Aligning the Headjoint on the Piccolo, C Flute, and Straight Alto Flute
    Since the goal is to keep the embouchure hole level when playing, insert the headjoint into the body of the instrument and align it so that an imaginary line may be drawn through the center of the right-hand keys (D, E, F) and up through the center of the embouchure hole. When the headjoint of metal instruments is properly aligned, use a permanent pen to place several vertical lines around the tube of the headjoint and body to guide the player in assembling the flute correctly each time.

Aligning Curved Head Flutes
   With the larger flutes, it is important to adjust the headjoint to the body of the instrument so the player is comfortable when playing, and the balance of the instrument in the hands causes no pain. Do adjust the headjoint so the embouchure hole is always level when playing. 

Pulling Out
   Each instrument should be pulled out somewhat. A good rule to follow is: for piccolo pull about 1/8 inch, for flute about 1/4 inch, for alto 3/8+ inch, for bass 1/2+. Use a ruler to check this measurement as many people have a poor eye for measurements. For the curved headjoints, pull out at the joint closest to the embouchure plate. Check the final tuning on several notes throughout the range with a tuner.

Warm-up
   Each flute choir rehearsal should begin with twenty to thirty minutes of unison warm-up because the first step in learning to play in tune is matching the interval of the unison and the octave. For the first part of the warm-up I prefer that each flutist plays a C flute. (During a flute choir performance each member of the group should have the opportunity to play piccolo, C flute, alto and bass. While most flutists prefer one or more of the flutes, it is better for their development as a musician and flutist if they regularly play a variety of parts.)
   Many flute choirs practice scales, arpeggios, and seventh chords in unison using the 17 Big Daily Exercises by Taffanel & Gaubert, The Flute Scale Book by George & Louke, or Unisonal Scales by William C. White. When using this material, be creative. If there is a difficult rhythm in one of the flute choir repertoire pieces, play this rhythm on scales, arpeggios, or seventh chords. Be sure to include a variety of articulation patterns so the group reads and performs these patterns in the same style and with good intonation. In the best chamber ensembles, each member of the group is able to vibrate in cohort with the other members of the ensemble. Practice scales with 2, 3, 4, or 5 unison vibrato to MM=60-72 to develop this skill.
   If the flute choir plays without a conductor (Orpheus Chamber Music style), an amplified metronome is useful in getting each flutist to play on the beat. Often the weakest members of the ensemble play before the beat. This impairs intonation because the weakest person plays the note early and sets where intonation is. If each member plays exactly on the beat, the stronger players determine where intonation is, and the group will sound better in tune.
   Rhythm books such as the 150 Original Exercises in Unison for Band or 101 Rhythmic Rest Patterns by Grover C. Yaus played with the metronome are also excellent materials to use with a flute choir. Members of the flute choir should agree on the note length of each note they play and the amount of space between the notes. If the members are playing the same rhythms, it is easier to discuss and solve this issue.

The Thumb Problem
   If a flutist does not have the flute balanced well in his hands, it will roll back towards the player when the left thumb is removed (for C 5, 6, 7; C# 5, 6, 7; G6, and Ab6). Each player should be cognizant when playing one of these notes and strive to keep the keys level with the floor. If a flute does slip back, the flutist should rotate the flute out when he replaces his thumb on the key. The embouchure hole and keys remain level at all times.

Differential Tones
   Differential tones are produced when two flutists play in thirds in the second and third octave. These tones are often referred to as creating a buzz. Actually the phenomenon occurs when you subtract the number of vibrations of the lower note from the upper note. The resultant tone is a much lower note. Working to produce a strong differential tone develops good intonation habits. To play differential tones have a group of flutists play an ascending chromatic scale in whole notes with half starting on C6 and the rest starting on A5.

Special Fingerings
   If flutists are playing new scale instruments (instruments made after approximately 1985), the third octave F# is better in tune when using the right hand middle finger. Adding the F and E keys when playing Aflat6 will lower the pitch nicely. There are several books and online sources which offer sensitive fingerings to use in problematic places. These fingerings should not be used when playing fundamentals such as scales, but used in particular places (usually on held notes) in the repertoire.

Dynamics
   Flute choirs have a tendency to play everything at the mf level. When practicing in unison, vary the dynamics so each member gains control of the intonation whether he is playing at p or f levels. Generally flutists play flat in piano passages and sharp in forte ones. Flutists often play third octave notes on the sharp side and the lowest notes on the flat side.

Adding the Piccolo and Big Flutes
   If a flute choir spends 30 minutes playing in unison, those flutists playing piccolo, alto, or bass flute should change to their auxiliary instrument for the last 10 to 15 minutes of the warm-up session. Since alto flutes are  pitched in G, alto players must transpose in order to play in unison with the other members of the flute choir. The note a flutist fingers on an alto flute sounds a perfect 4th lower.

Tuner
   Each member of the ensemble should practice slow scales and arpeggios with the tuner regularly. They should know the pitch tendencies of the instruments and make adjustments as necessary while playing.

Air Stream
   Many flute choirs suffer from intonation problems because each and every member of the choir fails to play with a fast enough air stream. The coach or conductor should remind  flutists to blow and direct the air stream to a place on the wall directly in front of them for good projection.
 
   Fortunately, flutes manufactured today are constructed on an excellent scale with high tolerances for accuracy. Following these simple suggestions will improve even the most elementary ensemble’s intonation.     

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    Kodály may be mimicking the sounds of more primitive folk instruments. When performing this passage, keep the rhythm graceful and count the rests accurately. The music must move forward. Both of the trills are half-steps. The 32nd notes should remain quick, but not abrupt and short like a Scottish snap rhythm.
    The second half of this work abandons the rondo style and presents a string of dance melodies, one after another, with the exception of one slower melody that accelerates as time goes on. The transition to the final vivace begins in about bar 390 with a piccolo solo, in canon with principal bassoon.

    Be sure to match pitch on the long G flat as you will hold this in octaves with the bassoon. Practice long tones with a diminuendo on all pitches in the middle octave as preparation for this orchestral moment. The passage happens twice with a slight harmonic change the second time.
    The final vivace contains many bravura passages for the ensemble, and the piccolo becomes the top voice in the orchestral texture. There are plenty of fast double-tongued passages, and a notable passage at bar 551 where the piccolo player leads the orchestra in the stringendo.

    I like to practice passages like this all slurred (to assure even finger technique) and then slur 2/tongue 2, and finally, all tongued. The tempo is quarter = 152-160, so be prepared to move.
    There is a similar passage at measure 561 where the piccolo is the top voice in the orchestration and there is a stringendo, so watch the conductor carefully and be ready to accelerate. Because the music is written in the style of gypsy fiddling, it has many syncopated rhythms, mood and tempo shifts, and is flashy and fun to play. It is similar to the character of an encore piece, but at 16 minutes in length, it is  much longer in scope.     

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Repertoire
    The first step is to choose the right piece. For concerto competitions, read the rules and follow the directions. Find out against whom you will be competing. If the competition is open to all instruments, the selection process becomes more difficult because you will be competing against some of the gems of the concerto world such as the Brahms Violin Concerto or the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto.
   The flute repertoire does not have Romantic repertoire that can compete with these classics. In this situation, the best option may be to choose a Baroque, Classical, or Contemporary concerto. One problem with a Contemporary concerto is the high cost of the rental fees associated with procuring music for performances. Many orchestras face economic limitations, and this may be a factor in the competition. Accompaniments to the Baroque and Classical concertos are affordable.
   If the competition is only for flutes, pick a piece that highlights your strengths and minimizes weaknesses. An expressive musician should choose a concerto that features melodic playing, for example. If you currently are a member of the orchestra you will perform with, then choose a concerto that features not only your strong points but also those of the ensemble. Rehearsal time is always limited, so select a concerto that fits together easily.
   While there are many fine concertos for flute, time proven choices have included the Mozart G Major, K. 313, Mozart D Major, K. 314, Hué Fantasie, Ibert Concerto, Borne Carmen Fantasie, and the Liebermann Concerto.

Preparation
   Success comes from preparation that usually begins many months before the competition or performance. Have the flute checked to be sure it is in good repair. It may need a clean, oil, and adjust or even a complete overhaul. This ensures that the instrument sounds its best, and that your practice is effective. A flute in which the pads seat and the keys are set to an even tension will keep you from overly squeezing the keys and becoming injured when practicing.
   As you begin to prepare the concerto, learn as much as you can about the composer and his life. If the work was written in the Classical Era, for example, review the performance practices of the period and decide how to relate them to your performance. Listen to other works by the composer; saturate yourself in his sound and style. If the concerto was written for a specific flutist to premiere, learn about that person. Study any recordings.
   Analyze the form: concerto, sonata, ABA, theme and variations, rondo, rhapsody, for example. Mark the large sections of the piece, such as exposition, development, and recapitulation, and then the smaller parts. This might mean labeling sections as majestic opening, lyrical contrast, scale-wise slurs, jumping arpeggios around the circle of fifths, and so forth. Pick descriptive titles that you will remember, and this will help with memorizing. Analyze the key and harmonic movement of each section. It may be beneficial to learn the concerto by like sections. If the work has an exposition, development, and recapitulation, learn the exposition and the recapitulation sections at the same time. Note the places where the music is alike and where it is different.
   Within each section, mark the phrases and study the contour of each one. One option is to draw the melodic contour or shape of each phrase above the notes in the music. Circle and label non-chord tones because these are the ones you want to color. Examine the solo part carefully; notice whether the melody moves by step or skip. Practice with a tuner so these intervals are in tune. Practice etudes in the same keys as the ones used in the concerto to develop a fluid, even technique. If there is a problematic place in the concerto, determine what the technical problem is and then either find or write exercises to help solve the problem.
   Place a sheet of typing paper over each page of the concerto. On the paper trace the dynamics only. Then assemble the pages in order to create a blueprint of where the loudest sections are in relationship to the softest sections. This spatial outline of the dynamics will help you pace yourself so it is soft in the quiet sections and powerful in the loud sections. A wide dynamic range enhances any performance. Practice the extremes of the dynamic range so you will not be afraid of risking in performance. Exaggerate the echo effect when possible. Ask a teacher or colleague to listen to be sure you are not overly exaggerating these effects.
   Another useful technique is to create a story for the work. As you play, imagine telling the story. This helps with memory and expression and conveys a sense of the structure of the work. Playing along with a CD or video will also develop a sense of continuity and aid recall.
   Practice with the metronome to learn the concerto with a steady pulse and accurate subdivisions. Play the piece slower to test endurance and then practice each section of the piece faster than it should go to make sure the technique is clean and accurate. Then relax the tempo to the performance speed.

Daily Work
   Once the work is learned, spend time at each practice on a complete performance of the concerto. Play it without stopping and with all nuances. Note what parts went well and what went poorly. Pay keen attention to rests and practice counting them out. While looking at the conductor’s score, sing or solfege the solo line.

Memory Aids
   Many orchestral musicians perform concertos with music rather than memorizing them. Playing by memory requires a different kind of practice time that most professionals do not have. Most concerto competitions have a memory component. The more you perform by memory, the easier it becomes.
   Learn to play the solo line on the piano. Seeing the right notes on a keyboard will help with spatial memory. Divide the concerto into sections and practice starting at any section. One way to do this is to assign a number to each section and write the numbers on a small piece of paper. Draw the papers out of a small bowl or basket and play that section by memory. (Dice will also work with this technique.)
   Using the same numbering system as above, practice starting the concerto with the final section. Then play again starting with the next previous section and continue to the end. Repeat the process until you arrive at the beginning of the concerto. Too often the beginning of a work gets far more practice than the end.
   If possible, before the competition or first rehearsal, practice with the conductor. Many conductors are able to accompany you on the piano so they will know the tempos. If something feels uncomfortable in this rehearsal, now is the time to get the conductor’s help.

Polishing Ideas
   Practice playing the concerto on stage, standing as you would in performance. Record this practice session with both an audio and video recorder. The audio recording will illuminate technical and expressive problems. Watch the video recording with the sound off to observe body gestures;  body language should enhance the performance and not detract from the musical message. 
   Create distractions to develop concentration and focus. Practice with the radio or TV on or set an alarm clock to go off during a run-though of the concerto. Practice in a location where people will walk through the room. Exercise for about 10 minutes to get your heart rate up and then play through your concerto. Eat a big meal and then play the work. This might recreate the shortness of breath you could experience in performance. Practice performing standing first on the left foot and then the right foot. Then when you play with both feet down, focus on feeling centered and grounded.

Appearance
   Plan what to wear well in advance. Choose clothing that allows comfortable breathing. Shoes should be comfortable and not throw you off balance. Then practice walking and playing in the outfit. 

Concert Time
   Try to sleep an extra hour each night the week before the performance. During the day of the performance, eat lightly and drink only water. Avoid all dairy products. Save your energy for the performance. Some people believe that eating a banana about 45 minutes before a performance may act as a natural beta blocker. It may make you feel  calm with a settled stomach. If you use an inhaler for a breathing condition, use it before the performance.
   Clean out the embouchure hole of your lip plate with alcohol. Check to be sure all tone holes are clean. 
   Warm-up carefully, but do not over practice the day of the performance. The goal is to be rested, and frantic last-minute practicing will only increase tension. Sometime during the day lay down with your feet up. Visualize a great performance. Imagine it from start to finish, from the walk on stage to the final bow.
   When in performance, let your flute voice soar. Enjoy the moment. Exaggerate the musical rules and ideas. Have good body alignment. Bring the instrument to you. Pace yourself mentally throughout the performance as playing a concerto is a long haul, not a short sprint. Breathe deeply in the tutti passages when you have a rest. Count rests accurately. Be sure the conductor is in sync with your tempo.
   Accept the fact that something may happen in performance but remember that the audience is wishing you well. Deal with problems and go on. Keep yourself mentally alert. Look like you are enjoying yourself and focus on expressing the music you have so carefully prepared to the audience. When it is over, smile. 
   When preparing for a concerto appearance or competition, strive for balance in your life. It will make your musical expression richer.           

* * *

From A Student’s Perspective
   This past July, 52 students competed in the Concerto Competition at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. Six finalists were chosen to participate in the Concerto Program accompanied by the Festival Orchestra. First prize winner of the evening was oboist Leah Craft from Athens, Georgia playing the Mozart Oboe Concerto. Her teacher, Robert Stephenson, devised The Game Plan for her final three weeks of preparation. Three semi-finalists share their strategies for preparing for the competition.  

   When my teacher, Ruth Ann McClain, handed me the Carmen Fantasie Brillante by Borne, I was not sure where to begin. My teacher suggested that I bring the music to life by watching the opera. As I watched the opera, the notes on the page made more sense. I began to learn the piece, page by page. Although I was far under tempo, as I played the melodies, I recalled visual images from the opera. Practicing was enjoyable and the notes came together easily. When learning any piece, especially a concerto, it is essential to put a story to the music  and tell the story through one’s playing.
Several weeks later at a voice lesson my teacher, Mandy Webb, encouraged me to participate in a foreign language fair and gave me the Habanera from the opera Carmen for my audition selection. Singing the aria helped my flute playing and vice versa. Suddenly I was able to sing through my flute, and even began to portray myself as Carmen, the gypsy girl. I was so fortunate for these events to happen consecutively.
   When the time came to begin memorizing, my teacher told me I just had to do it. There weren’t any special methods that I used, because memorization was something that I had never struggled with. I sectioned off the piece based on the themes and variations from the opera and spent about two weeks on memorization, one section per day.
   After memorizing one section, I would review the section I had memorized the day before to lock it in. Page by page, the memory came, and the piece was just there. I never thought it would happen when I first started, but looking back I realize that I truly enjoyed the process of learning a concerto. Though the piece initially seemed like a bear I would never overcome, learning this concerto was a pleasure. 
Sarah Mitchener,
Memphis, Tennessee

   I prepared the Hue Fantasie for Flute and Orchestra for the Sewanee Summer Music Festival concerto competition. While preparing, I mainly focused on extensive analysis work with my teacher, Dr. Jim Zellers. We worked phrase by phrase, marking and planning how to handle each dynamic and articulation. He also wrote in piano cues beneath my part so I knew the total score. Prior to memorization, we had marked the general idea as well as a beginning, middle, main climax, and ending of each section in the music. This helped me solidify specific tempos, note groupings, and stylistic actions.
   I also studied the piano score in depth. This helped me prepare my entrances and solidify the musical ideas I was presenting. For example, if the piano entered in a certain style or character, was I mimicking it or was I supposed to soar over the accompaniment? It definitely helped to understand what was happening beneath my melodies and also helped with my entrances when I memorized the piece.
Erin Wallace, Taylorsville, Georgia

   Competing in a concerto competition is always daunting for me. I chose the third movement of the Jacques Ibert Concerto for Flute as my competition piece.
   Memorization is one of my strengths, however my ability to play in the style and keep my fingers even in technical sections are a bit weaker, so I began the process of learning the Ibert several months ahead of the competition. For the first month I worked on the piece from a constructive standpoint. My teacher, Kim Scott, was writing “move forward in the Ibert” in my lesson notebook every week. I learned the notes in the correct rhythms and at the appropriate dynamic.
   Then I began to disassemble the work. I used a technique called “chunking” to help myself play the notes correctly and the rhythms accurately in the appropriate tempo and style. (I learned this technique during my first summer at Sewanee Summer Music Festival from Patricia George.) Chunking consists of dividing the composition into small chunks of two beats with a rest in between the chunks.
   At first I practiced the chunks in a slower tempo, but within two weeks I was working at the written tempo. I skipped the cadenzas during my chunking sessions to help maintain their free nature. I worked at this for about two months leaving three months for working on style and polishing. My teacher left the style up to me but urged me to research the time period. “This is not Tchaikovsky,” she said in one lesson, “No one wants to hear the Ibert Flute Concerto played like one of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies.”
   The style of the first and last sections came naturally to me. They are quick and dancelike and easily understood. The middle slower section was, to me, much more subdued and blended. I focused on changing my tone from full and bright to light and warm. After about a month of intense style work, while maintaining the progress I made with my chunking practice, I was well on my way to success.
   With two months remaining, I immersed myself in the Ibert’s third movement. I moved from traditional preparation to a slightly over-the-top method. I made copies of each page of the concerto and taped the pages in various places in my bedroom. I would sing my piece around the house and occasionally I would run to my room and test my knowledge of which note in the piece it was. This helped deepen my confidence that every time I played a note it was correct. I watched and listened to multiple videos and recordings of flutists performing the Ibert. I even set my iTunes library to “repeat track” and played the movement over and over each night while I fell asleep. At the end of those months of preparation, I finally felt comfortable with the piece.
Charles Bryant,
Birmingham, Alabama

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Gregorian Chant
   Evidence of rubato can be traced all the way back to the beginning of music history. Flexibility in tempo took place even before tempo markings and the standard Western notation system were developed. Although the word rubato was not yet associated with the technique, freedom in tempo occurred as part of the performance practice of many early genres of music. Gregorian chant, the ancestor of Western plainchant, formed the basis of the majority of music existing from the ninth to sixteenth centuries. The main purpose of Gregorian chant was to communicate the meaning of the text. The monophonic melodies of Gregorian chant consist of notes that form shapes called neumes and are most often found in the shape of a square. Due to an absence of what modern musicians would consider a basic unit of pulse and meter, Gregorian chant has a sense of rhythmic freedom. Rhythm is derived from the flow of the melody and the syllables in the text, rather than a pre-fixed metrical unit of time. In order to add to the sense of flow in the music, performance practice permitted the lengthening or shortening of syllables in order to call attention to particular moments in the text that serve to enrich the main message.
   Manuscripts from about the ninth to eleventh centuries contain symbols or letters attached to the neumes that convey tempo modifications to enhance the meaning of the text. For example, the letter c refers to the Latin word cito, or celeriter, which translates as quickly. The letter t refers to the Latin word trahere, which translates as to draw out, or retard. Symbols attached to the neumes convey emphasis or length on certain syllables that heighten the importance of the text. For instance, a stroke called an episema may be added to a neume, a horizontal line above or below a neume indicates additional length, and a part of the neume could be enlarged in order to indicate a retard.

Baroque Ornamentation
   During the Baroque period music focused on the artistry of the performer rather than the composer or work in question. Music was coveted for its extravagance, decoration, and focus on expression. This led to expressive devices that enhanced the emotion of the performance. During the Baroque period, earlier rubato was the convention. Notes within the melody were altered, while the accompaniment maintained strict time. In his treatise, On Playing the Flute, Johann Joachim Quantz outlined the standard practice of earlier rubato: “The accompaniment, however, must not demand that the soloist should adjust to them in regard to the speed or slowness with which he takes the tempo of a piece.” The soloist had the ability to take expressive liberties with the tempo, while the accompanist had to adhere to a steady pulse. Rhythmic alterations occurred in the form of ornaments that literally stole time from an adjacent note. These ornaments included appoggiaturas, mordents and turns, and trills.
   Ornaments were performed with a feeling of freedom, and the performer was welcome to add or change ornaments according to taste. Appoggiaturas that occurred on the beat stole half the value of the following note. If the following note were dotted, the appoggiatura would steal two-thirds of its value. Trills were preceded by an upper appoggiatura (which occurred on the beat), and delayed the appearance of a main note. A trill would end with a termination, which consisted of the note below the main note and the main note itself. This termination would steal time from the end of the main note of a trill.
   The danger of giving performers the liberty to embellish a plain composition is that the end result could be grossly overdone. Musicians of the time had to learn the art of embellishment. In Telemann’s Methodical Sonatas the basic skeleton of the melody is found on the top stave, while a suggested ornamented version is found below. By comparing the two versions, musicians could learn how to embellish an unadorned melody. An excerpt from the Sonata in G minor, along with a list of the ornaments, is show below.

1. Turn     2. Escape Tone     3. Appoggiatura & Trill      4. Turn     5. Appoggiatura     6. Appoggiatura     7. Appoggiatura     8. Escape Tone     9. Passing Tone (Chordal 7th)     10. Passing Tone     11. Arpeggio     12. Repetition, Diminution     13. Repetition, Passing Tone     14. Chordal Leap     15. Trill

Frederic Chopin
   Prior to the nineteenth century, rubato remained a performance practice technique that was primarily spoken about but not yet notated in scores. The actual word rubato first began to appear in the keyboard scores of Frederic Chopin. It is printed in fourteen of his compositions that were written from 1820-1836. Chopin utilized earlier rubato throughout his musical career. In his pedagogy he taught his students the principles of earlier rubato by comparing the left hand to the conductor. Chopin used rubato to emphasize a climactic moment in a piece, bring out a non-harmonic tone, invigorate a repeated theme, or emphasize a particular mood.
   Since his rubato only applied to a specific expressive moment, Chopin never wrote the direction tempo rubato in a composition. A special type of rhythmic rubato that is unique to the compositions of Chopin is found in his mazurkas. A mazurka is a triple meter dance form that originated in Poland, which was Chopin’s homeland. It is characterized with rhythmic syncopation and a prolonged accent on the second or third beat of the measure, which coincided with a tap of the heel in the dance. The rhythmic robbery that occurs is the result of hemiola and accent displacement. An infamous example of this type of rubato is seen in the opening measures of Chopin’s Mazurka in C Major, Op. 33 No. 3. As shown below, an emphasis is given to the second beat, with accent marks in the accompaniment underneath a lengthened dotted duration in the melody.

Claude Debussy
   Regarded as the first major twentieth century composer, Claude Debussy is celebrated for his imaginative use of tone color, sonority, and imagery. Although associated with Impressionist French composers such as Ravel and Delius, Debussy’s music was inspired by the symbolist movement, which promoted spirituality and imagination. This influence is seen through Debussy’s use of musical imagery and fragmentation of motives. These motives are created through the juxtaposition of musical images, innovative harmony, and non-Western scales, such as whole-tone, octatonic, and pentatonic.
   Debussy’s music consists of a relatively free and organic rhythmic flow. In a set of conversations with his old teacher Ernest Guiraud, Debussy outlined his conception of rhythm: “Rhythms are stifling. Rhythms cannot be contained within bars.” The idea of strict rhythm with a controlled pulse was not in Debussy’s musical vocabulary. However, despite the relaxed rhythmic atmosphere, each individual motive is rhythmically distinct because of the lack of traditional harmony and structure. Within the rhythm of a motive, Debussy often included the word rubato.
   By the second half of the nineteenth century and onward, the term rubato primarily referred to the later type. Debussy, as a composer of the early twentieth century, incorporated elements of later rubato into his compositions. He believed in a creative freedom in music in order to engage the imagination of a listener. Debussy described his artistic aims in a note from 1902: “I wanted music to have a freedom that was perhaps more inherent than in any other art…to the mysterious affinity between nature and the Imagination.” Rubato is an expressive device that produces the effect of freedom through rhythmic flexibility. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Debussy wrote the word rubato more often than any composer who came before him.
   Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute is a prime example of Debussy’s use of rubato within his unique compositional style. Written in 1913, Syrinx was the first modern composition written for unaccompanied flute. It was originally written as incidental music for Gabriel Mourey’s play, Psyche, and was meant to accompany the scene just before Pan died. Since Syrinx was to be played offstage as accompaniment to Mourey’s play, flutists of today traditionally perform this piece from far away, or with the stage lights down.
   Syrinx is an evocative dramatization of the Greek myth of Pan and Syrinx from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In fact, a “syrinx” is a set of panpipes, which is the instrument associated with Pan. The flute emulates the effect of the syrinx in the opening motive, which is found in varying capacities throughout the piece. Since the syrinx would have been played in an improvisatory fashion without written music, a performer may choose to play this piece with a semblance of artistic freedom, in order to bring the atmosphere and mood of this piece to life.
   To alter the course of rhythmic flow in his compositions, Debussy often included directions such as cédez, serrez, and retenu. This remains true in Syrinx, where the terms retenu, très retenu, cédez, and en retenant jusq’ à la fin appear at the close of each of the three sections of the piece to indicate a slowing down of the tempo. In addition to adding an expressive effect, these tempo modifications function to evoke the image of a dying Pan. Debussy’s written rubatos often succeed shorter motives marked cédez or serrez. Expressions such as a tempo or au mouvt cancel out the tempo fluctuation. As shown below, this occurs at length in Syrinx.

   Given the yielding of the tempo indicated by the marking of cédez combined with a decrescendo and descending line, the piece feels as if it is ending and that the release of energy symbolizes the ultimate death of Pan. Instead, with the addition of the marking rubato, Debussy turns the descending line around into an ascent. The music that follows is a flourish of motives that recall the original syrinx theme. Rubato adds to the expression of the mood of the piece and enhances the projection of the image of the syrinx. The effect of rubato is cancelled out with the tempo marking of au mouvt, and the return of the original syrinx motive.
   Debussy’s harmonic and motivic exploration paved the way for new possibilities in the composition of music for future generations of composers. Debussy’s use of later rubato in the projection of musical images gives performers the freedom to use flexibility in tempo to communicate with an audience.

Igor Stravinsky vs. Schoenberg
   In the Modern period composers increasingly felt pressure to compete with the timeless composers of the past. To create a distinct musical voice and a permanent place in the repertoire, composers used innovative techniques that would appeal to both performers and audiences. Stravinsky and Schoenberg were composers who chose two different pathways and consequently disagreed with each other.
Stravinsky’s works were influenced by Russian folk melodies, Neo-classicism, and Serialism. He took pride in his distinct rhythms and mechanical strictness of time. In 1963 he listed the differences between Schoenberg and himself by declaring that Schoenberg made “much use of rubato,” while his own music contained “no rubato . . . mechanical regularity.”
   However, despite Stravinsky’s attempts to separate himself from the technique, he did write many rubatos in his compositions. In fact, the word rubato is written thirty times in sixteen of his works from the period 1902-1963. In contrast Schoenberg remained committed to the German classical tradition. In an effort to match the formal structure of tonal music, Schoenberg devised his twelve-tone method, which called upon a row of the twelve chromatic pitches that were able to recall the musical structures and gestures of the past. Schoenberg even included the word rubato in two of his twelve-tone works; found in his Piano Concerto of 1942 and his Fourth String Quartet of 1936.
   Although Stravinsky and Schoenberg represented two opposing paths in the Modern period, one thing they had in common was the use of rubato as an expressive technique, despite Stravinsky’s attempts to disassociate his own style with the technique. Perhaps he feared that performers would exaggerate the effect of rubato to the demise of his original vision. By writing it in appropriate places himself, he perhaps hoped to prevent this potential disaster. Schoenberg, on the other hand, was not offended by the use of rubato. He even marked it in his twelve-tone compositions, which are notorious for their rhythmic complexity and disassociation with the lyrical melodies of tonal music.

Elliott Carter
   As one of the most renowned American composers of the Contemporary period, Elliott Carter has earned a permanent place in the repertoire as a result of his innovations in rhythm. Carter composes in a complex, non-serial compositional style that is characterized by his developments in rhythm and form. The main rhythmic developments of Carter’s compositional style are metric modulation and superimposed contrasting rhythmic characters. The creation of metric modulation began with Carter’s 1948 Cello Sonata. Metric modulation, similar to tonal modulation, involves a change of tempo from one meter to another through a pivot stage, where a unit of the first meter is equal in duration to a unit of the second. This results in a directly proportional change of duration.
   Carter frequently superimposes contrasting rhythms in his compositions. The source of this technique is jazz music, where a strict pulse of the rhythm section contrasts with the freedom of a soloist. The two rhythmic characters that are juxtaposed are metric pulses and rubato. The metric pulses are indicated by terms such as sempre guisto or meccanico, and are played as downbeats. Within the rubato character, on the other hand, a performer is welcome to take expressive liberties with the pulse. It is specified with the markings espressivo or quasi rubato. These two contrasting characters are often found in alteration, where passages with a metric pulse alternate with rubato passages.
   Rubato as an expressive technique  has had a strong presence and evolved over the course of music history. Developments in notation during the tenth century due to the codification of Gregorian chant led to the advent of tempo markings and modifications in the Baroque period. This in turn led to the expressive use of rubato in the Romantic and Modern periods. The use of rubato has inspired many rhythmic innovations in the Contemporary period, such as Elliott Carter’s use of metric modulation. By incorporating rubato into a performance, musicians have the power to invigorate a composer’s vision by adding a unique element of expressivity. From the free rhythmic flow of Gregorian chant to the superimposed contrasts of Carter, rubato has proven to be an omnipresent expressive device throughout time.           

Bibliography
Bedenbaugh, Kay. Rubato in the Chopin Mazurkas. DMA diss., Stanford University, 1986.
Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald J. Grout, and Claude V. Palisca, eds., A History of Western Music, 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
Chopin, Frederic. Mazurkas. Edited by Desire Níkaoua. Paris: Editions Henry Lemoine, 1995.
Debussy, Claude. Syrinx. Paris: Jobert, 1927.
Hudson, Richard. Stolen Time. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Lenz, Wilhelm. The Great Piano Virtuosos of Our Time. New York: G. Schirmer, 1899.
Parrish, Carl. The Notation of Medieval Music. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1957.
Quantz, Johann Joachim. On Playing the Flute. Edited by Edward R. Reilly. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2001.
Schiff, David. The Music of Elliott Carter. London: Eulenburg Books, 1983.
Taruskin, Richard and Piero Weiss, eds. Music in the Western World. Belmont: Schirmer Cengage Learning, 2008.
Telemann, Georg Philipp. Methodical Sonatas for Violin or Flute and Basso continuo, Edited by Max Seiffert. Kassel: Berenreiter, 1955.

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   Answering these questions will provide a strategy to tackling a study. For an etude, this preliminary survey should be refined with pencil in hand. Have a secret sign for marking chromatic passages (you won’t even have to read them); a marking you use when one line of music is played in two voices (Andersen, Op. 15, No. 3), a marking to indicate when you should use a special fingering such as the Thumb B flat. Mark breaths even if you change your mind later and redo them. Be wise in this respect as there is no championship reward for record breath holding in an etude. You may wish to write in a few accidentals and do pay attention to the key of each passage to avoid many wrong notes.
   Play the etude at the start of the day’s practice. Make a commitment to play to the end of the exercise without stopping. Say to yourself, “I won’t stop, repeat, I won’t stop.” Read ahead. The old sailing ships had a saying, “One hand for the ship, one for the sailor.” For musicians, it would be, “One ear for the playing, one EYE for the reading.”
   At the end of the read through, circle in pencil the passages where you goofed, but do not practice them yet.
   When you work on an etude, start the practice from the end, line by line. It is common to know the first six lines of a study quite well, but run out of concentration and think of anything but the matter at hand as you approach the recapitulation and its changes. I speak from past experience.
   Concentration is the most difficult thing to acquire and to teach. Three or four minutes of intense mental focus are more important than the repetition in bringing an etude to “perfection.” Developing concentration is one of the rewards of sightreading (prima vista). The purpose of the etude is an improvement of the brain, not necessarily the technique.   

A Selection of Etudes
Berbiguier: 18 Exercises
Bohm: 24 Caprices, Op. 26
Andersen: 24 Exercises, Op. 15, 21, 33
Bach-studien: 24 Concert Studies based on J.S. Bach’s works (Universal)
J.S. Bach: Obbligatos from the Cantatas (F. Vester/ Universal)
Donjon: Eight Etudes de Salon
Fürstenau: Le Bouquet des Tons, Op.125 (Some of my favorites..)
Paganini: 24 Violin Caprices (J. Herman/Wummer)
Karg-Elert: 30 Caprices, Op. 107
Bitsch: 12 Etudes

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   After playing professionally for the past 27 years, John Thorne joins the faculty of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University as Associate Professor of Flute this September. While he has taught throughout his performing career, his new primary focus will be on training the orchestral and solo flutists of tomorrow.

What were your early influences?
   My earliest musical memory was listening to a recording of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe with my mother as a young child. I have often thought it was a great idea that she chose Daphnis as an introduction to symphonic music. She decided that starting with something more descriptive and colorful would be good for a young listener. I still love Ravel to this day.
   I come from a family of theater people. By the age of five I was already acting on stage. My mother taught in the drama department at Juilliard when I was growing up, and I remember running around the third floor of Juilliard while she taught her acting class. I chose to play the flute because my favorite babysitter played the flute and showed me how to put the instrument together and make a sound. I took to it naturally, so when it was time to choose an instrument at school, I chose the flute.
   When I was young, I was inspired by listening to Julius Baker and Jean-Pierre Rampal. After I started flute lessons, a neighbor lent me a recording of Baker playing the Vivaldi and Mozart concertos. I remember the day of the week, a Sunday, and the time of day, a sunny afternoon, when I first heard that recording. I knew then that I wanted to be a musician. When I was 14 years old, my mother bought me tickets to a series of masterclasses taught by Rampal in New York. I was just a member of the audience, but from my seat in the second row, I was able to watch him demonstrate how the flute should be played.

Do you have a favorite book you encourage flute students to read?
   I think John Krell’s book Kincaidiana is a great resource. In this book, Krell explains the main concepts of William Kincaid’s teaching, drawn from his own experience as a former student and colleague of Kincaid’s (William Kincaid was principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1921-1960 and the flute teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1928 until the mid-1960s). Krell discusses not only the physical aspects of flute performance, such as proper hand position, embouchure placement and finger technique, but more significantly, he analyzes the technique of phrasing and control over the tone that allows a flutist to create not only a beautiful, varied sonority, but to communicate with an audience.
   There are so many excellent books on flute technique, as well as daily exercises to build finger technique. Yet, there are few books that explain the art of phrasing. Too often phrasing is described only in adjectives, leaving young flutists confused as to what it is they are supposed to do physically with their air and embouchure. Krell describes in great detail how to prepare intervals, how to connect one note to the next, and through those skills how to create a seamless and dynamically varied line. Kincaid often described this approach to phrasing as playing between the notes. As a teacher, I feel that this is the most important skill to pass on to students, for it is what allows us to communicate with our audience.

What advice can you share about practicing daily exercises?
   Tone exercises that work on speed of wind, dynamics, and preparation of intervals, not just beauty of tone, will help to develop the skills that Krell discusses in Kincaidiana. They will also develop the ability to play any note on the flute with any dynamic and color. This provides unlimited options to the performer as to how a phrase can be played. After the development of a beautiful, full sound, the freedom to place a note at any point within a musical phrase or line is the ultimate goal of tone exercises. Control over the tone allows  flutists to paint a picture through sound for an audience. Unfortunately, this essential skill is too often overlooked in favor of building finger technique. Both skills are necessary to be a complete and successful musician.
   Along with experimenting with tone and phrasing, it is important to develop dexterity and coordination of the hands and embouchure. Daily scale and intervallic work helps establish and maintain a strong connection between mind, body, and flute. I have always used the Seventeen Daily Exercises by Paul Taffanel & Philippe Gaubert, which I have played since I was eleven years old. These studies should be memorized, as they will accompany flutists through their careers as performers and teachers. These exercises not only develop a strong facility, but also a thorough knowledge of keys and intervals, which are the vocabulary of music. I have found in my own practice that daily work on these exercises is money in the bank. I prefer to play two octave scales in modes; I start on all degrees of the scale as in daily exercise number three (E.J.3). Often in a composition, a scale starts on a note other than the tonic. This approach is more time intensive, especially when we transpose scales into all major and minor keys. I have found that playing major scales one day and minor the next is more efficient.
   The Taffanel and Gaubert Daily Exercises work best for me, but there are so many excellent technical exercise books available. It is also important, for variety and contrast, to work from different exercise books, so as not to become bored by the same routine. Different exercises will be more effective for different flutists, but serious flutists of all ages should spend forty-five minutes to an hour a day working on exercises for finger technique, articulation, and tone development. This  strengthens a subconscious control over the instrument and frees flutists from having to think about how to execute a musical passage, allowing them to spontaneously conceive and execute what is heard in the imagination.

Do you assign etudes in your curriculum?
   I am a strong believer in progressing through all of the Andersen Etudes (Op. 33, 30, 63, 15, 60) before studying the French etudes or Karg-Elert Caprices. Students who have studied the Andersen Etudes and worked on all the challenges they present will inevitably have a good, solid foundation for their technique. They will have covered all key areas, encountered all the intervallic, articulation, and velocity demands, and developed the necessary concentration and endurance to play through a long extended study. In my experience, a student that completes all of the Andersen Etudes first, especially upon finishing Andersen’s Twenty-Four Virtuosity Studies, Op. 60, is fully capable of meeting the challenges of the entire flute repertoire. Of course, these etudes do not cover many of the techniques developed in the twentieth-century. For those skills, Robert Dick and other contemporary flutists and composers have written many invaluable exercises, etudes, and compositions. The development of contemporary techniques should be done in conjunction with the Andersen Etudes, as young flutists should become comfortable with the demands of contemporary music sooner rather than later.

How can students learn to play in all styles?
   I feel that it is important for students to study and listen to all types of music, not just classical, in order to develop an ear for different idioms and styles. It is through listening that we learn the various inflections and cadences of different genres of music. We all have a talent for language and accent that is innate when we are young. Musicians should maintain this skill, so they can learn various styles with the same fluency and ease as children learn languages. Teachers should work with students so they develop an ear for nuance. Music, though notated, is still essentially an aural tradition. It needs to be heard in order for the performer to know the correct approach to style. There is no manner of notation that can effectively provide all the correct nuances. It is through careful listening and imitation that musicians learn to play in a jazz idiom as well as in the Baroque style.
   Students should also have a sense of context within which to fit different styles of music. For example, I encourage students to learn not just the flute part in Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun, but also to read the Mallarme poem that inspired Debussy, as well as see Nijinsky’s choreography that Debussy’s composition inspired. In addition, students should know not just what the Baroque and Classical styles are, but what their cultural roots were. To help a young flutist develop into a musician, and hopefully into an artist, a love of the humanities must be encouraged and developed. Practice can provide a young flutist with technique, but exposure to all performing and visual arts, as well as study of the humanities, will give them something to say.

How does a flutist develop inflection?
   In my own teaching, I often find that it is helpful to analyze the inflection that we use in everyday speech as a way to remind students that music is also a language and should have just as much variety of expression and inflection. For it is this variety that serves as a constantly changing flow of sound that can keep an audience captivated. A monotonous flow of even-tempered tones, even if well produced, will not interest an audience through a long composition. A constantly shifting variety of tone, color, and inflection within a phrase can fascinate the ear. Too often flutists resort to physical mannerisms in order to keep an audience’s attention (often producing tension within the body), instead of using inflection, control of tone colors, and phrasing to communicate the emotional content of a piece. Listeners should be able to close their eyes and hear, as well as see, the music. They should not have to see the performer to hear their phrasing.

How does a flutist develop projection and a beautiful sound?
   I grew up just outside of New York City and had a neighbor who was a member of the New York Philharmonic. He often gave me free tickets to concerts as well as a ride down to Manhattan. I spent my high school years listening to Julius Baker play in the orchestra, both live as well as on recordings and radio broadcasts. His beauty of tone and the way his sound projected in the hall highly influenced me. So many people feel that you must play forte all the time in order to project. I learned from Baker, however, that it is more important to focus the sound. A compact tone that is centered also has a density that makes it project more than a tone that is diffuse. It is the speed of wind and energy within the tone that makes the sound spin and travel out into the hall. It is also important to allow more air to travel into the headjoint by not covering too much of the lip plate. Julius played with a very open sound, as did his colleague Joseph Mariano (professor of flute at the Eastman School of Music from 1935-1974 and principal flute of the Rochester Philharmonic). Baker often said that you had to let the flute play itself. He was very efficient in his physical approach to the instrument. My mother used to remark that he looked like a Buddha when he played because he was relaxed and at ease, even during the most difficult passages. Regardless of the many highly individual tastes about color and timbre, it is a relaxed, centered and open sound that, when combined with a high speed of wind, will project naturally.

What other musicians influenced your musical development?
   After studying at Curtis, I studied privately with Anne Diener Zentner, the former principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She taught me how to take the phrasing skills I had learned from John Krell and more directly apply them to a composition. She had me choose a focal point within a phrase and then link phrases together within the larger structure, the architecture of a composition. Awareness of the overall structure of a composition is essential in being able to communicate with an audience. Listeners may be hearing a piece for the first time, but they can relate to the building and release of tension inherent in most compositions. Anne Zentner taught me how to direct a phrase to its focal point, which if prepared adequately will be desired by the listener. Linking one phrase to another creates ever-larger phrase groupings that rise up and down and culminate in the climax of a movement or composition.
   I have also been influenced by listening to other instruments and singers. My favorite pianist is Martha Argerich. I encourage students to listen to her recordings and if possible to hear her live. Her command of the instrument is ideal, but it is her musicianship that is most compelling. The variety of color and inflection, the phrasing, and the effect on the listener is one of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had as a listener. Her recording of Ravel’s Gaspard de la Nuit is one of my favorite recordings. The first movement, Ondine, is a perfect example of the use of color, as well as building and release of tension within a movement.

What have you learned from your orchestral experiences?
   After finishing my studies, I was a member of The New World Symphony. This was during the first full season of the orchestra, when everything was just beginning. It was an exciting time. In 1988 Michael Tilson Thomas had the foresight to establish a training orchestra for young musicians who were just beginning their careers. Things were not as upscale back then as they are now. Back then the New World Symphony did not even have a hall in which to rehearse. We used a nearby community center, carpeting and all. I was so glad to be making a living playing in an orchestra and doing what I had always dreamed of, however, none of that mattered.
   There are many orchestral musicians around the world who have benefitted greatly from Michael Tilson Thomas’s vision and commitment to building the New World Symphony. He saw the opportunity in the revitalization of Miami Beach to help develop the growing arts scene. I learned a lot from working with Michael. Besides the support and encouragement that Michael gave me as a young professional, he taught us to look towards the future. He is willing to try new things and experiment to connect with the classical music audience of today. The name he chose for the orchestra says it all: it is an orchestral training ground for a new world. I will always be grateful for the experience and opportunities the New World Symphony gave me.
   It was a hard decision to leave the New World Symphony after just one season, but I was offered the principal flute position in what is now the Sarasota Orchestra. It wasn’t easy to give up all that the New World Symphony provided in order to join a smaller organization, but I decided that if I wanted to be a professional orchestral flutist I had to follow the path that I was given. Luckily, it was a period of time in which there were many professional flute auditions. For the next year and half, while playing in the orchestra in Sarasota, I took all the principal flute auditions. I started getting into the final rounds and that gave me the confidence to proceed. I focused on learning how to take an audition. You can learn a lot waiting backstage. I had the opportunity to hear some great players and learn from watching them audition.
   After a year and half in Sarasota, I won the principal flute position in the San Antonio Symphony. I had never been to Texas before the audition. San Antonio is a charming city and I loved the Hill Country just outside the city. My colleagues in San Antonio were wonderful and I had a great time. After six months, I won the associate principal position in the Houston Symphony. I finished out the season in San Antonio and moved to Houston, where I have been for the past twenty years. (Pictured: The Houston Symphony flute section in 2006. (from left to right) Judith Dines, Aralee Dorough, Cynthia Meyers, and John Thorne.)

What is your teaching philosophy?
   It is important to create an environment that encourages students to experiment, take risks, fail, learn from failure, succeed, and commit to being a better musician every day. I believe teaching should be collaborative, with the student learning from the teacher, and the teacher learning from the student. The studio should be a positive and encouraging place where students feel free to experiment with their approach to the flute and musicianship. It is important to develop standards and goals while also allowing students to find their own way. The teacher is only a guide to help draw out the best within each student; the student has to do the hard work of developing the ideas presented to them. A creative environment is essential for allowing students to do their best work. I have been very fortunate to study with many excellent and dedicated teachers, and I feel that it is my responsibility to pass on to others what my teachers so tirelessly and enthusiastically gave to me.

What are your goals for the studio?
   It is a pleasure to join the faculty at Northwestern. Walfrid Kujala and Richard Graef have built a great studio and now that Professor Kujala is retiring, Richard Graef and I will be working to build upon the impact that Kujala’s teaching has had on flute pedagogy.
   The Bienen School of Music is committed to training young professionals to meet the changing demands of the music industry. The goal is to provide students with the tools that will allow them to respond to a rapidly changing economic and cultural landscape. I want to pass on what I have learned over 27 years of playing professionally in orchestras and in chamber music groups. It is very gratifying to help students and young professionals achieve their goals and I feel fortunate to work with such talented students at Northwestern.   

* * *

    John Thorne joins the faculty of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music as an associate professor of flute this September. He has been the associate principal flute of the Houston Symphony since 1992. Previously, he was principal flute with the San Antonio Symphony and the Florida West Coast Symphony (now called the Sarasota Orchestra). He started his career as a member of the inaugural season of the New World Symphony.
   Thorne received his Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a student of Julius Baker and John Krell, former piccolo player of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Upon graduation from Curtis, Thorne studied privately with Anne Diener Zentner, former principal flute of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He received his Master of Music from Michigan State University, where he was part of the Halyburton Wind Quintet. 
   Thorne taught at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music from 1994 to 2002 as an adjunct faculty member. In addition to teaching privately, he has given masterclasses in Texas for the Houston Flute Club, Austin Flute Club and at the University of Texas, Austin. He has also served on juries for flute competitions in the Houston area as well as for the NFA’s Young Artist Competition.

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