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    A place near Paris where tourists often flock is the Chateau de Versailles, an overdone tribute to King Louis XIV by himself. His vanity was substantial, and he enjoyed walking through the Galerie des Glaces (Gallery of Mirrors) because the walls reflected his image ad infinitum.
    Music is the mirror of the soul; our emotions are stirred by music. The more we dwell on our emotions, the closer we come to the unattainable goals of comprehending music and knowing ourselves.

    Music has many moods, including peaceful, violent, mystic, tormented, happy, sad, passionate, patient, mysterious, urgent, or inquisitive. At first we should ask what a passage means, whether it speaks of morning, night, fate, or hope; whether it smells of a spring rain or a subway or has the color of autumn or the grays of dusk. Whether he loves it or loathes it, a flutist should be able to communicate all emotions.
    I ask my students to perfect their skills through scales and exercises after thinking about the mechanics of playing the flute. This does not contradict imagination and emotion because there is music in the simplest of exercise patterns.
    The painter Henri Matisse said, “One must not make the hand pass into the spirit, but the spirit into the hand.” Practicing as an artist should be the constant. The conquest of good instrumental playing or the knowledge of certain interpretive ideas will not make an artist out of a tree stump, but certainly a lack of them will handicap the most gifted.
    When starting a new piece of music and trying to find ideas for your own interpretation, study the score, which is the piano part with the solo line for pieces and the complete orchestral score for excerpts. You will find your tempo of the piece from the speed you can play a difficult run with many notes, not from the tempo suggestion or opening measures.
    When the accompaniment has a long rest, the composer is giving you the opportunity to be free with the music. However, if the piece has a strict rhythmic pattern, it is better and safer to follow the beat. An excellent pianist might follow you, but an orchestra probably won’t.
    Music, as in life itself, develops from tension and release. Find places in music that have tension and allow time for it to build. After the release, which you should feel physically, don’t linger; the music keeps going and so should you. Some examples of tension and release in music are appoggiaturas and harmonic accents, such as a leading tone from a dominant seventh that resolves up to the tonic; wide intervals, especially if they are dissonant; increasing dynamics; and written accents such as sfz and sfp. A scale passage or an even pattern is usually free from tension. In all musical styles some passages are purely ornamental. Even in Mozart, virtuosity plays a major part in the music, and flutists should not make an emotional issue out of every note.
    In a two-note slur, the second note is a release from the first. This does not mean that the first note is louder than the second, but that the second one is softer than the first. Think of nuance; technically you can achieve this by not slapping the keys on the release. Similarly in a wide interval, play the first note with tension and consider the second the release.
    In Italian the suffix -ndo means “in the process of.” Therefore accelerando means slow in the process of speeding up; crescendo means soft in the process of getting louder; and diminuendo means loud in the process of getting softer. Play the dynamics according to the direction of the phrase without systematically diminishing long notes in a crescendo or starting too softly at the beginning of a decrescendo line. A change in dynamics or tempo is most effective when held back and then executed with conviction.
    Here is where your imagination and knowledge come together. Don’t always use the big tone. Feel and taste the difference between major and minor, between D# and Eb. Do not play a tempered scale, which means that all the half steps of the chromatic scale are equal and hence out of tune. Play the tonality, the key, the mode, the happy D major, the somber E minor, the tragic C minor, the triumphant C major, and the quizzical F minor. The scales and arpeggios will help you feel this. Give them the color you like and enjoy the variety. As we say in America, “Vive la difference!”

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Preparatory Work
    Before embarking on the study of the Volière, flutists should have conquered the skill of double-tonguing. No matter which syllables are used, the tongue should be forward in the mouth with the K syllable as far forward or close to the top teeth as possible. There was a time when many were teaching some form of DaGa or DuGu; however, this method places the secondary syllable too far back in the mouth which means that speed and a lightness of the notes are lost. The tongue is free in the mouth, and both the T and the K are equal in execution so to the listener it sounds like a simple staccato.
    The embouchure hole should be centered with the player’s aperture and the flute placed firmly in the chin. While tonguing, the headjoint should not move or bounce under the lip.
    Each year during the Christmas holiday, I revisit one of the complete methods for learning the flute by one of the esteemed pedagogues. My favorites are by Popp, Soussmann, Altes, and Taffanel and Gaubert. A few years ago, I was rereading through the Soussmann/Popp and realized I had mistranslated a German instruction about double tonguing. I incorrectly thought it said to double tongue without the tongue touching any place in the mouth. This meant that the tip of the tongue was flapping through the air stream back and forth. I started working on this technique (using Thi-key syllables) and in about six months was able to tongue in this manner. I still use this technique because it offers increased speed and clarity. If you have never tried this technique, give it a chance because you may be able to add one more skill to your bag of playing tricks.
    To learn the double-tonguing skill, begin by playing the following exercises on a scale. Pick a scale that utilizes the middle of the range such as F or G major. Notice that each exercise adds more notes until the flutist is playing eight notes on one beat or gesture. Learning to play eight double-tongued notes on one beat is the secret to playing this excerpt.


    Because of their rhythmic training American flutists more often think in units of four sixteenth notes per beat. Many students have asked me if they played enough notes when playing eight notes per beat. This is a skill that must be drilled until students are thinking by eight notes rather than by four notes.
    Since the flutist must double tongue at this very quick speed for six counts, practice a chunk of six groups of eight sixteenth notes followed by a rest on each note of the F or G major scale. Remember that tonguing in the extremes of range offers different challenges in changing the size of the aperture, so learn the double-tonguing concept in the middle of the range before practicing it elsewhere.

    Double tonguing on the same pitch is easier than when the pitch changes on each syllable. Practice these rotations to learn this concept. Starting at the top of the scale and working down will help naturally drop the jaw for the lower range notes.

    Use the following scale pattern from the Wilhelm Popp Flute School, Op. 205 (1873) as a template for practice. Insert a quarter rest after each group of eight notes. During the rest take a sip or conversational breath. Play each note twice with the double tongue (TK) at a mf dynamic. Since most students are comfortable playing by groups of four sixteenth notes, there will be a tendency for them to bounce the flute on the first of each group of beamed sixteenths. Work to bounce the end of the flute by chunks of eight notes. Repeat playing each note once with the double-tongued syllables.

Chunking the Volière
    After each group of eight notes, take a sip or conversational breath. Repeat chunking measures 3-12 and 19-22.

Putting It Together
    Many flutists struggle with this excerpt because they are playing too loudly. Notice the piano dynamic. Because of the orchestration, flutists do not need to force or play loudly to be heard. The goal is to be light like a bird with a homogenous sound throughout the range. When playing the chromatic passages, try playing the entire scale while shifting your weight from the right back foot to the front left foot or if seated, rotate from the right sitz bone to the left sitz bone. Each time you perform this movement, review the exercises above, and this excerpt will become a joy rather than one to be feared.     

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    Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) wrote The Carnival of the Animals for a private concert in 1886. The 25-minute, 14-movement work is scored for two pianos, two violins, viola, cello, double bass, flute (piccolo), clarinet, glass harmonica (glockenspiel), and xylophone. In performances today, the strings are often augmented to include more players. The flute plays in only three movements: the Aquarium, the Volière (Aviary), and the Finale.
    The Volière (Aviary) is the tenth movement in the set. The accompaniment begins with string tremolo for two measures before the flute enters. The string tremolos continue adding the two pianos first in a syncopated figure, then trills and a chromatic interchange with the flute. The tempo marking is Moderato grazioso. According to the manuscript, the chromatic scale the fourth bar after 2 should have a Bb so the full measure is a chromatic scale grouped by 8, 8, and 10 notes.

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Time to Practice
    A regularly set practice time will help you remember to practice. This might be first thing in the morning or the last thing at night. It could even be during coffee breaks or stolen time from the lunch hour. One of my adult students once informed me that she could warm up on the headjoint while driving to work. To begin with, carve out 25 minutes of time when you can use your best concentration skills. As you hear your successes, you may want to add more time. Aim for practicing five days a week. You will be proud of yourself if you do more.

Location
    Find a place to practice where you will not be bothered. Turn off your phone. This is your time so get the most out of it. Be sure you have a good chair, a sturdy music stand, a metronome, tuner, practice materials, and note-taking supplies.

Make a Plan
    Analyze your playing by recording a favorite piece and then critically listening to the playback. Make long-term and short-term goals. A long-term goal might be to play a movement or two of the John Rutter Suite Antique at church. A short-term goal could be to learn the sharp scales, two-octaves in sixteenth notes with quarter note = 104 or to get better control of your vibrato.
    At the beginning of each week write down your goals and create a practice plan. At the end of the week, record several snippets from your practice on your phone and assess how you have done in reaching your goal. Based on what you hear, make a new plan for the next week.

Before You Begin
    Have your flute checked over so it is in its best playing condition. Align the flute the same exact way each day. Use a felt marker to place a line on the headjoint and body to make lining them up easy. A mirror or a video recording on your phone can be used to check posture. Check the position of your feet (if standing), and the placement of your head, hands, and arms. Practicing with a good setup means you will not get injured and can achieve better results.

Practice Routine
    Since each player has strengths and weaknesses, this is a generic practice routine. If something is difficult for you, rather than practicing it on just one day, play it for a week or a month. It is more important to make true progress, and not just turn the page and go on to the next exercise like you would in elementary school. Remember that some etudes are not as good as others, so do not be afraid to skip one or learn them out of order. An etude book should serve you, and you certainly do not need to be a prisoner to it.

Reward
    At the end of your practice, there should always be a piece of music on the music stand that you love to play. For me it might be one of the Karg-Elert Caprices, the Telemann Twelve Fantasias, Borne’s Carmen Fantaisie, Gaubert’s Fantasie, or one of the Romantic theme and variations by Tulou, Boehm, Demersseman, or Taffanel. This piece is the dessert for your practice time. Use this time to think about why you love to play the flute so much.
    One final note, if you are not already a member of a flute choir or local band, join one. The more you play and perform, the more you will want to practice.     

Suggested Etude Books
 
Berbiguier: 18 Exercises
Hugues: 40 Studies, Op. 101, Op. 75
Andersen: Op. 41, 33, 30, 63, 15
Altes: 26 Studies
Boehm: 24 Caprices
Karg-Elert: 30 Caprices
Furstenau: Op. 107, Vol. 1 and 2
Kohler, Op. 75, Op. 33
Casterede: Twelve Studies for Flute

Many of these books may be downloaded for free at

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Narrowing the Choices
    Most students select a school based on who the flute teacher is and how much scholarship money is offered. However, there are other things to consider. If you love quiet, then a large city environment might not be for you and vice versa. The size of the school, from large to very small, is another thing to consider. If you need a job, then select a school and city where there will be employment opportunities.
    The summer before junior year or early in the fall of junior year, schedule campus visits and arrange for a trial lesson with the flute professor. This offers the chance to see if you work well with a teacher. I always loved trial lessons as it helped me see if I was interested in teaching the flutist. Be aware that when you come for the real audition in your senior year, teachers likely will notice if you have made the improvements they asked for in the trial lesson.
    Most students apply to several schools – perhaps as many as five. You may have a couple of favorites. While one or two of them may be a bit out of reach, at least one should be more of a sure bet. If you have not thought about this, take the time to look at your wish list of schools and rate them one to five before sending in your applications. All of them should be places that you want to attend, even if you do not get into your dream school. You do not want to be in a position where you do not get into any of your harder schools and are left with only the option of going to a school you do not really like. Don’t let your ego get caught up in the idea that you can only go to particular schools. There are many wonderful colleges and teachers, and the important things is to find those that are a good fit for your skills, personality, and goals.

Audition Preparation
    Selecting the right audition repertoire is an important consideration. Ask your private teacher, band, or orchestra director for advice. Carefully read the guidelines offered by the schools and make your selections to show your strengths. Usually lists will require a concerto, sonata, etudes, and solo pieces. Many schools do not provide a pianist for the audition, so be prepared to perform both with and without accompaniment. If the required list is just a general guideline, pick a Baroque sonata and another piece from the standard repertoire. If you are auditioning many places, try to select pieces that will meet several schools’ requirements.
    In selecting specific works think about your strengths and weaknesses. If you have a beautiful tone, select a piece to show it off. If you have good speed and accuracy, then pick something that shows this area of technique. Each of the pieces does not need to be the most difficult one from that genre. Consider several works that you have performed before as you may not have as much practice time as you would like. Once the repertoire has been decided and learned, practice performing this music by presenting a recital or perhaps performing at an assisted living facility.
    Some schools require a pre-screening video or recording. Use high-quality equipment, and the recording should be made with accompaniment, so plan well in advance to hire and rehearse with the accompanist.

The Audition
    Be sure to arrive early to allow time for a good warmup. Get plenty of rest, dress sensibly and appropriately, and have something to eat before the audition. Each professor has different criteria for what he or she is listening for in an audition, but most want a flutist who will be a good fit for the studio and is teachable. I look for students who have strong basics, including rhythm, technique and musicianship. Rhythm is number one on my list as it overwhelmingly pertains to a student’s ability to work with others. I want students who are even and steady and clearly show they can subdivide (rubatos, ritards, holding together technical passages). Rhythm should be exact, and students should show that they can execute what is on the printed page. This shows the professor a lot about your practice habits and discipline. The music you select should allow you to demonstrate a basic ability to subdivide and play evenly, or you will not move forward in the admission process. Expressing a musical line along with rhythm is more subjective when you are performing a solo piece, or a piece with great variation, but if you cannot perform a section of technical beats correctly in an etude, I assume you do not understand basic rhythm. Be aware you are competing against other flutists who have the discipline and skill to play accurately.
    Another area of concern is where and how you take a breath. Most college teachers know that this is an area that many students need further work to improve. During an audition, I may ask students to take a breath in different places just to see if they can do it and make the changes quickly. I may also ask them to increase the speed of the air or slow it down while keeping the pitch to see how aware they are of breathing skills.
    During the audition, I look at students’ embouchures. There are many embouchure styles that work just fine, and there are some that just keep students from playing their best. This may be a huge factor in the decision of teachers who know they will have to spend several quarters or semesters fixing this problem. Look at your embouchure now and talk to your teacher about it.
    I also assess posture – both total body and hand position. If you have not worked on this, talk with your teacher. Developing good body awareness will improve your performance. Be aware that auditioners could ask you to play standing up or sitting down, so be prepared to do both.
    Everyone is nervous, and that is taken into consideration. However, for the most part, the people listening can tell who is not prepared and who is just nervous.

Accepted/Denied/Wait-Listed
    This is one of the most difficult parts of the process. Every school has a given number of students they can accept. Generally, there are many more flutists auditioning than other instrumentalists. Schools want to offer each student the best ensemble experience possible, so this limits the number of flutists that they can accept.
    If you are accepted, you were given a vote of confidence by the attending faculty to be invited into the studio. The faculty feels that you will change, grow and progress in accordance with the flute studio format.
    If you were denied, it was because they felt you did not fit the school or teacher well and most likely judged that you could not keep up with the level of the studio and school ensembles. Teachers do not want to accept students who will constantly be struggling to catch up. Try not to take this personally, but rather as a signal that this school or teacher was just not a good fit for you, and another college is more likely to help you grow and develop.
    The dreaded wait list often has more to do with money than it does with you. Try not to panic and do not be upset. Know you played well enough to be considered by that school’s program and the teacher thought that you were a good fit. Sometimes a person is wait-listed because the school is waiting for someone who placed higher than you in the audition to make a decision. 

Transfer Students
    For flute students who want to change schools, this is a tough road. Many schools will not take transfers. Adding another sophomore or junior to a studio and getting their class work up to the right level requires many issues to be resolved. It is often less about your playing, but more about whether they need a fourth junior, have the money, and feel this new student fits well into the studio mix. If you truly want out of your present school, then be persistent and know that is difficult but possible. 

    College is a time of tremendous learning, practicing, and understanding who you are and where you wish to be in the future. Finding the right school can be tough. After looking at all of the information and talking to your parents and teachers, it sometimes boils down to a gut feeling about where you want to attend, especially if you are accepted into multiple schools.  Good luck as you set forth on this exciting journey.

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Debost’s Background
     Debost is a graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérior de Musique de Paris and has had a successful career in nearly all avenues of playing. He was the principal flutist of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire and the Orchestre de Paris. Debost was professor of flute at the Oberlin and Paris conservatories, in addition to holding other residencies and appointments in Banff, Madrid, Perth, Auckland, Montreal, Japan, Italy, and France. As a soloist, he has not only won prizes at the Geneva, Moscow, and Munich competitions but also has performed as a soloist with nearly every major orchestra in Europe. Debost is an intellect, writing a comprehensive book encompassing every aspect of flute playing (The Simple Flute), as well as countless articles for Flute Talk. His discography includes some sixty recordings of orchestral, chamber, and traditional flute repertoire, several of which have been awarded prizes and distinctions. For me, this breadth of well-rounded experience gave me the assurance and trust that no matter what music I would encounter, he had the expertise to help me learn it.
     In selecting a teacher, consideration of the professor’s pedagogical lineage is important to consider. Demetra Fair’s DMA dissertation, Flutists’ Family Tree: In Search Of The American Flute School, focuses on this issue. It reads like the biblical begets of flutists in the United States. “Barrère and his students – and his students’ students – have taught approximately 91% of all living flutists in the United States…87% of those can trace their heritage through Kincaid.” For example, I am a third-generation student of Gaubert and Taffanel, a second-generation student of Crunelle, Moyse, Barrère, and Kincaid, a first-generation student of Debost, Rampal, and Marion. This information provides insight into how a teacher will teach you, and what traditions he or she may retain or reject. The American Flute School mostly holds its roots in the French conservatoire model although it is fair to say that the American School has developed its own traditions.

Debost’s Teaching Philosophy
     Debost’s general philosophy of teaching was to provide students with the basic fundamentals for playing, both technical and stylistic, from which students could then express their own creativity. He wrote, “Musical playing is possible only after developing the basic tools to perform with thoughtful expression and beauty.”² “What I am trying to teach is how to learn. I want to see my students succeed, but they will not be able to get a job by learning only orchestral excerpts and a few pieces.”³ His goals for students were to have a “professional attitude and proficiency and the tools to improve and assimilate criticism from colleagues, teachers, conductors, and oneself.”⁴ He remarked, “Gaston Crunelle gave his students a methodology for approaching and solving problems; this enabled students to become more secure in their playing and confident in their abilities. Crunelle’s goals for his students were to become good pros, put together decent playing, and get a job.”⁵ (Crunelle was Debost’s professor at the Conservatoire.)
     Debost believes that a teacher needs “the patience to change what does not work for the student; the modesty to accept what does work, especially if it does not conform to the teacher’s ideas, and the intelligence to perceive the difference.” In the tradition of the French school, “a good solution is simply what works at all times, stress included. Second, a good school is the one where even ungifted students play well.”⁶
     As Albert Einstein said, “I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.” In nearly every masterclass, Debost would state, “If it works, do it,” whether it was an alternate fingering, method of playing, or interpretation. He was cautious not to be pedantic about prescribing his musical ideas. Merely, he wanted students to have the tools to allow them the freedom of self-expression. He encouraged studying other teaching methodologies. He taught in the tradition of the French Flute School, and part of that tradition is breaking with it. He encouraged students to grow musically by questioning and challenging. “Living in our time, we learn as much from tradition as from innovation, which will start the next tradition. A school of playing is a certain expression of imagination and novelty  passed from player to player, not some kind of scripture set in stone.”⁷ Debost taught the pupil in front of him, leading and pushing that student to find his or her greatest success.
 
Debost’s Curriculum
     At the beginning of each year, Debost distributed a detailed roster of weekly technical studies, a repertoire list, and a rubric for studio class performance. No matter whether you were a freshman or senior, everyone studied the same curriculum. On seeing this roster for the first time, I took a big gulp and thought, “Let’s start at the beginning.”
     The curriculum followed the tradition of Crunelle’s teachings: scales, daily exercises, sonority (tone), etudes, and pieces. Each year, the studio focused on one etude book, a set series of orchestral excerpts, daily exercises, and 25-30 pieces from the standard solo and chamber music repertoire, spanning all musical eras. Debost assigned etudes in a specific order, not in the order of publication, pairing them with an orchestral excerpt, and a particular daily exercise of concentration for the week. Selecting a work from outside the assigned list was welcomed, but this was the general course of study for a given year.
     The course was team taught with Kathy Chastain in the style of the Paris Conservatory where an assistant teacher provides additional individual instruction. At Oberlin, however, Debost taught the individual lessons and masterclasses, and we had a lesson with Kathy Chastain once a month. While they worked to the same goal and in the same style, having two interpretations of study was invaluable.
     This curriculum reflected the methodology of the French School. “More care, in the French School, is given to instrumental playing than repertoire.” Articulation – clarity, variety, speed – is the key to practicing scales. Melodic intonation and understanding the scale outweighs stringent use of tuner. Vibrato comes from the core of the sound, rather than measured and formulated with a tuner. There are clean simple lines of phrasing of homogeneous sound provided by a stable embouchure.⁸
 
Scale Study
     Students memorized the Debost Scale Game, a series of sixty articulation, phrasing, and tempo variations for Taffanel et Gaubert Exercise Journalier, No. 4. The game is designed to improve tone, technique, intonation, articulation, and breath control. Above all evenness, homogeneity of sound, and control in all registers and dynamic levels was stressed over speed of execution. Debost often commented, “Scales last about 15 seconds each [sic up to 60 seconds]. During that time, you concentrate on doing something perfect musically. Too often flutists think that scales are technical, but they are not. A scale with modulation to the nearest neighboring tone is music. Thoroughly studying scales and articulation is the most valuable activity in practicing.”⁹
 
Daily Exercises
     The overreaching goal of daily exercises was much akin to those of scale study. Orchestral excerpts were paired with specific exercises that required focus on a particular trial of playing the flute. Exercises from the Taffanel et Gaubert (Exercise Journalier) included numbers 17, 15, 10, 6, 5, and the Reichert 7 Exercices Journaliers numbers 4 and 2. Debost’s philosophy was “The practice of daily exercises is where flutists can cover basic difficulties without haste or excessive tension. The objective is smoothness, not speed.”¹⁰
 
Tone Development
     Noticeably absent from this regime was dedicated tone or long tone study. Instead, intervallic exercises were used along with Moyse’s Petites Etudes Melodiques and targeted orchestral excerpts to improve a sense of the harmonic understanding of scales, intonation, and interpretive phrasing. Debost felt that students too often lost focus when playing singular notes, and that a beautiful tone on a single note was not always transferred to longer phrases. Tone must be studied in context.
 
Etude Study
     Debost instructed, “Etudes are designed to hone our playing skills. [They] are supposed to facilitate our playing and are not designed to be performed in public.”¹¹ Attack them first with a pencil, study it with the eyes – analyzing, identifying the melody, special fingerings, breathing, etc. Etudes are a great sightreading project. They are exercises in “concentration, will power, and the art of approximation.”¹² They are meant to rotate in your practice folder weekly. When you do work on them, “start the practice from the end, line by line. It is common to…run out of concentration… as you approach the recapitulation…. Concentration is the most difficult thing to acquire and teach. Three to four minutes of intense mental focus are more important than the repetition of bringing an etude to perfection. Developing concentration is one of the rewards of sightreading. The purpose of the etude is improvement of the brain, not necessarily technique or absolute perfection,” and for a player to require a briefer period of time to prepare new repertoire.¹³ 

Orchestral Excerpts
     “There were few orchestral excerpts  [performed in masterclasses in Paris.] The idea is that if you know how to play the flute, excerpts were not so important.”¹⁴ Of course, they are the crux of all performing auditions and do hold importance. But they must be understood in the larger context of the score. It is important to remember that, “any technical problem has a tone solution, and any phrasing endeavor, however slow, has a technical dimension.”¹⁵ For this reason, orchestral excerpts either fall in the category of technical (daily) study or in sonority (tone) study.¹⁶ They are targeted little gems that provide compact, concentrated issues. 

Repertoire
     With more compositions than weeks in the academic year on the repertoire sheet, one had to become proficient at learning a work quickly. The importance and value of the French School masterclass style of teaching became crucial to covering the list. Debost often said there were about ten compositions that were inevitably played by flutist. He stressed the importance of exploring beyond the Mozart concertos, Bach sonatas, Prokofiev sonata, Schubert Theme and Variations, and Syrinx. “Other works help students learn how to play the flute or how to play stylistically. They are good vehicles for interpretation.”¹⁷ One goal of such an extensive repertoire list was exposure to some 100 pieces by the time you graduated, but more importantly was the understanding of how to play stylistically. Stemming from the Paris conservatory tradition was the group masterclass. At Oberlin these were held weekly for three hours. At the Paris conservatory, masterclasses were held three times per week for four hours. They were formal as were lessons and studio classes at Oberlin. Students performed at the behest of the professor, “whatever was assigned, études, scales, sound exercises, or repertoire.”¹⁸
     Debost believed that “with adequate preparation, they play better in front of each other.”¹⁹ Even more important was the chance to study a work that you might not otherwise take to a lesson. You studied by listening: listening to the performance, listening to the pianist, and listening to Debost teach the work. You came to understand the pitfalls of a work, where collaboration could be difficult, and how the solo part fit with the accompaniment. You came away with a solo part and score marked as though you had been studying it for weeks. 

Time Management
     One crucial element often overlooked is managing practice time. Debost more or less prescribed Crunelle’s regime from the conservatory: sonority 30 minutes, scales 30 minutes, daily exercises 1 hour, etude and piece 1 hour. The total practice time was three hours.²⁰ Though, he reduced the regime for scales, daily exercises, etc. to take 90 minutes, allowing the same for etudes and repertoire. He felt that three hours (though most of us did far more) was sufficient. To further assist in the breakdown of time, he provides a schedule in percent of time in The Simple Flute: Inventory 5-10%, Review 5%, Basics, Scales, Arpeggios 10-20%, Tone Exercises and Intervals 5-10%, Mending Disasters from the Inventory 20-30%, Repertoire including excerpts and etudes 20-30%, and sightreading as much as possible.²¹ Whatever method we used, we were encouraged to be thoughtful about practice – to practice that which we did not know, rewarding ourselves at the end with that which is easy. He also advised us to be unforgiving with mistakes in the practice room. When we are at our most relaxed, that is the time to demand perfection. When we are on stage, we must forgive ourselves.
 
In Conclusion 
     Understanding the why, how, and to what purpose the curriculum was designed allowed me to set goals for my own improvement over the course of the year, the term, each week, and daily. It made a hefty syllabus manageable. It is important to remember that “the purpose of daily practice is to improve you for the long term. Choose easy basics, but play them perfectly. Put aside finger twisters and huge intervals. There is no stress, so there is no excuse for poor practice. Daily practice is for working on yourself as much as on repertoire. Today’s practice is next year’s warm-ups.”²²     

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Considerations When Selecting a New Teacher
    When looking for a new teacher, whether for college or any time, be sure to look at a teacher’s philosophical approach to teaching. This provides you with a map as to why, what, and how they teach, and how they measure learning. Most teachers have a statement of philosophy on their website. Read it, and ask the teacher to elaborate about how the curriculum fits with that philosophy and how it would apply to your study. Be inquisitive about about specific parts of the syllabus. For college or graduate students there may also be external influences, such as department or conservatory requirements.

Pdfs of handouts from Debost’s teaching at Oberlin.

(5 pages)

Endnotes
¹Debost, M. “The French Flute School,” Flute Talk, March 2006, pp 2-5, 19-20.
²Debost, M. “Repertoire as Practice,” Flute Talk, February 1994: 2-3.
³Andrews, C. “Michel Debost Teaches How to Learn,” Flute Talk, January 1990, pp. 8-12.
⁴Debost, M. “Thoughts on Playing and Teaching the Flute,” Flute Talk, February 2013, pp. 2-4.
⁵Pinter, H. “The Life and Teachings of Flutist Michel Debost.” DMA diss., Florida State University School of Music, 1998.
⁶Debost, M. “The French Flute School,” 2006.
⁷Debost, M. “The French School: Miracle or Method,” Flute Talk, December 1993, p. 2.
⁸Debost, M. “The French Flute School,” 2006.
⁹Andrews, C. “Michel Debost Teaches,” 1990.
¹⁰Debost, M. “Repertoire as Practice,” Flute Talk, February 1994, pp. 2-3.
¹¹Debost, M. “Studying the Etude” Flute Talk, September 2012, pp. 2-4.
¹²Debost, M. “Studying the Etude,” 2012.
¹³Debost, M. “Studying the Etude,” 2012.
¹⁴Debost, M. “The French Flute School,” 2006.
¹⁵Debost, M. “The French Flute School,” 2006.
¹⁶Debost, M. “Jeanne Baxtresser’s Ten Commandments,” Flute Talk (March 1996), p. 4. Includes a targeted list of challenges for particular orchestral excerpts.
¹⁷Andrews, C. “Michel Debost Teaches,” 1990.
18Debost, M. “The French Flute School,” 2006.
19Andrews, C. “Michel Debost Teaches,” 1990.
20Debost, M. “Crunelle’s Practice Philosophy” Flute Talk, January 1994, pp. 2-3.
21Debost, M. 2002. The Simple Flute. New York: Oxford U Press, 190.
22Debost, M. The Simple Flute. 2002, “In a nutshell.”

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How did you prepare for your audition for the Toronto position?
    While I started actively practicing for this audition a month in advance, my preparation truly began the day I picked up the flute as a nine-year-old. Many experiences shaped my playing and auditioning skills, from high school honors festivals to the 17 professional auditions I took before winning the TSO job. Auditions have become less scary and stressful, and preparing for each one improved my flute playing and overall confidence.
    Starting about a month before the Toronto audition, I practiced each excerpt extremely slowly and in great detail. Sometimes, I would practice only four or five notes in a given selection until they were as secure as possible. This was much more effective than running excerpts over and over again. I knew that if I could have bulletproof technique, I would have more artistic freedom and expression and would be less likely to experience technical slip-ups. Only after this nitpicky work would I play excerpts in their entirety.
    At the end of September 2016, I played the preliminary, semifinal, and final audition rounds. I performed with the orchestra a few months later for a one-week trial, which also included playing excerpts with the entire orchestra and then another individual audition directly after. At the end of an exciting but intense week, I was offered the job. As with most auditions, I believe that this result was a combination of hard work, many elements falling into place, and a lot of luck. There were many excellent flutists at the audition, and I feel extraordinarily honored to be entrusted with this position.

What was a typical season like with Miami’s New World Symphony?
    The New World Symphony trains young professional musicians for orchestral careers. Bridging the gap between school and professional life, it performs different concert programs every week in Miami Beach from September until mid-May. Each member is offered a position for three years, and all players are encouraged to take auditions for permanent positions with the guidance of guest coaches who travel to Miami several times a year. It was inspiring to be around colleagues who were winning jobs left and right. This year, several former NWS members also won positions in the Toronto Symphony, and I am so happy that we will begin our first season together in September.
    New World musicians also are involved in a wide array of community activities both in Miami and other locations. I traveled to Medellín, Colombia twice to work with a youth orchestra and to teach university students, and I also coached flute students in Miami’s public schools.
    My best aspect of the New World Symphony was the opportunity to perform new repertoire every week under different conductors. While I was in school, I was accustomed to performing only three or four concerts per semester. Learning new repertoire more often and more quickly at NWS was certainly an adjustment at first, but it became easier, and I now feel more comfortable with this part of the job.
 
Does the NWS fund orchestral auditions?
    No, but everyone is allowed three paid weeks off per year for audition purposes. This generally covered most, if not all, of my audition expenses, which was helpful given the high cost of auditioning. NWS also had an agreement with an airline that provided a 25% discount for audition flights. I used this several times.
 
How did you manage your audition budget?
    Anyone on the audition circuit knows that this is an expensive job hunt, and I do have a few tips. First, look into travel credit cards that earn points and airline miles. When booking a flight, my favorite search engine is TripCombi. It finds more flight combinations than any other search engine I have tried. Another option is flying on Southwest Airlines (whose flights appear only on Southwest’s website), which allows customers to cancel flights and use funds for future travel. This is useful if an audition spans multiple days, and you want to cut down on hotel expenses. You can buy two tickets home – one for if you advance to the next day, and another for if you do not. 
    For hotels, I almost always use Hotwire or Priceline to find a discounted rate. I also love Airbnb, and I have been able to find a studio or one bedroom apartment for the same price or cheaper than a hotel. If you plan to fly home the day after an audition, split the last night’s room with a friend. If you stay somewhere with a kitchen, you can save money by making your own food and not eating at restaurants. It is best to find lodging somewhere along a public transportation route, especially if a metro line connects to the airport. If public transportation is not available, Uber and Lyft are your best options. Other deal hunting sites to check out are Groupon and LivingSocial.

Were you ever discouraged after taking so many auditions before landing your current position at the TSO?
    Absolutely. When I first started auditioning, I never advanced. I did not know how to improve or understand the process. Eventually I started to see more success, but it was never consistent. I would make it to the finals in one audition and not advance in the next one. The first time I was in a final round, it was for what was my number one dream job at the time, and it did not work out. After arriving at New World, I fell into a bit of a funk where I never advanced past the preliminaries in any audition that I took. I thought that I might be regressing and emailed my former teacher, Leone Buyse, for advice. She responded with memories of her own audition experiences and assured me that progress in this field is not linear. She is so right.
    Looking back, there is no way to analyze my audition track record. In some auditions, I felt that I played well but got nowhere. In others, I remember thinking that I should just leave before the results were announced only to find out that I had made it to the next round. For me the best thing was to completely detach myself from the outcome and stop worrying about factors I could not control. All I could do was prepare well, show up, and demonstrate my love of the music to the committee. Everything else was out of my hands.
 
How did you choose the flute?
    My mom first introduced me to the flute when I was four years old when she was practicing to play in her sister’s wedding ceremony. Even at such a young age, I was instantly drawn to the sound. Growing up in Pittsburgh, I was surrounded by a large extended family that loved music – my grandfather taught elementary school orchestra while playing trumpet in a jazz band and tuning pianos, and my grandmother was an accomplished pianist and organist. Four of their eight children played the flute through high school, and eventually one of their instruments found its way to me. Because my grade school band program was limited, my mom was my primary teacher during this time. In my third year of playing, I had the opportunity to audition for a citywide honors band festival where I sat 16th out of 16 flutes. I was oblivious to the concept of chair ranking until the end of the first rehearsal when I realized I was last. This did not really matter to me as I was just so excited to be playing in a full ensemble for the first time. Shortly after, I started taking private lessons and entered a more robust band program in high school. That is when playing the flute became a higher priority for me.

What were your high school musical experiences like?
    My musical training was threefold. I primarily honed my flute skills at the Flute Academy of Pittsburgh (directed by Wendy Kumer). Here, I took private lessons, played in flute choirs, and took a few music theory courses. You were exceptionally gifted in knowing just how much to push me and helped me develop a raw, authentic musical voice before refining it too much. You also knew that I was on the fence about pursuing the flute and gently nudged me to record audition CDs for various festivals and programs.
    In addition to the Flute Academy, I started playing in my church choir around age 13. This might seem like an unconventional place for significant music learning, but it provided a valuable opportunity to perform for a large audience each week. The choir directors never treated me like a kid, and the environment was professional. I learned to show up organized, prepared, and on time. I was able to experiment creatively with improvisation, which definitely fine-tuned my ears.
    My high school music program was also chock full of terrific experiences. It was especially exciting for me because I had never been part of anything like it before. Both of my band directors were contagiously enthusiastic, and I loved being in the marching band and school musical pit orchestras. The program provided a great social outlet, too. My friends and I could collaborate together and encourage each other, not just musically but in all aspects of life. It was a lot of fun.
 
When did you decide to pursue a music career?
    For most of high school, I did not anticipate becoming a professional musician. It was not until my junior year that I played in the PMEA All-State Orchestra and decided that music would be my career path. Admittedly, I was a bit apprehensive; I knew that I was a little fish in a big pond and that the music world was unbelievably competitive. I also knew that studying music professionally would be vastly different from playing for fun as I had been doing. After researching schools with the help of my teacher, I applied for flute performance and music education programs, ultimately enrolling at the University of Michigan to study with Amy Porter.

Why did you choose to pursue both flute performance and music education degrees?
    I chose to pursue performance and education simply because both were available, and I wanted the best possible chance of securing a job upon graduation. Since I had just decided to study music the year before, I had not yet figured out exactly what I wanted to do and preferred to keep my options open. Plus, Michigan was strong in both  and was one of the few universities that encouraged dual majors. I am not sure if it is still this way, but at the time, many of the schools I applied to preferred that students focus on only one of these fields. Michigan was an excellent fit for me in this regard.
    There were plenty of advantages in taking up both majors. My music education coursework constantly improved my flute playing, and I became a better teacher the more I practiced the flute. In my first freshman music education class, I had to compile a list of creative practicing strategies for beginning music students. While the list was intended for ten-year-olds, it helped me examine and refine my own practice routine. Later, the education coursework further increased my overall confidence. Many of the assignments involved presenting different lesson plans to my peers in addition to public school students. This was a little uncomfortable for me at first, but I gained valuable experience speaking and playing in front of large groups for extended periods of time. This confidence transferred directly to performing.
    During my last undergraduate semester, I was simultaneously student teaching and auditioning for graduate schools. Unexpectedly, I think this actually helped me audition more successfully. I figured that if I could get up and teach a sixth-grade brass class for an hour, playing a fifteen-minute flute audition would be no problem.
    On the flip side, intense flute study has helped me become a more competent teacher. The more I practice and improve my own musicianship, the better I can help my students understand music. This is constant motivation for me. I believe that the best teachers are also the best players. If I can become a better musician, I will have more to offer my students.
 
Would you recommend a music education degree to prospective music students?
    It depends. If you like playing but have no interest in teaching, there is no reason to obtain a music education degree. However, it is also important to consider the job market. There are more teaching jobs than there are orchestra jobs. Earning a flute performance degree does not guarantee an orchestral position. Many orchestral musicians also teach, so it might make sense to gain that kind of training in college. You also might discover an interest in teaching after taking a few classes or someday decide that you would like a teaching job that allows you more flexibility in choosing where to live or one with benefits. If you are accruing student loans, the potential of landing a solid teaching job immediately upon graduation may be very appealing.
    Many students and teachers alike have concerns about practicing while juggling music education coursework. I worried about this, too. In addition to music education classes, I had to take a variety of elective and School of Education courses, attend conferences, and pass tests to meet the State of Michigan’s certification requirements. I cannot speak for everyone, but I can honestly say that I was able to practice the same amount during both my undergraduate and graduate studies. In fact, I might even have practiced more at Michigan than I did at Rice. It was crazy sometimes, but I found that I used my time more wisely when I was busier.
 
What were some of the challenges you faced due to medical problems?
    I had a lot of trouble with my neck and shoulders, ironically not caused by flute playing, during my junior year of college. At one point, it was very difficult for me to hold the flute for more than a few seconds. My arms would become so tired, and it felt like the flute weighed fifty pounds. Physical therapy, Alexander Technique, and far too much worrying became part of my daily routine. Basically, I would have done absolutely anything to heal and put a lot of pressure on myself to do so. I took nine months off from flute playing and a semester away from school and eventually things got better – it just took much longer than I had anticipated. The break from school ended up being a positive experience for me, and I returned the following semester more prepared to hit the ground running than I ever had been.
 
Is there a particular remedy that you found most helpful?
    It was a combination of factors. In the thick of it all, I learned that the mind-body connection is real. I was doing all of these physical exercises and ended up being in great physical shape, despite not feeling any better. I was really depressed. At the time, we knew a family friend who struggled with anxiety and various challenges who experienced profound relief from hypnotherapy. So, I made a last-ditch call to a hypnotherapist. I remember sitting in the waiting room feeling totally desperate, silently judging myself for being there. However, I was quickly sold upon seeing the woman whose appointment was before mine. She had apparently been suffering from extreme migraines for many years. Before her appointment, she was experiencing pain and nausea to the point where she had to ask the receptionist for water, crackers, and a place to lie down. After her appointment, she was a different person. She was in no pain and could not believe it. My own session lasted about two hours and I listened to a recording of it every day for about two months. I did not notice it at first, but my family immediately sensed that I was significantly calmer. This was definitely a turning point in my recovery. Since returning to flute playing in the winter of 2012, I have experienced nothing resembling this brief episode.

How did these difficulties influence you?
    I realized that my flute playing was too intertwined with my identity. When I could not play, I felt like a huge part of me was gone and that I was less valuable as a human being. It was a dark time. Fortunately, I learned to focus on things that matter much more than the flute and developed a healthier identity, independent of my skills and productivity.
    This process also showed me how quickly circumstances can change. In May 2011, I toured China with the University of Michigan Symphony Band right before I took the semester off from school. At the end of the tour, I remember thinking, “this is probably the last time I am going to play in a concert.” It was devastating. However, less than one year later, I performed my senior recital and toured Chile with the YOA Orchestra of the Americas. Although I could not see it at the time, there was light at the end of the tunnel. I have learned to be okay with not knowing exactly how everything is going to turn out, and it has been an invaluable lesson for me.
 
How do you approach practicing?
    My warmups vary depending on what I am currently playing. Usually, I try to incorporate whatever repertoire I am working on into my warm-up routine. This was especially beneficial when preparing for auditions, since it is more efficient.
    Take the flute solo from the fourth movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4, for example. You can build an entire tone warm-up from this excerpt. If you want to begin with middle register refinement, start in measure 95. The downward scale from mm. 91-94 provides an opportunity to improve overall smoothness, finger coordination, and consistency in tone color. To effortlessly reach the high F# in measure 101, you can practice the harmonic series beginning on a low B. Evenness in tone color between registers can also be a focus, especially as the passage descends into the lower register after measure 101. Practice all of the intervals slowly, especially the descending ones, to avoid blips between the notes.

Brahms, Symphony No. 1 (flute solo)

    There are plenty of warm-ups you can create with the repertoire you already own.Two general concepts that I try to balance are intense focus and letting go. When I am actively working to improve a passage, I think analytically about why something sounds the way it does. This usually illuminates what I should do to make it better. After woodshedding for a while, I put the passage aside and return to it later with a less critical approach. I have a tendency to over focus, and this prevents me from doing that.
 
Do you teach currently?
    I focus on performing during the academic year and spend more time teaching in the summers. For the past two summers, I have taught elementary general music, flute masterclasses, and woodwind chamber music at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Alaska. Sitka is a quiet fishing town on Alaska’s inside passage – it is the fourth largest city in the state, boasting a population of 9,000. For many students, SFAC is their only opportunity all year to participate in the arts. This resonates with me. One of the Sitka high school flute students traveled all the way from Unalakleet, a subarctic village located along the Bering Sea, to study music. This year, she was the first person in the history of her school selected for the Alaska All-State Band. Learning from her and all of the students there is fascinating; I probably learn more from them than they do from me.
    In August I coached adult chamber music at the Toronto Summer Music Festival’s Community Academy. It was my first official activity as a member of the TSO and a great introduction to Toronto’s wonderful musical community. Seeing so many people devote a week of their summer to playing chamber music just for the love of it was quite inspiring. I worked with emergency room doctors, engineers, lawyers, and people in all kinds of professions. Teaching is such a rewarding challenge, and I hope to be able to do more of it in Toronto.

 

Sitka Fine Arts Camp 2017 Middle School Flute Class Performance

What advice do you have for those hoping to become professional flutists?
    I think the key to success lies in having a clear, continuously evolving long-term vision for yourself, including a detailed plan of action and an inherent awareness of where you are in relation to your goals. It is not enough to say, “I want to play the flute in an orchestra” and hope that it works out. If you do not already, listen to recordings and attend live performances so you have strong concepts of sound, phrasing, and technique to work toward. These will become your long-term playing goals – keep them at the forefront of your mind every time you practice. Next, it is helpful to devise a practice plan. Find exercises for breathing, tone development, vibrato, phrasing, and technique, and learn appropriate repertoire with the guidance of a private teacher. It is important to think critically. For example, as a middle school student, I remember having a specific tone quality in my head that I wanted to emulate. Never could I match it at that age, but every once in a while, one note had some semblance of this sound. I would recognize it and think, “what did I do differently to make this note sound better?” and then tried to replicate it. When applied to every facet of my playing, this experimentation propelled me forward, and it is how I approach practicing today.
    As your daily practice becomes more in line with your overall vision for your flute playing, you can begin to think more broadly about career goals. In college I applied to summer orchestra festivals, read articles about pedagogy, and observed what my colleagues were doing. Everyone in my undergraduate flute studio had something special in his or her playing that I strove to emulate. I started learning about professional auditions and would play mock auditions to prepare. If you are in high school, you might want to research summer camps or opportunities to play in youth orchestras. I would also suggest talking to professional flutists about their careers and seek their advice. At every stage of development, it is crucial to gauge your current standing against your projected vision. Honestly ask yourself, “Am I getting closer to where I want to be? Do I still have a clear idea of where I’m going? Am I willing to do what it takes to get there, and is it worth experiencing setbacks along the way?” If you can confidently answer yes to all of these questions, you are probably on the right track.     

* * *

Preparing for an Orchestral Audition

•    Collect all of the required excerpts and put them together in a binder.
•    Listen to multiple recordings of each excerpt on the list. Be familiar with the entire piece and what the rest of the orchestra is doing during the flute solos.
•    Invest time in very detailed work – this will pay off in the long run.
•    Play mock auditions for teachers, friends, and colleagues, and be open to their feedback.
•    Record yourself, but also train to analyze your playing in real time.

Audition Day Advice

•    From the moment you arrive at the hall, your preparation is done. Depart from practice mode and get ready to perform!
•    For the most part, I warm up by playing long tones and melodies that I enjoy. This helps me keep calm.
•    You might see and hear many other people warming up. Resist the temptation to be intimidated or influenced by any of it. Be kind to every flutist you see.
•    If the audition is screened, wear what makes you comfortable. I almost always wear jeans and tennis shoes, but others prefer to dress formally. Choose what feels best for you.
•    Try to distance yourself from the outcome. The worst that can possibly happen is that you don’t advance, and life continues.
 
Advice for Flute Majors

•    Look to fellow studio members as role models and treat them with respect. Be a supportive colleague and attend all of their recitals and performances.
•    Show up to all lessons prepared and open to your teacher’s ideas. If you can, record lessons and take notes later.
•    Strive to be your personal best, not better than anyone else.
•    Learn to budget your time wisely. College is a huge adjustment, and what worked well in high school may no longer be effective.
•    Avoid speaking negatively about other flutists (or people in general). Besides it being in poor taste, you never know who might be on your future audition or search committee.

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Answer: When I think about the word leader, a quote by Kristi Hedges, leadership coach and author of The Inspiration Code comes to mind. “Being a leader means building followership. Your primary responsibility is how you can inspire those around you to support a larger agenda under your direction and vision. You have to prioritize communications and [the] development of others. Your job is no longer about what you can accomplish, but what your entire team can achieve. Good leaders focus on we not me.”
    When it comes to being a section leader, you must first know your section. Start by talking with them. You already know your goals and hopes for the section, now listen to what their goals are, and then merge them with your own to develop a clear path to achieving them. Knowing you are including them and value their opinion gets you off to a good start. I firmly believe that the best way to accomplish anything as a leader is to first lead by example. Show more and say less; this will go a long way, especially with a section of peers.
    Be there early to warm up. Practice difficult passages slowly, using a tuner as you warm up. Have a pencil on your stand and mark in helpful things as you go along. Be focused, alert and attentive to the conductor during rehearsals. These are all things your section will learn by watching you.
    When you make suggestions, using we instead of I is better received. Also, sharing something you think will help by saying for instance “I’ve found that dropping my corners of my lips seems to keep my high E much more in tune” yields better results than “You are all out of tune on that high E.”
    Another example would be to ask how you can be more helpful while addressing the problem that you hear by saying “We are not together on that entrance. How can I help with my cues?” When I address my section with a comment, I find starting with a compliment is useful such as “We are so in tune in that section. Now, if we can try to make this other section just as in tune.” The key is respect for the people in your section. This also means that you should always act in a way that earns your section’s respect. This carries over outside the rehearsal hall. Avoid gossiping, sharing bad words about a colleague, or acting like you are a superior flute player to your colleagues.
    The biggest challenge I find, yet the one that brings the biggest reward, is not to tell a section to practice, work together, or play well together. Instead find a way to make them want to do all of these things. It can definitely be a fine line, but if you try to lead by example, inspire your section, earn their respect and address them as part of a team, you can accomplish a lot. 

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