Select a meter. At first, start with 3/4, 4/4 or 6/8 before moving on to less common, irregular meters such as 5/8, 7/8 or 5/4. Next, decide which notes should be accented. For example, if you pick 5/4, you could choose to accent beats 2 and 5 in every measure.

    Play a scale with a metronome while using this accent pattern. Then, apply this accent pattern to a free improvisation. After a while, change the accents to different beats. For variety, use different note values on each beat. 
    Next, pick two rhythmic patterns and experiment with them. Gradually expand the number of rhythmic patterns you allow yourself to use. Eventually, play your improvisation with any rhythm that comes to mind.

Create a Melody
    Pick a scale (major or minor) and play it through. Then, select five notes from that scale. For example, you could use the first five notes of the E minor scale in only one octave. Now create your improvised melody from these notes. Explore some of these options as you create a melody: include stepwise motion and leaps of a third, incorporate passing and neighbor tones, and vary the rhythms. Once you feel comfortable with melodies that use up to five notes in one octave, then expand to include six, seven, or eight notes.

    The next step is to play freestyle, without any limits in place. This means you can play any note of the chosen scale in any octave, modulate to a different key, or incorporate chromaticism. Many interesting melodies build to a climax, which is the loudest and highest note of a phrase, and then come down in both register and dynamic to the tonic. Explore other scales, such as major and minor pentatonic, octatonic, chromatic, whole tone, and the modes.

Utilize Silence
    Silence is a very important and effective element in music. It allows music to breathe and imparts greater impact to the notes around it. A solid stream of notes will eventually bore an audience. Add rests to make a piece more interesting and less predictable. Silence is especially important if you improvise with someone else. Instead of hearing a wall of sound as everyone plays at once, it allows for differences in texture to be heard. Apply rests to your newly created melody.

Many dance rhythms especially in Latin American music incorporate rests.

    Try these improvisational tools to develop your own creativity. In the process you will learn to play more musically, become a better listener, and appreciate the creativity of others.  

The post Incorporating Improvisation into Your Practice Routine appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

What brought you to the Baltimore Symphony?
    I was invited to audition mid-season. Their piccolo player had left the orchestra suddenly, and John Krell, solo piccolo with the Philadelphia Orchestra and author of Kincaidiana, recommended me for the job. I was in the middle of a five-week tour with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company and had no orchestra parts with me other than the ballet scores we were playing. I requested the BSO have a folder of parts copied and ready for me and arrived 45 minutes before the audition so I could practice. That may be a record of sorts for the least prepared orchestral audition ever. I started with the orchestra two weeks later on February 19, 1969, rehearsing and performing Holst The Planets.

What changes have you see in your many years with the orchestra?
    When I joined the orchestra, the season was only 36 weeks long. We mostly rehearsed and played in the Lyric Theater which we rented. When other shows or groups used the theater, we rehearsed at a nearby high school. We also gave performances in city schools. Times have changed dramatically since then. We still give concerts for school children, but they are brought to us. The orchestra is employed year round now and has two homes. We own and perform weekly in Baltimore at The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and almost all of the concerts are repeated in Bethesda at the Strathmore Music Center.
    I have played for five music directors in my 47 years with the Baltimore Symphony. In 1969 Sergiu Comissiona was the appointed music director for the following season, and Englishman Brian Priestman was the designated interim music director. Priestman was jovial and energetic, with a wonderful sense of humor. Comissiona had great talent and musical sensitivity, and achieved many great performances with the orchestra. He demanded a very wide dynamic range, often repeating passages until a true pianissimo was achieved. This made for some tense times for a piccolo player. During these years I really learned how to play very, very soft, while still maintaining a lyrical sound. Comissiona was followed by David Zinman. I often refer to our years with Zinman as our Camelot. Zinman was quintessentially American – direct, honest, and concise. He preferred a lean and tight ensemble cohesiveness from the orchestra, and possessed a very clear baton technique that made great ensemble playing possible. I treasure the many performances and recordings we made with Zinman.
    He was followed by Yuri Temirkanov, perhaps the greatest living interpreter of Russian repertoire. Temirkanov’s skill was so extraordinary that I would often observe him entranced – once even missing an entrance because I was so enthralled with the musical texture and phrase he was spinning. I remember the first rehearsal we had with him as music director. He was rehearsing the opening of Mahler Symphony #2. The low strings were not playing the opening to his satisfaction, and he had them repeat the passage several times, singing in between repetitions the way he wanted it. Suddenly, after five or six tries, it clicked. It was so electrifying that I actually felt the hair on my neck and arms stand up.
    When Temirkanov left, there was much press about the hiring of Marin Alsop, as she was and is the first woman to direct a major American Orchestra. She has accomplished so much in her time here, especially in reaching out to the community. With her own funds she initiated a program called Orchkids bringing extended musical education to inner city schools. She also initiated the BSO Academy which invites adult amateurs to rehearse and perform with the orchestra. Personally, I am especially proud of a recording of Dvorák’s 6th Symphony made with Alsop. The piccolo only plays briefly in one movement, but the solo is fiendishly difficult to play in tune.
    During my tenure in the orchestra I have been featured in performances of the Vivaldi C major Concerto, the Liebermann Piccolo Concerto and Henri Kling’s, The Elephant and The Fly. As a piccolo player, of course my favorite works are the Shostakovich Symphonies, numbers 5 through 10, for their exceptionally beautiful and lyrical piccolo solos.

Since your parents were both well-known pianists and teachers at Curtis, what led you to the flute?
    My mother started teaching me piano when I was six. It did not go well. Most lessons ended in tears, as it was difficult for me to not feel in competition with her many outstanding students. Next I studied with my father’s former duo piano partner, Ralph Berkowitz. I also studied solfège every week for many years, and I am grateful for that valuable background. When Berkowitz left town several years later, I was allowed to switch to a different instrument.
    I wanted to learn to play the harp, but my mother objected. She pointed out that one needed a station wagon to transport it from place to place, and that once it arrived, it was largely out of tune. My harpist friends find this amusing; admitting that at that time there was probably some truth in her assessment. Mother wanted me to play clarinet, which did not line up at all with my fantasy of sitting at a gold harp. We ultimately compromised on the flute, and William Kincaid, principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra and flute professor at The Curtis Institute, agreed to oversee my studies.
     I worked briefly with a student at Curtis, but after six months began studies with John Krell. Since my mother doubted my motivation, and I was still somewhat disappointed about the harp, she hired two Curtis students to practice with me four days a week. This was incredibly helpful. Each session was an hour long, and I learned efficient practice techniques from the start. Between the solfège studies and these coached practice sessions, there is no doubt in my mind that I owe my mother credit for my musical career.
    John Krell was an amazing teacher and a great inspiration. He stressed the importance of supporting the airstream. He would often use the tip of his flute to poke me in the diaphragm to make sure these muscles were in use. (We now know that much of what was taught about so called diaphragm support was anatomically incorrect, but the overall concepts worked.) With him I learned almost all the scales and arpeggios and one book of Andersen etudes.
    He was an extraordinary piccoloist, and his performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra were legendary. He had a luscious warm flute-like tone. For many years I could always recognize a Philadelphia Orchestra recording by his sound alone. When I started to play piccolo seriously, I would beg him for a lesson. He would begrudgingly oblige, saying that it was not really possible to teach the piccolo. He would usually reiterate this view just before giving me an incredible two- or three-hour lesson. (I think what he meant was that no one had taught him how to play the piccolo, so he had to figure it all out on his own.) Despite this view, he taught me, and others, so much about playing the instrument. He shared his knowledge generously and was a constant inspiration. I also remember going to his home and being greeted so warmly by his wife. I was quite surprised to learn after she passed away, that she was a spy for the US during World War II.
    After 18 months with Krell, I began lessons with William Kincaid. Since my father was his accompanist, Mr. Kincaid refused any payment for these lessons. However, my parents sent a fifth of single malt scotch with me to each lesson which he never refused.

William Kincaid, Laurie Sokoloff, and Vladimir Sokoloff

    Lessons with Kincaid were very structured. He possessed a keen and analytical mind and had a scientific approach to teaching. I knew exactly what was expected each week. It was assumed I would arrive at lessons already warmed up. I was expected to zip through scales, all at the same fast tempo. In the early Andersen etudes, I prepared two for each lesson. I had begun learning the Handel Sonatas in my brief time studying with Krell, and I finished learning the rest in my initial lessons with Kincaid. I memorized them and had them all at performance level before I was allowed to tackle Bach Sonatas. He gave me his articulation markings for the Bach sonatas, and I still treasure my copy today. In my own teaching I have changed a few, but not many.
   A great example of Kincaid’s analytical nature was the way he taught cadenzas, indicating exactly how many beats each note was to receive. This not only showed me how to play a cadenza but also taught me about note value ratios and how to develop phrasing and intensity. After learning all of the scales, arpeggios, and thirds and sixths, I learned the André Maquarre Daily Exercises. I was expected to memorize the C major/a minor themes, and then transpose them into all keys without looking at the music. This was wonderful ear training. Then came the Andersen Études. I was to single tongue sixteenth notes at quarter note=140 – a lofty goal that I admit I never quite achieved. He also believed in a double tongue that was indistinguishable from single tonguing, and that double and triple tonguing should be practiced at all speeds, including slowly. In most situations he recommended da and ga over ta and ka.
   After Handel and Bach, we moved on to Mozart Concerti, eventually adding Poulenc Sonata, Prokofiev Sonata, Griffes Poem, Dutilleux Sonata, Nielsen Concerto and Ibert Concerto. Interspersed between these more profound works were some less serious pieces like Kent Kennan’s Night Soliloquy, Andersen’s Scherzino, Caplet’s Reverie et Petite Valse, and Robert McBride’s In The Groove. I only rarely hear these performed today, although the Kennan and Caplet remain two of my favorites.

What was it like to study at The Curtis Institute when you were only 16 years old?
    In my high school sophomore year, I learned there would be several openings in Kincaid’s studio the following year. It seemed an advantageous time to audition, despite my age and only having studied for a few years. For the next several months I worked on the repertoire required for the audition: a solo of my choice, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo, and Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun. I was elated when I was accepted, along with flutists Charles Wyatt and Peter McKinnon. Since there typically were several under-age students at the school most years, Curtis provided private tutoring. I had several high school classes by myself and loved the individual instruction.
    It is embarrassing to admit but I was very underprepared my first year. I was not even totally secure with all of the fingerings in the third octave. This changed very quickly with a multitude of scales, arpeggios, Taffanel et Gaubert, Andersen Etudes, and Maquarre Daily Exercises. At The Curtis Institute we were encouraged to play recitals every year. I had the luxury of collaborating with my father at the piano.
    In Philadelphia at that time there were two opera companies hiring musicians in addition to the Pennsylvania Ballet. While all the flute jobs were taken, no one wanted to play piccolo. I volunteered to fill the piccolo vacancies and found I really loved playing the instrument. John Krell referred to the piccolo as the coloratura soprano of the orchestra. I have always loved that observation and embraced the concept.


photo by Mitro Hood

Is the curriculum you studied with Kincaid at The Curtis Institute similar to what you teach at the Peabody Institute?
    The curriculum at Peabody is similar with the exception of Maquarre Daily Exercises. Peabody requires familiarity with all scales and arpeggios, Taffanel et Gaubert thirds and sixths, and several Andersen etude books by the end of the first undergraduate year. I work with many types of students with different goals, so I have a variety of approaches to teaching. I am most demanding with my students at Peabody since their goals to be professional performers are the most serious. In my private teaching I adjust my style to suit each student. I have had high school students with professional goals. Some have auditioned and been accepted at Peabody with one studying with Marina Piccinini. I have also taught high school students who want to learn to play well, but as an enjoyable sideline to other future ambitions. I also work with adult amateurs who have returned to flute after a hiatus of many years. Some perform in church, some in neighborhood orchestras, and one played in a klezmer group.
    A dozen years ago I initiated a program at Peabody for attaining a master’s degree in piccolo performance. Teaching piccolo is most gratifying for me as this is my main area of expertise. Additionally, all undergraduate flutists are required to take two semesters of my weekly piccolo class, and graduate students one semester. Many then decide to study piccolo for their entire time at the institute. I am so proud of our flute and piccolo students, seven of whom have won eight orchestra piccolo auditions since I began teaching at Peabody. Additionally, my piccolo master’s degree candidates have won first prize in the last two NFA Piccolo Artist Competitions. (Zach Galatis in 2012, Jenni Miller in 2014).

What tips do you have about tone or articulation on the piccolo?
    Obviously everything is smaller on the piccolo. Piccolo playing requires a smaller embouchure, while still making sure the air flows freely. The aperture or opening in the lips should not be squeezed or pinched as this creates a shrill sound and makes playing soft dynamics almost impossible. Even the motion of the tongue when articulating on piccolo should be smaller, as the typical flute articulation motion results in an attack that is too percussive. These are over generalizations since, just as on flute, it is ideal to have a range of different articulation styles, as well as a palette of tone colors. Also I find the connection of the embouchure to the instrument more easily disturbed on piccolo, so players should have a smoother finger action, and keep the fingers closer to the keys.

With your busy performing and teaching schedule, how do you stay in shape?
    For most of my time with the Baltimore Symphony I practiced 30 minutes in the morning and an hour in the late afternoon preparing repertoire for that week and the following one. Twenty years ago this changed when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a syndrome characterized by widespread pain. Initially I was out of work for three months. This was a frightening time for me, as many experts recommended finding a different job. Playing in a symphony orchestra is so much more than a job. Fortunately by consulting others with the syndrome, I found a team of specialists with a more positive and constructive approach. I began six months of physical therapy sessions along with exercises to do at home daily. Every aspect of my life was examined and altered, from sleeping position, diet, posture, exercise, pastimes, etc. The Baltimore Symphony asked what they could do to help me get back to work for which I am eternally grateful. They provided a special chair with arms that adjusts in every direction. The BSO has transported my chair on tours, including to Europe and Asia. I also purchased a chair to have at home for practicing. I do have to limit my practice time, but I rely on the practice techniques I learned early on.
    I have never had one set warmup routine. Since my practice time is now limited, I prefer to focus on playing aspects I wish to improve. So some weeks I may use the initial 15 minutes working at opening up or broadening my sound on the piccolo, whereas other weeks I may work on speeding up articulation. I enjoy the variety.

What is next after retiring from the symphony this spring?
My fiancé and I have been planning our wedding and building a new home which we plan to move into soon. I will continue to play concerts and teach at The Peabody Institute,  masterclasses, and private students.

Stories About My Parents

    Eleanor Sokoloff continues to teach at The Curtis Institute at the age of 101. She took piano lessons at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a child and at age 17 began studies at The Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Five years later she joined the Curtis faculty. More than 75 of her students have soloed with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Her students include Hugh Sung, Lambert Orkis, Marcantonio Barone, Susan Starr, Claire Huangci, Kit Armstrong, Craig Sheppard, Meng-Chieh Liu, Leon McCawley, Keith Jarrett and Sean Kennard. In 2001 in recognition of her tenure, Sokoloff received the Curtis Alumni Award.
    Vladimir Sokoloff, also taught on the faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music and was orchestral pianist of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1938 to 1950. Besides playing chamber music with the Curtis String Quartet, he accompanied a who’s who of virtuoso performers including flutists William Kincaid and Julius Baker; violinists Efrem Zimbalist, Jaime Laredo and Aaron Rosand; violist William Primrose, cellists Gregor Piatigorsky and Emanuel Feuermann and soprano Marcella Sembrich. He helped found the New School in Philadelphia that later became the Ester Boyer School of Music at Temple University.

My Father and the Lost Flute
    While still a student at Curtis, I came home for dinner with my family before leaving to perform the Debussy Sonata for flute, viola and harp. I left my flute and music on a boot chest by the front door. After dinner I quickly dressed for the concert and then could not find my flute and music anywhere. In a total panic, I called Mr. Kincaid. He said to stop by the front desk of his apartment, and there would be a flute and music waiting for me. When I arrived at the performance, I was shocked to see that he had loaned me his own platinum flute!
    Throughout the following days, Philadelphia Orchestra members would stop me on the street to comment about my lost flute, a tale my father had shared with them much to my embarrassment. The next week my dad disappeared for a while during dinner. He often did this because he was unhappy that the trash collectors would not take everything he set out. To circumvent this, he would listen for the truck and personally hand them the trash.
    On this occasion, however, he was absent longer than usual. When he finally returned to the dinner table, he placed my flute and music in front of me. Apparently the week before he had placed a bundle of trash on the boot chest, unaware that my flute was underneath. When he handed the trash over, he also gave them my flute. Fortunately, the following week the trash collector asked my dad if he really had intended to discard the instrument and even made a special trip home to retrieve it. The funniest part of the story was that the following week, Philadelphia orchestra members again stopped me on the street to relate that they heard my father had found and rescued my flute. Apparently he never mentioned he was the one who threw it out.

My Mother
    I speak with my mother almost every day. She has shared many interesting tidbits about their early musical life. Recently she told me stories of a summer spent at Tanglewood, where apparently my father frequently went swimming with Leonard Bernstein. At concerts my parents routinely sat in Bernstein’s box seats, and on one such occasion my mother said they sat with a famous German composer, whose name she could not recall. She urged me to help her figure out his name and kept saying he was famous, but she thought mediocre. Since this covered a lot of territory, I was unable to supply the correct name until she added that my father and I had performed his sonata for flute and piano many times. My jaw dropped and I asked  hesitantly, “Hindemith?” “Yes, yes, that’s him,” she replied. I cannot decide which is more surprising – that my parents knew Hindemith or that my mother considered him a mediocre composer.
    My mother had a very full teaching schedule. She taught six days a week, most days going from 10 am until 6 pm in the evening without a break –  eating lunch at the piano. There was not much sound proofing in our home, so I grew up hearing piano music almost all the time. I know every note of the major piano repertoire although I do not always know the name of the composer since no one shouted up to my room the repertoire information. I was incredibly lucky to grow up hearing music tastefully and beautifully played.

* * *

    Laurie Sokoloff has played piccolo in the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 1969. She also teaches flute and piccolo at The Peabody Institute, a division of Johns Hopkins. This summer she will lead the Piccolo Division of the Marina Piccinini International Summer Flute Masterclasses May 27-June 1, 2016 at the Peabody Conservatory. Sokoloff has served as the chairperson of the National Flute Association Piccolo Committee and Coordinator of their Piccolo Artist Competition. She premiered Michael Daugherty’s The High and the Mighty for piccolo and piano at the 2000 NFA Convention. Sokoloff is a graduate of The Curtis Institute where she studied with William Kincaid, legendary principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The post Talking with Laurie Sokoloff On Kincaid, Piccolo, and the Baltimore Symphony appeared first on The Instrumentalist.