Options
    Basically there are only two ways to start notes – by tonguing them or not. Ideally, this is to be considered independently from the length or register of the note. Within these two categories, there are degrees of variation, as well as options in terms of basic style and technique within schools of playing. If practiced regularly, various ways of starting notes can be comfortable and convenient tools that you can use to imply a range of emotional characterizations in the musical phrase.
    Usually flutists simply attack notes with a syllable like D or T. Hopefully they develop a habit of avoiding accents unless called for. As an alternative, flutists can start the notes less directly, just by opening the embou-chure aperture as if saying muh, or puh. This provides a more expessive option. Akin to starting a sentence gently when speaking, the air emerges a bit more gradually at the start of the note with this technique, without a sudden rush onto the blowing edge of the flute. Remember that you are not unfocusing the start of the note; ideally you want the note to emerge immediately but rather softly and without accent, at any dynamic, when using this technique.

Attacks
    To learn this technique, you may find it easier at first to experiment with some notes in the low octave, as the tone tends to naturally emerge a bit more slowly in the low register. Play a B4, making sure to hold the instrument with good alignment, and position the embouchure as if preparing to tongue the note. Instead, open the embouchure aperture gently with the start of the air stream without tonguing. Parting the lips rather quickly produces the syllable puh. Learn to slow this action slightly to reduce the immediacy of the note even more. I can not overstate the importance of holding the instrument in correct relation to the aperture. Ascend gradually studying each note. As you go higher more air pressure will be needed for support along with a smaller aperture. Try to make the notes emerge without any extra unpleasant noise. Use a recorder to check whether you are hearing this clearly, and try various dynamics. Do not confuse tone with noise.

Words of Wisdom
    Once a famous horn its was asked by a student, “How do you phrase with such complexity and subtlety? It is remarkable!” To which the great artist replied, “Well, let’s see…I start with the first note, and then I move to the second, then the third, and so on.” Simply changing the attack on the first note of a slurred phrase is the most efficient way to show the mood of an entire phrase. It is as if all the other notes are affected by it. With this technique you are trying to highlight a gentle, expressive, or dolce mood with the first note. Listeners will remember this as they hear the next notes.

Examples
    Try the following phrases. This technique is especially important for beginning a piece, such as Faure’s Fantasie:

Starting with puh provides the rhythmic definition needed to begin exactly on time, but with the right mood. As an added bonus, you can then crescendo a bit to the change of harmony to the dominant in the middle of measure 2. 
    This kind of attack is also useful for emphasizing a change of dynamic along with a more expressive mood, as in the Dutilleux Sonatine (below) at #12. If you take the composer at his word, you should crescendo a bit into 12, then begin the next phrase subito pp. Using puh helps.

Dutilleux Sonatine

    This technique can be used within the context of technical passages as well, as in this excerpt from Busser’s Prelude et Scherzo:

    This way of changing mood is not just useful to emphasize a change to piano, but forte, or more appassionata as well. Use puh to make the change to forte cantabile in the following example from Martinu’s First Sonata:

    Scales can be expressive, too. Start each scale with the expressive attack as a dolce accompaniment to the piano melody. Try this in the example below from Perhilou’s Ballade.

    Learning this single technique for varying articulation can really help you to stand out from the crowd and get underneath the surface of a piece. This helps an audience understand the meaning of the music, and helps you remain true to the spirit of the composer’s wishes beyond the written indications.      

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Fundamentals Check-Up

    Achieve proper alignment between embouchure aperture and instrument. For example, use a mirror to check that you are holding the flute at a proper right angle to your nose. Take care to prevent this angle from being too open, resulting in air striking the blowing edge unevenly or missing it entirely on the right side.

The post Deeper Articulation appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Rampal, Marion and Moyse
    They began by reminiscing about their days as students together in Paris in the 1960s, working with Jean-Pierre Rampal, Alain Marion and Marcel Moyse. They spoke of how the French flute school profoundly affected flute playing around the world. Crawford commented that Australian flute playing was revolutionized when Rampal arrived in 1968 and gave the first masterclass in Sydney. “We had never had a masterclass here before in our lives.” After three people played, Rampal expressed dismay that “Nobody here has the detaché. C’est dommage! (That’s too bad!)” Buyse noted that American flute players at the time also had much to learn from the French, especially their articulation. “Americans had no idea, none at all. We were pronouncing words like bottle as boddle.” 
Both described Rampal as inspiring in his joyful approach to music. Crawford said he was also forgiving, gracious and generous, recalling how, as a young Australian student travelling in Europe, she had run out of money but wanted desperately to attend one of his classes in Basel, Switzerland. The organizers said no, and wouldn’t let me in, but Rampal didn’t hesitate. He immediately declared, “She is my page turner and I got in for nothing!” 

Featured Topics
    The Professional Learning Day topics included Learning to Listen, Finding the Meaning in Music, Fine Tuning Your Mozart, Elements of Sight-Reading and The Value of Empathy in Teaching. Buyse said fostering curiosity in listening and aural skills enriches students’ lesson experience, while helping them understand music foundations, produced stronger and more successful flutists. She said it was essential and relatively easy to include aural awareness training even in a 30-minute lesson by ensuring students analyze and truly understand keys, modulations, intervals, rhythms and other elements in everything from technical exercises to major works. Buyse advocated “ear to hand” work and insisting that students play material by ear, forcing them to listen, concentrate and to play musically and with understanding.  
    Crawford added that finding the meaning in music requires study of its historical context, conventions and composer connections as well as seeking clues from the notation to inform choices about communication in performance through phrasing, colors and expression. “I should have the music in my heart, in my ear and in my mind. It’s got to be sincere. All those choices are part of our everyday communication. What we think and feel is what the listener is going to sense.”  

Buyse on Empathy
    Buyse asked teachers to question why they taught: to earn a living, to share a love of music and passion for the flute, to contribute to society, to pass along the gifts of their own teachers, to learn, to keep growing. “Students offer us an opportunity to access our best selves. Each new student is a responsibility and a reason to dig deeper as we use empathy to solve problems,” Buyse said. “Our choice of words is always important. Find language that affirms and connects meaningfully. The goal is for students to be actively engaged in the process of learning, recognizing problems and being able to address them in practice. Empathy in communication with students allows there to be a shared mission towards realizing each student’s potential.”

The Festival
    More than 300 flute players, teachers and students gathered at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane for the Australian Flute Festival which was held from June 30 to July 3. International guest artists Julien Beaudiment (Lyon National Opera House), Leone Buyse (former Boston Symphony Orchestra flutist and Rice University professor of flute), and Michael Cox (flute professor at Britain’s Royal Academy of Music) joined 30-plus leading Australian performers in a packed program of recitals, concerts, masterclasses, panels and workshops. A Professional Learning Day for teachers, a Junior Day for young players, adult learner workshops, a 70-member flute orchestra as well as performance and composition competitions were among the highlights of the festival, which had the theme, Collaboration. The next AFF will be held in 2019. 

The post The Australian Flute Festival appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Kiss the embouchure hole and then roll the headjoint out. 
    This trick has been used for a long time, especially by teachers who do not play the flute. The problem with this is that it places the flute too high on the lip. Better to take the time and place the headjoint on each child individually since the thickness of lips varies from one student to the next. Use a mirror so students can practice this placement at home. The aperture should be in the center of the lips or on the student’s left side (if the lip has a teardrop shape). Placing the headjoint in the chin rather than on the chin gets better results. 

Tongue on the roof of the mouth
    Many of the older band methods suggest this; however, professional players only tongue on the roof of the mouth to achieve a specific type of attack or color. Since the late 1840s flutists in Europe have tongued on the top lip or in the aperture. This produces an attach that is clear and does not go sharp in pitch. It is also possible to tongue much faster with the forward position than on the roof of the mouth. Many teachers teach this stroke or movement by having students spit a grain of rice. This coordinates the tongue with the air stream. For double tonguing, try the syllable key, keeping the key as close to the front teeth as possible. The best results are had when the student drops the jaw, placing an equal amount of space between the back teeth as the front. 

The embouchure plate should be loose on the chin.
    In The Simple Flute, Michel Debost wrote, “If the embouchure plate is not stable, there can be no reliability in articulation.” This is so true. I am reminded of going to the county fair and trying to shoot a moving target duck in order to win a stuffed animal. It would be much easier to shoot a still duck than one that is moving. I often think about this when tonguing and am directing the air across a very small point on the blowing edge of the embouchure hole. If the embouchure hole is moving, I have less chance of making a clean attack. 

The flute should be parallel to the floor with the elbows held high and in marching band stand with the feet together side by side and the flute parallel to the shoulders.
    This concept is probably left over from military bands whose job was to encourage soldiers into battle. Practicing four hours a day and playing two-hour concerts did not enter into their picture. Since the flute is an asymmetrically-held instrument, flutists should assume the foot position of someone who is fencer or someone serving a volleyball with the left foot in front and the right foot in back. Many players describe this as the 12:00/2:00 position. With the feet in this position, the body is facing 45 degrees to the right. The player turns the head to the left and brings the flute into position. The goal of alignment is nose, embouchure hole, crook in the left elbow to the center of the music stand. The flutist should stand approximately 30 inches back from the music stand and while playing, continually move the music to the center of the music stand for best results. The arms should be hung. The goal is to balance the flute in the hands and only the fingers should move. 

In concert band, the director seats three flutists per music stand. This leads to the discussion of “I will put the end of my flute behind you, and you put yours in front of me etc.”
    The problem with this relates to the previous question. In an ideal situation, all flutists should have their own stand. Depending on the set up the band, there may be several rows of flutists so each can play in a healthy position.

Play with a bent left-hand thumb.
    The thumb should be straight and point to the ceiling. Playing with the thumb bent creates tension in the arm. Generally, the crease in the left thumb at the first joint back from the nail will coincide with the bottom of the left-hand keys. 

Use the middle F# all the time. 
    Middle F# may be easier to finger but the intonation and tone color will suffer. Encourage students to practice the correct fingering. However, if the flute was made with the new scale (sometime after the mid-1980s), playing the F# in the top octave is better in tune with the middle F# fingering. 

Just blow harder to get the high notes.
    The top notes are the last ones flutists learn so of course students are not as proficient with the fingerings as they are with the lower two octaves. A little practice playing them each day will help the situation improve quickly. Rather than blowing harder, demonstrate how the aperture (hole in the lips) becomes smaller as the fingerings go up and larger as the notes go down. Collect three straws: one coffee stirrer, one soda straw, and one milkshake straw. Have students place each straw in the aperture one after another so they can feel what to squeeze in the embouchure to make the aperture smaller. The coffee stirrer is for the top octave, the soda is for the second octave, and the milkshake straw is for the lower octave. The air speed is increased slightly as the notes ascend. 

Breathe from your diaphragm.
    The diaphragm is an involuntary muscle separating the lungs from abdomen. It is attaches to the base of the sternum, the lower parts of the rib cage and the spine. The movement of the diaphragm is controlled by the brain. In managing your air when playing the flute, remember your brain is your best friend. When you run uphill, you do not say “Ok brain, I am going to run uphill. Please increase my breathing speed.” When you recline, your brain tells the body to go into sleeping  mode. It is all so simple. We exhale. We inhale. The speed of the breath is subconsciously taken care of in the magnificent human brain. So, when playing the flute, let your brain organize your breathing. 
    One of the tenets of tuba professor and legendary Chicago Symphony member Arnold Jacob was to sing the phrase in your head the way that you want to play it and then let your brain provide the air. Joseph Mariano, the legendary Eastman School of Music flute professor, called this “playing on the air.” At one of my first lessons with William Kincaid, I asked him about breathing and he replied, “Yes, I do it.” Excellent advice.

Vibrato is produced in the diaphragm.
    Vibrato is produced as the vocal folds open and close on the exhalation of the breath. In order to explore a controlled opening and partial closing of the vocal folds, on a third line B, play HAH, HAH, HAH very staccato and quietly. The initial H sound will open or separate the vocal folds (top of vibrato cycle) and the silence in the separation of the staccato will produce a minor closing of the folds (bottom of vibrato cycle). Play three HAHs followed by a rest to MM = 60 staccato, then have the student slur the HAHs. This provides a basic vibrato. Videos of this process may be found by googling Patricia George XRAY. 

Open your throat.
    I have asked many a student to point to his throat. They all point to somewhere different. When teachers refer to opening the throat, they should say instead “Separate the vocal folds.” Starting the note with HAH or a breath attack does this. 

Support the sound.
    Often when teachers say this, students tighten their abdominal muscles and leave them tightened for the entire rehearsal. It is better to talk about blowing the air out rather than taking the air in. As in the Arnold Jacob quote before, think about singing the phrase and let the brain take care of the rest. 

We are going to have a long- tone playing competition.
    This is a helpful comment only if your goal is teaching tension. Since the flute is the instrument with the highest flow of air (with the tuba following closely behind) students with small lung capacity do not have a chance of winning this competition. What they will do is squeeze the vocal folds together tightly to make what air they have last as long as possible. This is particularly unfair when comparing students on different instruments. The oboe has the slowest flow so they can last forever. Long-tone playing tests are not a level playing field. 
    A good exercise is to have flutists (or entire band) play an easy note such as D5 for one count with the metronome set at q =60. After the note, rest for one count. Repeat, increasing the length of the played note by one count until the flutist is playing a note for 12 to 16 counts with a one count rest between each note. This exercise is amazing in how gently it teaches students to use their air for a longer period of time. 
    Students gain a great deal from exposure to different teachers, methods, and experiences. They can return from a summer program with fresh enthusiasm and energy that can inspire their teachers as well as themselves. Take the time to go over what they have learned as they return to lessons this fall and discuss what works and what should be adjusted. The lessons they learn from this will give them a better understanding of how the flute works and improve their playing. 

The post Things You Never Want Your Students to Hear appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Getting Started
    Through decades of experience, I have learned that the best recruiting tool for a private flute teacher is to establish and maintain good working relationships with area band directors. My initial step was to contact these directors and offer to teach a free workshop at each school. This helped establish relationships with the directors of the more active programs in the area and provided income, as they often asked me to return for further workshops. Additionally, I was able to provide directors and students with information about my studio. 
    There were unanticipated benefits to these workshops as well. Teaching fundamentals in a workshop format forced me to streamline my instructions and develop clear wording and examples of what I wanted students to do. Often I was asking these students to play in a way that was different than what they had been taught. For instance, many of the students had been taught to place the flute on the lower lip via the kiss and roll method, which places the flute much too high on the lip for sustained and continued development of a good tone. To convince them that my way worked better, instructions had to be clear enough to ensure the method worked on the first attempt.
    Additionally, while I was eventually able to convince some students to take private lessons, there are still many students in our area for whom regular private lessons will never happen. School workshops, group lessons, and even short individual lessons, as the band program can afford them, are the next-best way to get individualized instruction to these students.

What to Charge
    The second challenge I had to face was setting an appropriate fee. Lesson rates closer to a major city are usually higher than in a rural setting. I chose not to lower what I charged when we moved to Winchester. If I had stayed in Fairfax, I was due a rate increase, so I felt that maintaining my rate with this move was more than fair. I did notice a few eyeballs widen, and even one jaw drop when I mentioned my fee to local directors and parents. I quickly realized that, excluding full-time faculty at Shenandoah Conservatory, my rate was a good bit higher than the other local teachers were charging.
    I did not want to lower my rate. I was a veteran teacher, with experience teaching beginners through university-level students and young professionals, as well as an experienced professional performer. Further, my studio was offering activities beyond traditional lessons, most of which were included in the lesson fee. However, I wanted to find a way to make lessons more financially accessible to students in the area. I added the option of a 45-minute lesson, in addition to 30- and 60-minute sessions. (My students are typically advanced enough to take a full hour, and I prefer this if my schedule allows.) The 45-minute charge is a bit less than the hour rate, and often, if the student is a hard worker, I will stretch those 45 minutes a bit.
    I have also had area individuals generously offer, usually anonymously, to help a financially struggling student pay lesson fees. I try to give them updates about the progress of the student they are assisting. I also ask the student beneficiary to write a thank you note, which I deliver. In the case of a known sponsor, the student will thank this individual personally. Once, I even had a student arrive at his sponsor’s place of business and serenade her with flute gratitude. The sponsor was thrilled and went on to help other students as well. I always invite sponsors to attend our spring recital.
    In one case, I even agreed to barter for the cost of lessons. I am leery of bartering as I have known colleagues who have felt they received the lesser end of the deal. Agreements should be carefully considered, stated in written format, and signed by all parties. This protects everyone and avoids negative and uncomfortable conversations if one party violates the agreement. My one barter agreement was with a student whose family owned a farm. The student’s grandmother had agreed to pay for a lesson every other week, but I insist students register for 15 weekly lessons for each term (fall and spring). The mother offered to pay me in a farm share for the other half of her daughter’s lesson fees. This student would arrive at every other lesson with a very heavy bag generously loaded with organic, free-range chicken, smoked turkey legs and other meats, as well as a dozen heirloom eggs.
    While the student warmed up and perused her sightreading example for the day, I happily stocked my refrigerator and freezer, thinking I could get quite used to being paid in food.

Fundamentals First
    Another challenge, convincing students and parents of the value of private lessons, took care of itself as my students began to succeed and soar beyond the expectations of their peers, parents, band directors, and even themselves. This certainly did not happen overnight. My incoming students were nowhere close to the level of my students in Fairfax. I refused to compromise on fundamentals, and it took some time for students and parents to trust me and to believe that these “funny sounds” (harmonic exercises and vibrato work) and scales would eventually help them develop a better tone and technique.
    I also insisted that students follow a set curriculum, although with a certain amount of flexibility, depending on the student’s needs, strengths, and goals. My students were not used to spending time on tone development exercises, or even on scales or etudes. I developed “The Daily Flute Workout” (See Flute Talk, April 2013, available at  for a pdf and full details) to encourage them to practice on a regular basis. It is a daily practice guide template that students and I prepare together at each lesson. Most of my students are involved in sports, so calling the practice sheet a workout helps them understand that my expectations for their flute preparation are the same as the those of their swimming coach. I also worked with band directors who were used to assigning certain pieces for solo and ensemble festivals that were just too difficult. I recommended other works that were a better fit for students but still challenged them.

Motivation
    Because the schools here are farther apart, the area is more sparsely populated, and the majority of students do not take lessons, students are not as naturally motivated to excel as they often are in a more urban area. Within my studio, I often create challenges to motivate younger students to learn their fundamentals. For instance, to encourage students to learn their scales, I created the “Scary Scales Scaling Bee,” which takes place in October around Halloween. Students come in costume, and I call random scales plucked from slips of paper from a jar, just like calling words in a spelling bee. The winner usually receives a treat purchased from one of the local band’s fall fundraisers. It is stunning how hard students will work for the renowned apple dumplings sold by one of the local band programs.
    I have also held an End of Summer Party to motivate students. At the end of one summer, we gathered at the home of a student for a pizza party. Each student brought a favorite pizza topping, and a local pizza restaurant provided the dough rounds to me at cost. Before enjoying the pizza, students had to demonstrate mastery of their summer goals, which were written on a piece of paper on my studio music stand at the beginning of summer for all to see. One student had been having trouble learning her upper register notes. It was great fun for all of the other students to line up and take turns approaching her and pointing at an upper register note in a piece of music. She demonstrated how quickly she could now name and play each note. 
    I also look to resources outside the studio to inspire my students. In 2011 Larissa West, who had recently earned her master of flute pedagogy degree at Shenandoah Conservatory, founded the Apple Valley Flute Choir. The choir continues under the direction of Carl Bly, a well-known retired Virginia band director. He is assisted by his wife, flutist Randi Bly, who is an experienced performer and teacher. Many of my students participate in this ensemble, which also includes area band directors and adult amateurs. The students gain experience in being the only individual on their part, and they rotate parts for each piece.
    Additionally, the flute choir music is quite often in keys students do not regularly see in their school bands. The music is challenging, and Carl is a demanding conductor who knows how to motivate players. With Carl teaching from the front, and Randi and I and other music educators teaching from the side – offering advice in rehearsal on everything from alternate fingerings to when to swab the flute – my students are surrounded by motivation and good role models. Even the adult amateurs set a good example. When a labor and delivery nurse shows up to rehearsal after a grueling hospital shift, still wearing scrubs, flute in hand, prepared and ready to work, this makes an invaluable impression on students about work ethic, commitment, and reliability.
 
Enrichment 
    My students usually audition for district band and participate in the solo and ensemble festival, run by area band directors. Once they have taken a few local auditions and are seeing some success with this, I look outside the area. I often have them audition for the Flute Society of Washington’s Mid-Atlantic High School Flute Choir. This is a good first audition experience and culminates with accepted students attending the Mid-Atlantic Convention and playing with the choir. For many of my students, this flute choir or their first All-State Band audition experience is their first exposure to the high level of flute-playing possible by students their age. They often come back from these out-of-area events highly motivated to practice and improve. 
    I also encourage students to listen, an undervalued activity in our society, even among musicians. I encourage them to take advantage of our close proximity to Shenandoah Conserv-atory, which offers hundreds of performances each year, many of them free or discounted to students. Additionally, I encourage students to listen to good recordings, and to occasionally venture into Washington, D.C. for a concert experience.

Instruments 
    Another challenge I faced in Winchester was in making a variety of step-up, pre-professional, and professional instruments available to my students. The nearest store with a wide selection is in Washington, DC, and I had difficulty convincing parents that it was worth it to make a trip their for instrument shopping. Most parents will not believe that an instrument upgrade is worth the money and effort until they hear their child play on that instrument. I was fortunate to meet a vendor who was willing to visit my studio once or twice a year.
    Buying a flute can be a confusing and scary experience for parents, who may feel they are spending a great deal of money on an object they know little about. I work closely as a liaison between parents, student, and vendor to determine a family’s price range, discuss which flutes might be a good fit for this student and budget, and to arrange a visit (or shipment) during which the student can try the flutes themselves and take a flute or two out on trial. Almost always, when parents hear their child play on an upgraded flute, they are willing to commit to buying the flute. Purchasing using a payment plan option or finding a used flute are good options for families on tight budgets. 
    I have also encouraged local band directors to purchase better-quality flutes and piccolos for their programs. Often, what seems like a deal can be a frustrating waste of money. This is especially problematic for piccolos. Many times, I have had a student bring in a school piccolo and tell me they have been assigned to play the instrument for an upcoming concert. I commonly hear statements like, “I do not like playing piccolo,” or “I am not good at piccolo.” I respond, “I don’t like playing this piccolo either. And I’m not good on it either. No one could be. It’s a piccolo-shaped object.” Usually, when I inform the band director that I cannot play on the instrument, they realize the need to purchase a higher-quality instrument.

Looking Back 
    Developing my studio here has been challenging, and there have been some frustrations along the way, but the rewards have been many and greater than I could have imagined. I have developed wonderful friendships and relationships with local families I would have not otherwise met, and I have seen students grow by leaps and bounds. The work ethic in these students is unparalleled. They practice and get the job done without complaint. I could ask for nothing more.     

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The “Aw, Mom” Method 

    I developed this method because I honestly did not know what else to do. Like the students I currently teach, I grew up in an area where private lessons were not common among the band students. I did not have a private teacher as a beginner. Therefore, when I started teaching, I did not have the slightest idea how to start a new student. It is perhaps unconventional, but I am proud to say that I have never had a student leave their first flute encounter without producing an acceptable tone.
    I demonstrate this exercise first, and then repeat with the student following suit. This also works very well in a workshop or sectional. 
    Have students sit tall in a chair, holding the headjoint only with both hands. Ask them to pout and sigh, much as they would if their mother told them they must clean their room before being allowed to go to the movies with a friend. “Aw, Mom!” Pout and sigh, repeatedly, aiming the air across and down, not up. 
    Without moving the head, slowly bring the flute into position, continuing to pout and sigh as they do. When I demonstrate this, students are always shocked to discover that I can produce a flute tone with the headjoint a few inches below and forward from my lips. They are further surprised to learn they can easily do this too. 
    Slowly bring the flute into position below the lips, in the cleft of the chin. The teacher can then make minor adjustments, if any are needed. If the aperture is too big, have students blow through a soda straw to decrease the size of the aperture. If the air stream is misdirected, I hold my hand in front of and below the lip plate, and ask the student to aim at my hand. (I keep hand sanitizer with me when teaching workshops.) 
    Allowing students to use their own ears to guide the flute into position almost always puts the flute exactly where it needs to be. Additionally, this method puts emphasis on posture, air flow, and listening from the very beginning.

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Where did you attend school in Hong Kong?
    At first, I went to the German Swiss International School and then changed to Island School, an excellent English school, that offered many more extracurricular activities including an orchestra. My flute teacher was Laurel Ewell, a member of the Hong Kong Philharmonic who was originally from Seattle. Laurel, a student of Felix Skowronek (former principal flute of the Seattle Symphony), imbued in me a great love of music, orchestral playing, and a passion for the flute. I could not have had a better start. She was very patient, positive and methodical. She even gave me my first copy of Flute Talk. She managed to convince my parents to let their 13-year-old daughter travel half way across the world to visit Marrowstone Music Festival, a summer music camp near Seattle, where we made music all day. It was amazing, and I really enjoyed my time there. That is where I decided I wanted to be a musician and play in an orchestra when I grew up.

What were your undergraduate and graduate studies like? 
    After finishing my secondary education in London, I moved to Munich. Originally, I was planning to stay in London and study with Peter Lloyd at the Guildhall School of Music. I had a place there but Peter Lloyd was offered a professorship in the States, so I needed to find a new teacher. Tertiary education is free of charge in Germany and that was one of the reasons why my parents asked me to consider studying here. With Professor Paul Meisen I found a fantastic teacher at the Hochschule für Musik and Theater in Munich. He insisted on building solid foundations, especially concerning support and air flow. He felt that if your support (Stütze) is firmly rooted in your body everything will work naturally. So, I spent my first semester in Munich just doing very slow tone and support exercises. That was such a culture shock, as I was coming from an English-American tradition of practicing scales and technique at very high speeds. During my second term, I was finally allowed to play real pieces but at half the tempo, as my teacher insisted I practice slowly. Learning to practice slowly, while paying attention to every detail and analyzing the score as if looking at something under a microscope, was tremendously difficult but equally as rewarding. It really taught me how to learn and build up my technique and repertoire. Initially it took longer, but all the repertoire I learned in this way has rock solid foundations. It lets me build upon it, without having to start from scratch every time I go back to the music. I am thankful for this approach even though it took me quite a while to understand it. 
    My studies did aim for an orchestral career with emphasis on orchestral excerpts, literature, and Mozart concertos. I have always wanted to be an all-around musician, so I did a lot of everything while studying, such as playing a lot of chamber music (especially with harp) and immersing myself in different music styles. (I even played Bavarian folk music for a while.) I also played as many solo concertos as I could. I loved studying, taking music history, and piano lessons and having so much time to explore Munich and the area.
    Munich is a beautiful city steeped in cultural tradition, so I went to the opera, attended numerous concerts and theater performances, and visited many of the wonderful museums. I find it really important to understand the background of each composer, the time they were living in, what was happening politically at the time, and what influenced them. Studying in Munich provided that nurturing background.

How many auditions did you take until you won your first job? 
    I was very lucky that I got a job after my first proper audition. My teacher suggested I do it just to get some experience. I had not even finished my diploma yet, but got the position and was plunged in at the deep end. The Münchner Symphoniker is a great little orchestra that plays all different styles of music from opera and operetta to film music and serious symphonic repertoire. It was a brilliant place to start a career. As principal flute, I gained experience and tried many different things without the pressure that comes in a bigger orchestra and especially a radio orchestra.
    After that it became harder. I did many auditions, almost 25 I think. I found it very frustrating. It took time for me to understand the dynamics of an audition as they are so different from those of a concert. You receive so much more energy from an audience that has come to listen to a concert. In German auditions, orchestra members will listen to around 20 different musicians, all playing the same piece. It often is clear after the first few notes if the player might be what the orchestra is looking for. There is not really a flow of energy, so you have to create your own energy. I had to be completely prepared so that my nervousness and concentration lapses would not disturb my playing, and I had to tell myself that I was the right player for the job. Not the best but the right one, and that this orchestra needed to listen to me.
    I speak a lot about auditions to my students. Not only about how to play the excerpts and set pieces but also how to prepare. For example, since you may have to wait for a long time, bring foods that will give you energy. Dress comfortably because high-heeled shoes can be difficult if you get nervous. I tell students to think about the audition time and how they play at that time of day. For example, if the audition is at 4 pm, and it is not your best time of day, change your daily schedule before the audition. You might eat lunch at 11 am and then take a small nap so that 4 pm feels as if it were a concert in the evening. We discuss how to stay focused at an audition which is really important since auditions can sometimes turn into social events. This can be distracting before you play. My advice here is to greet people you know, and tell them you will talk after the audition is over. Every audition and concert can be a dress rehearsal for the next, provided you learn from the experience.
    In Germany, usually the whole orchestra listens to an audition. Every orchestra has a different history and tradition of sound and playing. This can be quite a challenge when you are preparing for an audition. My orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, was founded in 1949 and was originally formed out of several string quartets and woodwind quintets. This meant that the musicians were strong individuals and expressive players. This tradition has continued, and we look for musicians who not only play beautifully but are also expressive individualists and great chamber music players. This is important for every position, even for a second trombone player or tutti string player. We want to be inspired by all orchestral members even if they are only playing a tiny solo.

What is the focus of a radio orchestra?
    A radio orchestra has many missions. As we are largely financed by a mandatory radio tax, paid by every household in Germany. We offer our radio, television and internet viewers and listeners a wide range of musical styles at the best quality possible. All of our concerts are for live audiences. We have several subscription concert series, five modern music concerts, a chamber music series, and some special concerts each season. Everything we perform, even on tour, is recorded and broadcast live on radio and on television. Livestreaming is becoming more and more popular, and we eventually plan to stream all of our concerts.
    The orchestra’s education program is also a big part of our mission. This season I was on a school tour with our percussionists, and not only did I have to play Bolero on my flute, but I became an honorary member of the percussion group playing on boxes and tables using spoons. We gave ten concerts in schools all over Bavaria, having great fun with students, as they also took an active part in our performances.

Performing on a recent school tour with the orchestra’s percussion section.

What is a typical week’s schedule?
    No week is quite like the other. We have one to three concerts a week, depending on whether they are subscription concerts or a modern music concert. With the subscription concerts, the orchestra will rehearse from Monday to Wednesday, have a dress rehearsal on Thursday morning, and perform on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I try to teach on Mondays after we have finished rehearsing and on Friday mornings. In addition, we are on tour for two to five weeks each season, although tours are rarely longer than two weeks.

What led you to making your recent recording, Piccolo Works?
    Making a CD is special, especially as an orchestral musician. From a critical point of view, I could say that there are way too many recordings, and the market is saturated, but a piccolo colleague said to me “You have an obligation to make this CD for your students.” Fortunately, I had the opportunity to co-produce the CD with the Bavarian Radio. Nonetheless there were a few setbacks along the way, as my initial recording company closed down, and I had to find a new one just after all the recordings had been done.
    When I was selecting the repertoire for this CD, I wanted to present a wide spectrum of beautiful pieces for the piccolo that showed what a wonderful chamber music instrument it can be. The piccolo has so many different colors to offer: witty, sad, angry, seductive, powerful, fragile. It is all there in this small instrument. Two of the works were written for me by dear friends, so I really wanted them to be on the recording. All of the repertoire apart from the Donatoni was composed in the 21st century, and that makes the recording even more vibrant for me.

In Vienna at Musikverein, Schwaabe with Ivanna Ternay, Petra Schiessel and Philippe Boucly

What is your piccolo curriculum?
    I teach piccolo to all of the flute majors at the Hochschule in Munich. They study flute with another teacher, and I am in charge of the piccolo side of things. Sometimes students will ask me to listen to their flute playing, especially concerning how to change from one instrument to the other, but mostly it is just piccolo. There are only 31 weeks in every school year, and the curriculum allows for everyone to have a weekly 30-minute lesson, so there is not that much time to spare.
    Students come to me with varying levels and abilities. One might be working on repertoire, colors, and a beautiful sound in the upper register, while another just wants to get a decent sound out of the instrument. I find it fascinating to help all students fulfill their potential and believe that everybody can learn to play well.
    Students have to keep in mind that the piccolo is built differently from the flute as the conical bore influences the intonation of the instrument in different ways. In addition, the smaller embou-chure hole means players have to support more than on the flute because of the greater resistance.  With my students, I spend a lot of time on some basic exercises, which allows them to have a homogenous sound in all three octaves and play with ease. I use some studies from the Kreutzer Flute Etudes edited by Paul Meisen. These etudes especially numbers 4, 22a, and 22b are excellent when practiced slowly to develop a smooth legato sound in forte and piano and very importantly in the upper register.
    Talking about colors is also an essential part of my teaching. I love using Marcel Moyse’s Tone Development through Interpretation as an inspiration in our search for colors. Because the resonating body of the piccolo is so small, I feel piccolo players should use their voices to find resonance from within themselves. I encourage students to experiment with their voices, and it is amazing when a student starts to use that new feeling while playing the piccolo.
    When it comes to orchestral excerpts, I have a superb book called Orchesterprobespielstandard-stellen für Flöte und Piccolo Band I & II zusammengestellt und für zwei Flöten gesetzt von Richard Müller-Dombois. In this book, the excerpts are set as duets so teachers can show a student what is happening in the orchestra. It is very well done and an extremely useful tool. The urtext edition of Antonio Vivaldi’s Flautino Concerto in C major, RV 443 edited by Henrik Wiese is also an excellent addition to the many versions of this concerto. In Germany, it is part of the audition repertoire a piccolist/flutist will be asked to play.
    My piccolo class has a recital once a year so students can play some piccolo repertoire other than such needed for auditions. In addition, I organize mock auditions for them to practice. I love teaching, passing on what I have learned and giving my students tools with which they can eventually teach themselves and become independent.

How do you balance family and career?
    It is a constant process of organizing with a lot of fine tuning in between. I guess it is the same in all families where both parents work. My husband, who is a freelance musician, and I get together regularly and work out our schedules so that somebody is at home for the kids or can go with them to piano lessons or doctor appointments. We have always felt it was really important to give our children stability and a daily routine, even when our schedules were totally haywire. We have invested a lot of money into good childcare and had wonderful help from the grandparents. My mother or mother-in-law both came along on my tours when the kids were still babies, and I was breastfeeding. That was both amazing and totally exhausting. Of course, there are times when I think how will we ever get this organized, but I have learned to stay fairly calm. (Once on an Asian tour, I got a call at midnight from the orthodontist asking me where my son was as he was supposed to be at his appointment then.) Plus, the internet is incredible. I have helped with school assignments and even practiced with the kids via FaceTime. When I was really little in Hong Kong, my parents would have to ring up the operator to telephone my grandmother in Austria. We only called a few times a year because it was just too expensive. We are on tour once or twice a season, which is always hard for the kids, but they cope very well with it. Recently we have started a very sweet tradition. Every tour one of my children selects a cuddly toy to go on the trip with me. I then send them a little blog about its adventures on the tour.

As a member of a radio orchestra, do you play a lot of new literature?
    We have five Musica Viva concerts a season with many premieres. It is fascinating to experience new compositions as they evolve. We have some excellent conductors for this type of music like Matthias Pintscher, Kent Nagano and Péter Eötvös who not only work with incredibly complex scores but also make music out of them. My advice when learning new music is to stay open minded and be pragmatic when practicing. You will need quite a few reference books for multiphonics, quarter tones and bisbigliandos. One of my favorites is Hiroshi Koizumi’s Technique for Contemporary Flute Music. Also practice in little steps, you cannot climb a high mountain every day. Practice very slowly, being precise on all details including dynamics and rhythms. Learn to subdivide rhythms if need be and stay cool. Some young composers do not know what is possible on the instrument and will write incredibly high notes or multiphonics that do not exist. Try to play as much as possible, offer alternatives, or simply learn to fake something. That can sometimes be a lifesaver.

Who are your influences?
    I have had so many influences and inspirations starting with my international upbringing where it did not matter which race, religion or culture you came from, and my beautiful Viennese mother who passed on to me a love of waltzes and culture. I was fortunate to have many wonderful teachers, especially Aurèle Nicolet, who I had the pleasure of working with at several mastercourses, and who showed me how to think around the corner, be inquisitive and cross those boundaries. I also have had the honor of working with many amazing musicians and artists who inspire me every day as well as my students who make me think, question my ideas, and be creative. Last, but definitely not least, my wonderful family makes me laugh, cry, and love.     

Photos by Thomas Schloemann and Astrid Ackermann

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