March 2021 Archives - The Instrumentalist

Thomas Nyfenger, More Than a Flutist

theinstrumenta — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 22:35:28 +0000

   Anyone who knows Thomas Nyfenger, professor of music at Yale University, is immediately impressed by his ability to magically imitate the sounds of other flutists. Nyfenger will say, "This is Rampal; this is Baker;" and so on. At one of his annual summer master classes, an Indian flutist demonstrated how different his music was from traditional Western flute music. The visitor played glissandi, unusual quarter-tone melodies, and all the things that "can’t be done" on the modern flute. Nyfenger took this on as a challenge and came to class the following day sounding just like his Indian guest – glissandi, quarter tones, and all.
   As a musician Nyfenger thinks through pieces on an extraordinarily high level. Julia Bogorad, principal flutist of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and former Nyfenger student, recalls an experience shared by all who study with him. After hearing her play a Jeanjean etude, he remarked, "It sounds as though you are hearing the harmony this way," at which point he quickly improvised an accompaniment at the piano. Then he said, "Perhaps you would like this better," and a luscious, elaborate Wagnerian sound emerged.
   As students, many of us have experienced that sinking feeling of having forgotten to bring the piano part to a lesson. Nyfenger offers his own solution to this predicament. "If he hasn’t memorized the piano part in question," says Mary Posses (Kansas City Conservatory), who studied with Nyfenger for six years, "he will improvise something that works."

Well-Rounded Musician
   Nyfenger’s knowledge of Baroque music is as equally thorough as it is of orchestral excerpts and the latest 20th-century music. Heidi Ruby (recent fourth prize winner of the Munich competition and second flute in the Columbus Symphony) refers to her study of the Telemann Twelve Methodical Sonatas as the highlight of her work with Nyfenger. Like most everyone, she was astounded by Nyfenger’s ability to ornament Baroque music from a knowledgable and creative basis. "Not only that, he can also improvise his own figured-bass accompaniment." When coaching students on orchestral excerpts and woodwind quintets (he has been a member of the New York Woodwind Quintet and several orchestras), Nyfenger always stresses the importance of knowing the whole score. As a living testament to his advice he frequently plays, say, the clarinet part on his flute – and not just the notes. You may believe you are actually hearing a clarinet!
   Exposure to such talent challenges the student to grow, but so does Nyfenger’s ability as a teacher. He is able to analyze quickly the weaknesses and needs of the student – whether it be technique, sound production, or even emotional needs. It may take him seven words to say what may take another teacher an hour. Peter Standaart, who has organized several master classes for Nyfenger, says, "The master class situation brings out the performer in him. He comes to life, as if he is on stage, and is always listening and considering what is best for the student." Along with the serious learning that takes place, there is a constant whirlwind of puns that fly by almost as fast as some of the notes.
   Nyfenger has this to say about his masterclasses:

There is a cross section of levels of accomplishment, attitudes, problems, beautiful things to share, and a built-in audience, the most critical, yet most sympathetic in the world. To get in front of these people and be a big ham, to accompany them, encourage them, chide them, share in the agony of their problems and the glory of their sucesses, to watch people help one another and learn from all these fine living examples: to me this is what teaching and learning are all about.

An Incredible Sound
   One of the best things about studying with Nyfenger is just to hear him play. Karen Yonovitz (University of Colorado, Boulder) says, "I’m still trying to attain the color and variety of his unique sound." Sandford [Sandy] Drelinger, who holds a unique perspective as a head-joint maker, pinpoints an "extraordinary property" of Nyfenger’s playing. He says that, whereas the French school is "wildly sensitive to timbre, the American school is equally sensitive to pitch. Tom Nyfenger is both; and with him it is intuitive, not cerebral."
   Nyfenger’s sound is effortless, hauntingly dark, and always expressive and adaptable to the music. Nyfenger is so sensitive to timbre, he may play different flutes during the same concert to help project the sound he believes the composer intended. In a recent concert he used his old French flute for both a Leclair sonata and Debussy’s Syrinx; his platinum flute for Density 21.5, and his gold flute for Romantic music.
   Changing from one flute to another is not just determined by timbral considerations. Articulation is another important factor. Nyfenger says, "My old French flute is the most clear and easy to articulate," thus reinforcing the particular demands of the music of Leclair. He has many insights about articulation which he shares with his students either through demonstration, exercises, or perceptively listening to a variety of flutists on records, one of his favorite pastimes shared with students. Following here is a conversation with Thomas Nyfenger.

When did you start playing the flute?
I began playing at age 13 without any instruction, then started my first lessons at age 17. My first instrument, however, was piano, which I began studying formally at age nine. When I was finishing high school I knew I was going to be a flutist. Maurice Sharp was my principal teacher, and I was also helped a lot by Robert Willoughby and William Herbert [piccoloist with the Cleveland Orchestra]. Still, many of my best teachers I’ve never paid. They contributed to my learning through the left ear while I sat second to them in orchestras.

How have you developed such a keen ear?
By listening critically to everything from age zero. My father played the piano by ear, in F# exclusively and cross-handed, and my mother sang. I imitated them, and listened to the radio in the stone age preceding television. I learned to play by ear and play things back on the piano. Improvising also seems to have helped.

Do you think flutists should play a second instrument?
Everyone should learn to play the piano before any other instrument. It is the measuring stick, the graphic example, of how to hear intervals and harmony. I also played doublebass, and tried the bassoon and horn. I feel this experience has given me an understanding of other instruments, and is definitely an aid to me in coaching mixed groups.

You have always stressed the importance of knowing the whole piece, not just the flute part. Why is this so important?
When someone plays for me, with or without the accompaniment, I know whether they know the entire score. If he sounds like someone reading just his own lines from a play in which all the other lines have been deleted, then the lack of context will cause him to offer a shallow interpretation. Whereas harmonic inflection, contrapuntal interplay, and rhythmic interaction – all these are derived from a knowledge of the whole piece. Who wants to be manning one operation on an assembly line?

How do you perceive your function as a teacher?
My function is to teach people how to think, how to work, how to accelerate their progress in a shorter time than were they left alone. Eventually, they can build beyond today’s standards.

What qualities do you encourage most in your students?
I encourage their right to develop, express, and share something beautiful, to be unique, though well-grounded and respectful of styles and differences of interpretation. Also, I encourage hard work and careful evaluation of what is coming out of the flute.

How do you motivate students?
I am afraid I have little energy or desire to motivate students in any way, except by offering examples, giving them my "permission" to play expressively and beautifully, and by helping them to be themselves. When I try to spoonfeed students by marking every nuance and demanding they be clones of myself, I feel as bad as when conductors try to do that to me.

Can you comment on the quality of students you have taught in the last 20 years?
I feel very fortunate in having worked with so many excellent students. The level of playing has obviously risen dramatically over the years, because examples via recordings and fine teachers have given people better and better head starts. At any given time, I have a couple of students who can play rings around me technically. I am pleased by this, and also just frustrated enough to try harder. I may control most of the lesson, but when the student offers something of interest, I will remember it, and thus learn myself.

What qualities distinguish an outstanding student from the others?
A fine ear, a sense of meter (which is more advanced than just having good rhythm), the ability to produce interesting tonal colors and to play rubato without extending the chronological debt; also total dedication and commitment, a hunger-in-the-gut to be outstanding.

What sorts of careers are your students now pursuing?
My students are playing in orchestras; teaching at universities, conservatories, and neighborhood schools; free-lancing, and even pursuing successful careers as soloists. Some play excellent jazz; some start chamber groups; some play for fun and sell stocks and live in splendor. One of my Yale senior classes, which was comprised of several excellent flutists, now consists of three soon-to-be doctors and one journalist. I believe they will always love music and continue to play, and will be, in my estimation, more humane operators than most.

Do you have any advice to up-and-coming high school flutists? What can they do to best prepare themselves for a career in music?
Get a good teacher. Listen a lot, and figure out [listen critically) to what they are hearing.

Many folks comment on the uniqueness of your sound. How do you achieve so many tonal colors?
Very early on in my studies I would take an admired recording and listen to it many times, then retire to an upstairs bathroom and practice in front of the mirror, trying to figure out how this sound was produced. After studying many different flutists, I found myself to be a compendium of many different styles and sounds. I consider this to be learning, not copying.

You have a tremendous command of Baroque ornamentation. How did you learn it, and how do you teach it?
Treatises on the subject are quite useful, but Telemann’s living examples in the Twelve Methodical Sonatas, combined with listening to experts and experimenting under the guidance of good teachers, seem most beneficial. Think of how jazz players learn to improvise, but with different parameters. Fortunately, I have been privileged to perform with excellent ornamentors like Ronald Roseman and Henry Schuman, oboists, and Kenneth Cooper and Britt Wheeler, harpsichordists, and to study the Telemann sonatas with Samuel Baron.

You also feel equally at home with 20th century music. Is the embouchure affected from playing experimental techniques?
Most 20th century music calls for techniques that are extensions of known [common] techniques. Whistle tones should relax the lips, and bending pitches should be practiced with a return to a neutral position. I consider multiphonics a weak perversion, a lets-do-it-because-it’s-possible technique; but they don’t hurt us. If done correctly, most avant-garde techniques can actually improve the execution of standard ones. Only sadistic practices, such as extended buzzing, endless pppp on D7, and required ugliness can wear one down.

Some flutists hardly vary their vibrato from one piece to the next. What is your concept of the role of vibrato?
Vibrato should not be a constant, as on the electronic organ, but a color. I often practice a piece like a clarinetist, without vibrato, to force myself to work out interesting phrasing. Technically, combinations of speed and depth of vibrato are employed. Once the piece is understood in terms of harmonic and rhythmic inflections, vibrato quite naturally comes in to color appoggiaturas, help phrases to grow, etc.

There is a revolution going on in the flute industry. Flutists appear to be searching high and low for the perfect equipment. What is your opinion about flutists changing head joints?
"Head-hunters" are a relatively new breed. Some even carve their own blow-holes, and many heads are discarded just as less-expensive reeds have been for centuries. One of the problems inherent in this activity is a lack of satisfaction due largely to a lack of familiarity with any one head. A fine player once told me, "Flutes are like women; if you find a good one, you only need one." Another trend is toward the easiest, most secure equipment, which often means a shallow, bright, east-to-play head joint. On the positive side, individual makers, such as Sandy Drelinger, offer an assortment of heads and take the time to advise you personally.

You once said there were no out-of-tune-flutes, only out-of-tune flutists. What do you mean by this statement?
Verne Q. Powell, the great flute maker, first answered me thus when I inquired about the out-of-tune- notes on the flute. I thought him either defensive or eccentric until Albert Tipton said; "Find the way to blow which causes the best intonation, and you will have the best tone." Finally, I watched Julius Baker play with a gorgeous, even tone and remain in tune without all kinds of head nodding or jutting-out of the jaw, or lip tricks. In adding all these clues up, I began to find the correct angle at which all notes can be played with only airspeed changes; the result was an improvement in pitch.

What do you think about when you are performing?
Sometimes, when I am very well prepared, I can let the technical things happen automatically and think, as one great performer said, "of a beer and corned-beef sandwich." The audience becomes warm and caring, and I am an actor singer, not someone pushing buttons on an oversophisticated piece of plumbing.

Anyone who knows you quickly learns your stand for punctuality in arriving on time for lessons and rehearsals. Why is this important in preparing for a career?
A former student asked me for a recommendation to a fine New York orchestra, and he got the job. He arrived quite late for the first rehearsal, as he was in the habit of doing while in school. He was fired. I, myself, was not asked to play there for some time, and accept the responsibilty for having made a bad recommendation. No one can be late for a recording, which may be costing hundreds of dollars a minute.
I remember when George Szell took over the directorship of the Cleveland Orchestra. One hundred musicians would be on stage for a concert nervously waiting an extra 10 minutes for a few stragglers in the audience to parade in and display their finery. The Maestro got tired of this and instructed the ushers to close the doors at 8:30, causing a lot of "but I’m Or. So-and-so’s wife … " disbelief; but it worked. The audience members were retrained, and also listened with reverence and respect to him who had offered them the spanking they had missed as children.

What is the importance of music in our world today?
I believe we have forgotten why we strive to achieve wealth and status, as most who have them have little else but the desire for more money and power. Greed seems to motivate most of the ills of the world. If music can offer something beautiful to cherish, we may cherish life all the more. If I can make a small crack in someone’s receptive soul, perhaps the world will be just a tiny bit better off. To speak without words, to transcend the commonplace – that is the importance of music.

The post Thomas Nyfenger, More Than a Flutist appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Fresh Ideas for Mozart Cadenzas

theinstrumenta — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 20:30:45 +0000

The excellent performance guide to the Mozart D Major Concerto by Leonard Garrison in the November issue should have whetted every flutist’s appetite to study this great concerto again. Some readers may even be prompted to explore some new ideas for cadenzas. When deciding on a cadenza for a Mozart concerto, a flutist may choose to compose one himself; improvise one on the spot during performance; select one of the many published cadenzas; or play a Mozart cadenza.

Composing a Cadenza
As daunting as composing may seem, flutists can benefit from the inspiring guidance in Chapter 11, "Cadenzas and Lead-Ins," from Eva and Paul BaduraSkoda’s Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard.¹ This book, which remains the best source of Mozart performance practice information, is regrettably out-of-print, but should be available in most music libraries. The Badura-Skodas analyze the surviving cadenzas that Mozart wrote for 15 of his 27 piano concertos (for four of the 15 Mozart even composed alternate cadenzas), and establish clear guidelines regarding the form, harmonic style, and thematic development of these cadenzas. Analyzing Mozart’s compositional devices is obviously important, but equally important is knowing what he did not do. (See the accompanying summary of the Badura-Skodas’ findings).

Improvising a Cadenza
Although I have not yet known any flutist brave enough to improvise on the spot, it would not be surprising to witness this in the near future, thanks to the influence of the noted pianist, Robert Levin. Adhering to the tradition of Mozart’s time, Levin has earned an enviable reputation for improvising cadenzas in his many performances of Mozart concertos. Along with Bach, Beethoven, and other famous composers and performers of the 18th and early 19th centuries, Mozart improvised masterfully, and although he later wrote down many of his cadenzas, he more typically improvised them on the spot. Nowadays, anyone with a natural ability for jazz improvisation should potentially be able to learn to improvise in the classical style.

Playing Published Cadenzas
The current Flute World catalog lists 14 different cadenza composers for the D Major, 17 for the G Major, and 6 for the C Major. When selecting a published cadenza, rely on the Badura-Skoda criteria to help narrow choices. Be especially wary of cadenzas that are too long, modulate frequently to distant key, or string too many thematic fragments together in a potpourri style.

Playing a Mozart Cadenza
Many flutists are unaware that Mozart wrote a cadenza for the first movement of the D Major Concerto, although it was not actually composed for the flute. Despite the fact that Mozart was probably not con cious of it at the time, one of the two cadenzas he wrote for his Piano Concerto #12 in A Major, K. 414 fits the D Major Flute Concerto perfectly with just two adjustments: transposing it up a fourth throughout; and substituting the second theme of the flute concerto for the first theme of the piano concerto at bar 13.

Mozart Flute Concerto in D, K. 314, Adapted from the A Major Concerto K. 414

Some years ago, dutifully following the Badura-Skodas’ good advice, I read through the Mozart piano concerto cadenzas from the collection edited by Lili Kraus², and was startled to discover an exact replica of a passage from the flute concerto (bar 87, first movement), quoted both in the upper octave and then immediately repeated in the lower octave (Mozart really loved that riff!). As a result, I began to think that the entire cadenza might suit the D Major Flute Concerto, for it turns out that seven bars before the featured bar 87 of the flute concerto is the beginning of the second theme:

   With some added embellishments and sequential extensions, that theme substitutes perfectly at bar 13 of Mozart’s piano cadenza and leads quite naturally to the high F# that begins the aforementioned virtuosic passage. From that point on the notes, in transposition, are exactly as Mozart bequeathed them to us in his original K. 414 concerto cadenza, excepting bar 23 where I expanded his four-note arpeggios into seven-note arpeggios that better suit the flute.
   This is the type of Mozart cadenza that begins directly with brilliant passage work rather than a direct statement and development of thematic material. Its fleeting arpeggios are well suited to the piano, and in addition, the pianist has the advantage of not having to take a breath during the first 12 bars. Tailoring these arpeggios to the flute, I suggest three breathing places, each one surrounded by subtle indications of rubato to make the breaths seem more natural and musical. The square-shaped fermatas are relatively short, about the equivalent of an eighth-note, whereas the round fermata in bar 9 is relatively long, about a quarter-note, and played assertively.
   Even though Mozart wrote the introductory long scale in small notes in the opening measure to indicate an ad libitum style, do not misconstrue this as an invitation to rush through the scale carelessly. Take extra time on the opening C#, B, and A, then gradually accelerate through the rest of the scale, feeling it in four-note groups. Hold back the first beat of bar 2³, and then accelerate into bar 3. After taking a breath in bar 3, hold back the next three notes, then accelerate to the first beat of bar 4. Apply a similar pattern of rubato to bars 4, 5, and 6, then begin bar 7 at moderate speed, accelerating up to the three tenuto notes at the end of bar 8 that prepare the declamatory high G in bar 9. After taking a full breath, make another accelerando in bars 9-10, but with momentary resistance on the second, third, and fourth notes of beats one and two in both bars to outline and enhance the phrasing. Then, in triumphant style, keep pushing the tempo in bar 11 and the first half of bar 12, but slow down enough when arriving at bar 13 to present the theme at its normal tempo (about quarter note = 116-120).
   Keep a sonorous forte for a bar and a half, and after the breath in bar 14, make a dramatic diminuendo on the ascending scale leading into the echoed variation of the theme. After the ritard and fermata in bar 16, begin bar 17 rather slowly and make a slight accelerando, then hold back the second half of bar 18 to prepare a big breath before the G#.
   Take plenty of time when starting the sixteenth passage at bar 19. Begin at about quarter note = 72, gradually but relentlessly accelerate and crescendo to arrive at the signature riff at bar 21 at about quarter note = 126-132. The tempo at bar 23 will suddenly be slowed (quarter note = 92), not only to accommodate the arpeggios and emphasize the eighth-note leaps, but also to prepare the final sixteenth-note passage at bar 24, which should begin at quarter note = 92, but then accelerate gradually to the E trill in bar 25. Snatch a quick breath just before the chromatic scale, and then play with a final exhilarating sprint to the high E trill. In fast movements it is customary to play the turn at the end of a final cadenza trill somewhat deliberately, more like eighth-notes, using a breath accent on each note. The entire last section of the cadenza, bars 21-27, should be played with a full but unforced sound in true bravura fashion.
   Explaining the subtle artistic touches for interpreting a cadenza effectively is difficult. Tasteful rubatos and elasticity of phrasing are among the
several hallmarks of a compelling cadenza performance, and I have tried to give you at least a general description of the rubatos that could be applied to the cadenza. The best way to learn the special idioms of cadenza style is to listen, preferably with score in hand, to several concerto recordings of noted pianists, violinists, and cellists.

Footnotes
¹ Badura-Skoda, Eva and Paul, Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard, translated by Leo Black. St. Martin’s
Press, 1962.
²Kraus, Lili, The Complete Original Cadenzas by W.A. Mozart for his Solo Piano Concertos with Supplementary Cadenzas by Beethoven and Kraus. Belwin-Mills, 1972.
³Because the first three notes of the first arpeggio in bar 2 are serendipitously identical to the first three notes of the theme later quoted in bar 13, a slight ritard during these first three notes underlines their congruence to the familiar triadic theme and conveys a stronger sense of anticipation for its arrival at bar 13. Consider also making this relationship more obvious by actually transforming the rhythm of bar 2 as follows:

* * *

The Form of a Mozart Cadenza
   Almost all of Mozart’s first movement cadenzas are comprised of three sections. The opening section begins with either one of the themes of the movement – usually the first theme – or with a virtuosic passage. If the opening is thematic, the theme is first stated in the tonic key, which then leads to passages that derive from some of the movement’s musical figures. Marking the middle section of the cadenza, the brilliant passages culminate in the statement of another theme, which is usually the second theme of the movement, typically cantabile in nature and also in the tonic key. However, if the cadenza begins with extensive virtuosic passages, as in the cadenza accompanying this article, it finally leads to a thematic statement most often the first theme, in the tonic which then begins the middle section of the cadenza.
   In the middle section, the quotation of the theme seldom has such firm closure as in the body of the movement. Instead, before the expected cadence, a fragment of the quoted theme develops sequentially and in diminution through faster note values, and often modulates to the dominant key, or the dominant of the dominant. As the Badura-Skodas describe it, this continuous development then leads to the final fantasia-like section, where Mozart "allows his fantasy freest play," composing virtuoso runs of a non-thematic nature that finally lead to a trill on the dominant chord that signals the end of the cadenza.
   Mozart avoids long cadenzas. His longest cadenza for a first movement is 39 bars, but most other cadenzas are significantly shorter, the shortest being five bars (K. 246). He also avoids presenting a patchwork of numerous themes and motives, as well as modulations to distant keys, seldom veering too far from the tonic. Although he does occasionally use polyphonic textures, for the most part his cadenzas are in homophonic style.
   In their book the Badura-Skodas give a fascinating step-by-step description of how they composed a cadenza for the first movement of the Eb Piano Concerto (K. 482), a useful case-study to the budding cadenza composer.

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Flute Alignment

theinstrumenta — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 19:53:14 +0000

Aligning the body is a term that refers to lining up the outer edge of the embouchure hole, the leading edge on which we blow, along an imaginary straight line that runs through the middle of the tone holes. Some players aim down the flute as though looking down a rifle and change the alignment as little as a millimeter, as if that would make a meaningful difference. After experimenting to find the best spot, some players mark this with a drop of nail polish both on the headjoint and on the ring of the barrel.

Experienced players find that turning the flute out produces a more open sound, while turning it in covers the sound. Placement is a matter of taste and convenience. Without being fanatical about it, do whatever works best for you. A good alignment affects not only the sound but also the fingers. The best alignment allows the fingers to come down with effective precision and avoids a crooked right hand, pinched fingers, or protruding thumb. If the amount of yaw one way or the other produces a sound that is too thin or reedy, chances are the hole is covered too much; if the tone is too breathy and out of focus, the embouchure opening is probably too wide or exaggerated.

   One of the advantages of playing the open-hole, French-system flute is that, when the headjoint is properly aligned, the fingers cover the holes correctly on the key rings. If students first learn to play on instruments that allow sloppy finger or hand posture without affecting the tone, when they graduate to the French-system flute, they find it painful and difficult to correct the hand position. It would help if more flute makers would produce affordable French-model flutes so beginners could learn proper finger placement. A common advantageous feature on the less-expensive plateau models is the offset G-key, a deviation from the inline models that allows a more comfortable hand position with a lessangled wrist.
   Once a player has learned the proper hand and finger posture, an open- or closed-system flute will not matter because the open holes do not affect the sound under normal playing conditions. With an open-hole flute, players can feel the vibration of air as it moves through the tube and tune the notoriously bad notes or lift phrase endings by venting a hole. They can also play such contemporary techniques as quarter tones and multiphonics.
   No longer do I rely on marks on the headjoint and barrel, but I roughly align my flute and correct it a bit one way or the other. When I am nervous before a performance, I tend to fidget with the alignment more than under normal playing conditions. Aligning the flute should not be a fetish and, because the flute is not a precise machine, simply correct it as needed.
   The footjoint rod should also be aligned according to that imaginary line that runs through the middle of the tone holes. Because hand and finger shapes vary, some players turn the footjoint more inward; but the D to Eb trill is easier to execute when the right-hand little finger is farther away from the rod. The longer the lever arm, the lighter the action.
   The alignment affects shifting quickly between the three lowest notes or up to D4. Even if the little finger barely touches the D #/Eb key, neither the lowest notes nor the D4 will respond, regardless of the amount of chinning or foot-stomping. Either nothing will come out or the sound will crack. To help overcome these fingering obstacles, some players grease the righthand little finger (little devil # 2) with a little skin oil from the side of the nose. Realigning the footjoint, however, will help avoid touching the D#/Eb key.
   In this respect the shape of the D#/Eb key can be a hindrance because its placement is too close to the C# key:

Contrary to current flute designs, the C# key should be separated from the D#/Eb. The old teardrop was more efficient because the right-hand little finger could go over the C# key and roller without causing the D#/Eb key to leak. Even the C-gizmo, located on the B-key roller of the B footjoint, can impede the little finger as it reaches for the C key. Whereas closing all three (two rollers and one spatula) low-B keys facilitates such notes as Ab4, A3, and B3, simply touching the B roller is just as effective. For more comfort and care of playing, the curve of the gizmo should turn away from the right-hand little finger placement, not toward it.
Ideal body alignment is very personal for experienced players. Young players should follow their teacher’s recommendations until they have a reason to alter their alignment. Productive and enjoyable flute playing is invariably based on common sense, comfort, and pleasure.

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Choosing What To Play

theinstrumenta — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 18:41:41 +0000

Sometimes I wish there was an ideal, methodically structured repertoire guide suitable for every student throughout the duration of their flute study! There are definitely many wonderful repertoire guides and resources which I have studied or learned about recently (included at the end of this article). But – due to the reality that both teachers and students are ever-evolving, individual human beings – finding a one-size-fits-all guide to advancing students through the flute canon may be an impossible task.
In teaching undergraduates at St. Olaf College for the past ten years, I have had the privilege of working with a wide range of flute students – from non-music majors to flute performance majors. These students come to college with equally wide-ranging flute backgrounds and experiences. So, in order to get them started, and progressing, on their college flute journeys, I have found the most success in a flexible and collaborative approach to helping students select repertoire.

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
– Nelson Mandela

At the beginning of each semester, I often require a repertoire list from each student showing exercises, etudes and pieces already studied. Together, we go over the list and begin to identify any major gaps, trying to fill those in first with regard to historical periods (generally starting with the Baroque era and then working through more modern repertoire over the course of study). I have also worked to diversify the repertoire my students learn and encourage them to choose works by underrepresented composers. Additionally, I take the student’s interests into consideration. Is there a piece they really want to play? What aspect of their playing do they need to improve at this time? I ask many questions and listen intently. As they begin to open up, I start brainstorming ideas with them – using my own music collection, repertoire lists from my previous teachers and other flutists I admire, as well as some of the new repertoire guides, I mentioned previously. I often display several scores, play samples of pieces, and, together, the student and I choose 3-4 works from several repertoire options presented. I have found that when a student is at least partly invested in their repertoire choice, they are more likely to complete it in a satisfactory way. By the end of our meeting, we have a basis for our semester plan of flute-specific goals, improvements wanting to be made, exercises geared to making those improvements, etudes, and repertoire options. This plan can be adjusted as the semester progresses.
A student may want to learn a piece that will challenge them in a new way. If I feel this is a doable stretch, I encourage it. If it is a piece that may be beyond their current abilities, I caution them, but, if they insist, will sometimes let them work on it anyway. In those cases, a student may rise to the challenge and surprise not only me, but themselves, with what they are able to accomplish. However, a student may just as likely get to a point where they discover that certain passages are beyond their abilities at this time. It is a valuable experience for a student to learn what their current limitations are. I would rather have a student tackle such a difficulty and learn this lesson, rather than be discouraged from taking that chance and never know what that outer limit might presently be.

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The music we choose to play becomes part of us in a way that reflects who we are, how we feel, and where we hope to go. Tone and technical studies lay a knowing foundation deep within our bodies. Etudes corral our air and energy. Repertoire and excerpts immerse us in perspectives of life experience from across time and place. As creative people, it is important for flute teachers to use our imaginations to solve problems and find innovative solutions, including how we help our students choose repertoire.
Below is a sample of the music I have used with students over the years:

Technical And Tone Development Studies
First Year
Moyse De La Sonorité
Bernold La Technique d’Embouchure
P. George/P.A. Louke The Flute Scale Book
Nina Assimakopulous The Virtuosic Flutist
Taffanel & Gaubert Daily Exercises
Trevor Wye Tone and Technique Books

Second Year
Moyse De La Sonorité
Bernold La Technique d’Embouchure
Robert Dick Tone Dev. Extended Techniques
P. George/P.A. Louke The Flute Scale Book
Nina Assimakopulous The Virtuosic Flutist
Taffanel & Gaubert Daily Exercises
Trevor Wye Tone and Technique Books
Reichert Daily Studies
Maquarre Daily Studies
J. Baker Scale Studies
P.L. Graf Check-Up

Third Year
Moyse De La Sonorité; Gammes et Arpèges
Moyse How I Stayed in Shape
Moyse Tone Dev. Through Interpretation
Mazzanti Method for Piccolo (also on flute)
Robert Dick Tone Dev. Extended Techniques
Paul Edmund-Davies 28 Day Warm-Up
Taffanel & Gaubert Daily Exercises
Reichert Daily Studies
P. George/P.A. Louke The Flute Scale Book
Gilbert Technical Flexibility
P.L. Graf Check-Up

Fourth Year
Moyse De La Sonorité; Gammes et Arpèges
Moyse How I Stayed in Shape
Moyse Tone Dev. Through Interpretation
Bernold La Technique d’Embouchure
Mazzanti Method for Piccolo (also on flute)
Robert Dick Tone Dev. Extended Techniques
Paul Edmund-Davies 28 Day Warm-Up
Taffanel & Gaubert Daily Exercises
Reichert Daily Studies
P. George/P.A. Louke The Flute Scale Book
Gilbert Technical Flexibility
P.L. Graf Check-Up

Etudes
First Year
Anderson Etudes, op. 33
Gariboldi Etudes
Hugues Studies
Selected Studies (Rubank)
Melodious and Progressive Studies, Bk 1
Mary Karen Clardy Flute Etudes Book

Second Year
Anderson Etudes, op. 33, 21, 37, 30, 63, 41
Selected Studies (Rubank)
Melodious & Progressive Studies, Bk 2, 3
Karg-Elert Etude Books 2 and 3
The Modern Flutist (Southern Music)

Third Year
Anderson Etudes, op. 21, 30, 33, 37, 41, 15
Altes 26 Selected Studies
Furstenau 26 Studies
JeanJean Etudes
Damase Etudes
P.L. Graf Study with Style (30 Etudes)
Paganini Caprices

Fourth Year
Anderson Etudes, op. 15
Altes 26 Selected Studies
Bozza 14 Arabesques
Casterede Douze Etudes
JeanJean Etudes
Damase Etudes
Paganini Caprices

Repertoire
First Year
Handel Sonatas
J. S. Bach Sonatas in C and E
Telemann 12 Fantasias
Marin Marais Les Folies d’Espagne
Flute Music of the Baroque (ed. Louis Moyse)
Flute Music By French Composers (Schirmer)
A Touch of Blue (arr. Paula Robison)
24 Short Concert Pieces (Cavally)
Bloch Suite Modale
Burton Sonatina
Copland Duo
Hindemith Sonata
A. Lauro El Marabino and Carora
Mercadante Concerto in E Minor
Morlacchi The Swiss Shepherd
Mozart D & G Major Concertos
Muczynski Three Preludes
Saint-Saens Romance
Schumann Romances
Stamitz Concerto in G
Vivaldi Concerti (flute)

Second Year
Handel Sonatas
J.S. Bach Sonatas, Solo Partita in A minor
C.P.E. Bach Sonatas
Anna Bon di Venezia Sonata
Burton Sonatina
Caplet Reverie & Petite Valse
Copland Duo
Debussy Syrinx
Devienne Sonatas, Concerto in E Minor
Donizetti Sonata in C Major
Doppler Hungarian Pastorale Fantasy
Faure Flute Album
Flute Music By French Composers (Schirmer)
Gaubert Madrigal, Romance
Godard Suite, op. 116
Gordeli Concerto
Griffes Poem
Hindemith Sonata
Honegger Danse de la Chèvre
Hoover To Greet the Sun, Kokopeli
A. Lauro Vals Venezolanos
A. Loggins-Hull Homeland
Mercadante Concerto in E Minor
Mozart Andante and Rondo
Mozart D & G Major Concertos
Muczynski Sonata
Poulenc Sonata
Quantz Concertos
F. Price Adoration, Deserted Garden
Reinecke “Undine” Sonata
Rivier Oiseaux Tendres
Sancan Sonatine
Varese Density 21.5
Vivaldi Concerti (piccolo)

Third Year
J.S. Bach Sonatas, Solo Partita in A minor
C.P.E. Bach, Solo Sonata, Concerto, Hamburg Sonata
Bartok Suite Paysanne Hongroise
Beach Romance
Bozza Image
Clarke Zoom Tube
Dorff Flash (piccolo)
Dutilleux Sonatine
Ferroud Trois Pieces
Flute Music by French Composers (Schirmer)
Gaubert Sonatas
Great Concert Encores for Flute (Schirmer)
Hindemith Acht Stucke (Eight Pieces)
Ibert Piece
A. Hailstork Yuhwa
U. Kay Prelude
La Montaine Sonata
Mozart D & G Major Concertos
Muczynski Sonata
Prokofiev Sonata
Reinecke Ballade
Schumann Three Romances
Schubert Arpeggione
Takemitsu Air
Taktakishvili Sonata
Telemann 12 Fantasias
Varese Density 21.5
Vivaldi Concerti (piccolo)
Widor Suite, op. 34

Fourth Year
J.S. Bach Sonatas, Solo Partita in A minor
C.P.E. Bach Concerto in D minor
V. Coleman Danza de la Mariposa
Damaré La Tourterelle (piccolo)
Demersseman Sixth Solo de Concert "Italian"
Feld Sonatine
Flute Music By French Composers (Schirmer)
Franck Sonata
Fukushima Mei
Gordeli Concerto
Granados Hibiee-Jibiees
A. Hailstork Flute Set
Hanson Serenade
Ibert Concerto
Jolivet Chant de Linos, Concerto
Karg-Elert Sonata in F# Minor, Op. 140
Larson Be Still My Soul
Liebermann Concerto; Sonata for Flute, Piccolo Concerto
Martin Ballade
Martinu First Sonata
McKimm Piccolo Concerto (piccolo)
Mozart D & G Major Concertos
Nielsen Concerto
Prokofiev Sonata
Reinecke Concerto
Rouse Concerto
Schubert Variations on Trockne Blumen
Takemitsu Voice for Solo Flute
Vaughan Williams Lark Ascending
Widor Suite, op. 34
Chen Yi Memory for Solo Flute

Excerpts
From Jeanne Baxtresser’s Orchestral Excerpts Book, Vol. 1

First Year
Bach Badinerie, Beethoven Eroica, Bizet Carmen, Brahms 1, Debussy Faune, Gluck, Mendelssohn

Second Year
Bach Polonaise, Beethoven L.2, Brahms 4, Dvorak, Hindemith Sym, Peter 1, Ravel Bolero, Ravel Daphnis, Strauss Till, Tchaikovsky 4.1

Third Year
Bach Aus Liebe, Beethoven L.1, Debussy, Mahler Das Lied, Mendelssohn, Ravel Daphnis, Peter 2+3, Prokofiev Classical, Stravinsky Petrouchka, Tchaik 4.2

Fourth Year
Prokofiev Classical, Ravel Daphnis, Rossini Carnival, Rimsky-Korsakov Russian Easter, Strauss Salome, Stravinsky Firebird

So, in addition to the flexible and collaborative approach I described above, and the repertoire resources I have listed below, I would like to leave you with one more rather unconventional method that I sometimes use to choose repertoire for myself, in the hope that it might encourage you and your students to be creative and innovative. I have always loved paper. I believe that the smell of a book can tell you a little something about what is inside. I also believe that what a score looks like and how the music notation appeals to the eyes, say something too. If I come across some flute music that I don’t know anything about besides what I’m holding in my hands – what I’m seeing on the page, how the white space interacts with the ascending and descending shapes of ink on the page – before I even try to sing any of it in my mind – I begin to get a sense of whether or not I might like to play this piece. I may think about the concert program I’m preparing for, the time I have to dedicate to learning it, and whether or not I would need to find other musicians to bring the piece to life. All these things have gone through my mind while I start to leaf through the music. As we continue this year in a pandemic-era world, here’s my unconventional advice: after you put your mask on and wash your hands, spend some time in the music library stacks or a music store perusing the flute scores, and allow your senses to direct your next repertoire choice.

Additional Repertoire Resources

“Teaching a Diverse Repertoire” Chart by Leonard Garrison and Paul Taub

Music By Black Composers

Women Composers by Time Period

Latin and South American Flute Music by Cayambis Music Press

Music by Underrepresented Composers

Composers Equity Project

Institute for Composer Diversity

Music by BIMOC (Black Indigenous Musicians of Color) crowdsourced list of works

African Diaspora Music Project (art song)

National Flute Association (NFA) Selected Flute Repertoire and Studies: A Graded Guide

Royal Conservatory Graded Repertoire and Studies List

ABRSM – Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Flute Syllabus (Level 1-8)
(grade 6 and up)
(Level 9 and Advanced) (pp.58-60)

University of West London Repertoire List

Leonard Garrison’s Graded Repertoire List

Jennifer Cluff’s Website: Lists of Repertoire for High School Level Flutists

Jennifer Cluff’s Website: Lists for University Level Flutists

Links to Many Other Repertoire Lists

The post Choosing What To Play appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Just Plunge In

theinstrumenta — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 18:03:25 +0000

High Energy
   When I was a student at the Julius Baker Masterclass in Danbury, CT in the 1980’s, flutist Janet Millard lead us through morning warmups. Her class influenced the following warmup.
   Use a metronome set at 60 or use an analog clock to tick off the seconds.
   Play four staccato quarter notes with a breath attack, fortissimo. This type of breathing is like a slow, but forceful panting. You may repeat each chromatic group of four notes depending on how much time you have. Repeat using a T attack.

The point of this exercise is to get the air moving and flowing while playing the entire range of the flute.

Fall Out of Bed, Ease into the Day
   This exercise was taught by Alexander Murray in the 1970’s and requires you to do practically nothing. The only energy required is enough to gently balance the flute into playing position. Feel the embouchure plate at your lips and greet the flute with enough gentle puffs of air to create a few whistle tones. Remember whistle tones? These are the residual soft little “whistles” that can also come when you’re not focusing the low register clearly.
   In this exercise don’t focus the embouchure as if playing under normal circumstances, but instead totally relax your face. No smiling, frowning, or contorting the lip and facial muscles. The point is to create a sound with the least possible effort using only the lips on the embouchure plate. Select any of the lower notes in the first octave and play the whistle tone’s harmonic series.
   Then finger at top octave B and play the whistle tone. Work your way down chromatically either as individual notes or slurring by twos. Less is more so use the least amount of air possible. Once you have produced the pitch, increase the air stream and focus on making the whistle tone louder and clearer. It sometimes helps to think of shaping the mouth as if really whistling.
   Once you are confident in producing whistle tones, play simple melodies using whistle tones only. For inspiration see the U. S. Army Band’s listing of bugle calls:

Fine Tuning
   Now that you are warmed up, practice playing the harmonic series on regularly fingered notes beginning on low C. Use as little embouchure movement as possible. The following series of notes is possible. This exercise develops the sound by adding more harmonic partials.

   The bugle calls may also be repeated using the harmonic series.
   From these exercises, progress to scales, etudes and repertoire.

The post Just Plunge In appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

A Picture Is Worth 10,000 Words

theinstrumenta — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 17:14:40 +0000

A Flute Talk Classic article from October 2011

This past summer I took a number of pictures for Flute Talk. Some were of individuals, and others were of groups. As I reviewed them, I realized the most common problem flutists have is how to balance the flute in the hands. If the flute is balanced correctly, everything is better. Intonation is truer and easier to control. Scales and arpeggios flow evenly and effortlessly. Trills are faster and more even. One of the biggest bonuses is the ability to play without pain.

Where to Balance the Flute
Several flute methods suggest having the flute touch on the side of the left index finger. Alan H. D. Watson writes in The Biology of Musical Performance and Performance-Related Injury (p. 85): “The main nerve branches that supply the fingers and the thumb run up their sides (note line on left index finger in photo) where they may be vulnerable to compression in some instruments. For example, in the left hand of flutists the instrument rests partly on the side of the first segment (phalanx) of the index finger, just below the PIP joint, where it may rest on the digital nerve.” If a flute rests on a nerve, it is not if the nerve gets compressed, but when. I prefer balancing the flute just above the knuckle. (X marks the spot.)

The Left Thumb
Traditionally the position of the left thumb is not addressed in flute pedagogy, but it should be. The left thumb should be straight when playing.

If the thumb is bent, then there may be tension in the arm.

Playing with the thumb bent, means the tip of the thumb is touching the thumb key. In this position, the left wrist is compromised.

However, if the left thumb is straight and touches the thumb key lower down the thumb, the left wrist is in a more neutral position. I think of having the bottom of the thumb key touching at the crease of my left thumb.

The Right Thumb
For many years violin pedagogy has used a soda can test to discover where to place the right thumb on the bow. This works well for flutists too. Pick up a soda or soup can with your right hand and look at how you hold it. After many years of experiments, I have found that 1/3 of flutists are most comfortable with the thumb directly under the index finger, 1/3 with the thumb placed between the index finger and middle finger, and 1/3 with the thumb directly under the middle finger. Look on the following page for photographs that show hand placement on the soda can and how it relates to the positioning of the right hand thumb on the flute. Take the soda can test several times for accuracy.

Thumb directly under the index finger

Thumb between index finger and middle finger

Thumb directly under middle finger

Susan Fain, DMA and Physical Therapist, suggests positioning the thumb slightly down the flute toward the little finger when playing footjoint note passages. After the low note passage is completed, move the thumb back to your most comfortable position.

Right-Hand Knuckle Height
If you want to play fast, keep the right knuckle height the same as the keys.

The position allows gravity to help the fingers come down again after they are lifted. If the knuckles are too low, then the player does all the work of lifting and lowering the fingers.

Setting the Right Hand
Many flutists complain about covering the holes, especially the D key, with the fingertips. Rather than placing the F finger on the flute first and then positioning the other fingers, try placing the E finger first and then setting the fingers. You may find a better balance position.

What about the Wrists
Turn your hands over with the palms facing the ceiling. This is the position your hand should be in to perform tasks like playing the flute or picking up an apple.

Several pedagogical methods suggest playing with straight wrists. The following photo shows a straight wrist. Note in this position you will not be able to perform such tasks as picking up an apple.

If you put your hand back in the first position, notice what happens to the wrist. This is the preferred position for the wrists when playing the flute.

Get Your Money’s Worth
Flutists often pay thousands of dollars for a flute of their dreams. The angle at which the flutist positions the flute when playing will determine whether he gets his money’s worth. To determine the proper playing angle, gently push the flute forward and then back as if the embouchure plate is rocking to the left and then to the right on the chin. Listen for any change of sound. There will be one spot where the sound is best. This is called the sweet spot. It is where you should position the flute. Most flutes seem to sound best when the end of the flute is in front of the player’s nose.

However, most flutists position the flute too far back as shown below.

In this position the right shoulder may eventually hurt, and the flute will sound several thousand dollars less good than what you paid for it.
The goal is to play as well as possible as well as pain free and ergonomically. Video tape yourself to see how you actually play. You may be surprised at what you discover.

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