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Many players starting out often feel overwhelmed by the myriad of traverso models available, not knowing how to invest in one's first or next instrument. There are so many great makers making all different models of flutes now, and that is truly a wonderful thing! Resin or composite materials aside, if you're thinking about investing in a wooden traverso, here are some of my thoughts on the choice of models and wood types:
- Since flute makers back then made instruments according to the time that they lived in, the instruments will always reflect the current musical fashion and tastes of its time. Combining that also with personal preferences and playing technique, there will be hardly an instrument that's "perfect". This is most challenging for people starting out, and I get it. I usually advise people that, if you're not especially in a hurry, to just try as many different flutes by different makers as you can. Often times early music festivals are a great place for that with their instrument exhibitions. Many traverso makers exhibit at places like Utrecht, London, Boston, or also smaller festivals like Bad Kissingen or Regensburg (EVEN at the National Flute Association's Convention, plus for sure many others which I just can't think of right now!), and it's just a great way to try flutes back to back to get good comparisons. Also, makers will often have flutes directly for sale at the exhibition, so you'd be sure to get the instrument that you tried. Make a trip out of it, enjoy all the exciting concerts and programs, and hopefully pick up your next dream flute that way! - Irrespective of your playing level, you'll get a sense of two things when trying out instruments - how the flute sounds and how it feels to play it. You have to like BOTH OF THESE criteria in order for the flute to be a truly good fit for you. I understand it might be difficult, but try to set aside any pre-notions such as the popularity of a model or what you hear other people say. The flute has to work for YOU. - Most people hope to, understandably, have an instrument which can play a wide range of repertoire. If you're looking for a baroque flute, keep in mind that flutes from the earlier part of the 18th century will tend to favor the lower and middle register, whereas later flutes will have a stronger, "easier" upper register. However, an earlier flute should still allow you to play solidly up to E3, and the few notes above that may require a bit of technical finesse and know-how. I see that as actually a GOOD THING for our technical development, and often times this slight trade-off is really worth it because you'll have a flute which is truly representative of its time, and there's tremendous satisfaction to be gained from that. Realistically speaking, those few upper notes will hardly be encountered in much of the repertoire, and we will only deepen our flute-playing skills by learning from these instruments. - A related aspect is, of course, what's the purpose of acquiring a traverso. There are so many possible reasons, think about what's realistic in your case and which flute will serve that purpose best. - A personal suggestion I'd like to offer is, say if you want to have that mellow warmness of an earlier flute but still have a certain brilliancy, inquire whether the model can be made with ebony or grenadilla. Most of these earlier flutes exist originally in boxwood, but there are some which also exist in other woods, or that the maker offers to make it as such. However, be aware that ebony tends to crack, and we seem to be in a time where it's very difficult to find good-quality ebony these days. BUT ABOVE ALL, it's IMPORTANT THAT YOU TRY THE FLUTE YOURSELF FIRST and make your own judgement! These heavier woods will have more resistance compared to boxwood and not everyone likes that either. For low-pitch flutes like a Hotteterre and others, I actually find that boxwood again is more suitable (for me!) to counter balance the low pitch (392 or 400 etc.) with flexibility and ease of play.
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 In my recent interview with Eva Legêne, we mentioned the drawings of Charles Le Brun illustrating the "passions of the soul".
This is a great way to understand the concept of affect in music, baroque or otherwise. When we play music according to an affect or emotion, every interpretive decision will be based on delivering just that, whether in terms of articulation, dynamics, sound color etc. And this is just like in drawing or painting, every stroke of the brush/pen/pencil will be in service of showing that particular expression. Notice the shadows, the lines of the face muscles, the eyes....nothing is just random! For those interested in seeing more of those highly expressive drawings, you can view them HERE. (leads to the scan of Le Brun's book "Méthode pour apprendre à dessiner les passions", hosted by the Digital Library of Munich, MDZ. Follow link to view or download).
Let me see if I can describe an ideal way of sound production: Instead of thinking about flute-playing as BLOWING air into the instrument, imagine it as being able to freely RELEASE and REGULATE the flow of water from a faucet. Sometimes a bit more water is flowing, sometimes less. It can be a very strong flow, but we mostly want to avoid having too much water that it's splashing out from the edge of the faucet. That's like having the noise around our sound. And a slender flow is highly concentrated, precise, and attracts a lot of attention in a quiet way. It's about moulding and working with energy and not simply putting out energy. Here's a demonstration video I did for someone's lesson, with Boismortier's G major Prelude from his Op. 35. For specific purposes, I've played it quite slowly and at times very deliberately, so this is not exactly how I'd play it in a performance. It was also done first thing in the morning without warming up! But I thought of using this clip to show the effect of freely "adjusting the water faucet". This is especially important as we have all these intricate ornamentation, strings of little notes which need to sound light and subtle, but nevertheless with shape and form. It's not just about playing piano - we need to get ourselves to a specific way of tone production, and it's not blowing. If blowing can be compared to holding on to an edge of a canyon, then we should try to let go so that the descending little notes feel like a gentle free fall, only catching ourselves again at the next point to gain control for the next passage, and the process repeats itself over and over. Imagine internally around your inner abdomen area to gently release or let go of the air. I say gently because of course you can't let go completely, otherwise everything will just collapse and that's when it'll sound like the faucet is way too open. Signs for that will be too fast of an airstream, embouchure not focused or precise enough, noisy sound and poor tone quality etc... At first it'll feel like you're losing control and may feel uncomfortable. Your lips or anywhere else in your body may tremble, and you might be inclined to go back to the way you're used to playing because it'll feel like you'd have better control that way. But just keep doing it, take the time to let your body acquire the muscles and strength to produce sound in this way. Keep observing internally and listening to your sound. Practice in short segments of a piece of music, and/or practice long tones at a moderate tempo with messa di voce (crescendo & decrescendo). Using a drone in the background can also help create that "floating" sensation and a more enjoyable acoustic. There are many possibilities, you may want to start with either the note itself, the octave, or the 3rd or 5th (above or below the note). Can you achieve the maximum with the minimum? Does it feel like your air flows naturally and freely or do you feel like you're generating a force and pushing through the instrument? Can you create the difference between blowing and releasing? These are all very subtle observations, like holding a mirror to look inside yourself, but make absolutely a great difference in sound and musical expression. It's not easy to put this into words, but I hope you can give it a try and let me know how it goes!
If only Gustav Leonhardt had recorded the other movements of the Bach Partita! There's so much depth in this rendition, whether in terms of sound quality, understanding, and internalization of the music that I feel like you really get a glimpse of the universe.✨
While we can't play more notes than physically possible on the traverso, we can create some acoustical effects with the means that we DO have to expand our sound and expression. That means, understanding our instrument by experimenting with: ✅Slowing down the airspeed, reducing air pressure so that we get a pure tone with minimal noise around the sound. ✅Dropping the lower jaw and opening the nose to create more space and depth in the sound. ✅Training the lips to be flexible and knowing exactly how to move between registers. For example, the lips need to be a bit forward for the higher register, along with just a slightly higher air pressure. However, these are absolutely micro maneuvers which need to be internalized like a string player knowing exactly where to place the finger on the fingerboard. This feeling of security also requires great physical strength, which can only be built over time. Practicing with harmonics can be a good approach for this. Make sure you still create the best sound possible for the harmonic tones. ✅At the end, it's like a singer who knows where each note is coming from in their body. You can test this by going over the piece of music inside you without your instrument, perhaps also fingering along. Can you recreate that sensation of playing, can you feel how the air would move inside you, how the embouchure would feel, how and where each note would resonate in your body? I thought to use Bart Kuijken's recording of the Mozart C Major Flute Quartet as an example. Start from around 7:42 and listen especially to these phrases that involve only a few "simple" notes (the simpler the more difficult!). You'll hear that Bart's sound is completely calm, "straight" without the modern concept of vibrato, yet supple and flexible. It embodies musical tension which draws one's attention and leads you along note after note, phrase after phrase. Especially from the middle to higher register on the flute, we actually need an incredible amount of physical strength and support (strength in the embouchure and strength to manage the breath) so that it sounds elegant and deeply meaningful. It is the way for us to bring out the essence of the expression AND to experience maximum joy and connection with this music. This is the way to create what I like to call a 3-dimensional sound. As they say in German, "Strength lies in tranquility" (In der Ruhe liegt die Kraft)!  From J.B. Boismortier's Op. 35, E minor Suite Prelude There are a couple of other things that one can unpack in this cadence! (see my previous post about notation) I'd like to mention another thing in relation to not getting bogged down by notation, and that's the little ornament indicated here known as the tour de chant. The ornament comes from vocal practice and circles around the upcoming note in stepwise motion. Together with the cadential trill, it's an effective way of propelling the melody forward to the cadence. You'll see this in different ways - sometimes notated with actual notes, sometimes as a sign, sometimes there's a little rest right before the ornament.
However it may be notated, keep in mind that the note value used is not representative of how you should actually play it. So for example, the above is not meant to be played like a triplet, and often times these kinds of ornaments are not notated with "correct" note values. The turn comes from the first main note (B) and connects elegantly to the second main note (A), it should sound a bit like something under the breath so be sure to lighten up your air on it. The first note is gently dotted so that the turn is played after the beat right before the second note. How much the first note is dotted and how quick the turn is played (so how long you wait before you "squeeze" it right before the second main note) will depend on the type of affect desired - sharp and quick for brilliancy, mild and slower for more tenderness (although this ornament mostly appears in tender movements). It's impossible and unnecessary to notate it exactly - subtlety and flexibility are what make baroque ornamentation ornamental yet highly expressive at the same time. We see one legato slur from the beginning of the B then going into the trill. Under this slur, we'll have to work our breath differently to create the necessary shapes under this one slur. Imagine that the slur indicates one big shape but there are smaller shapes that make up that one big shape. As mentioned earlier, lighten up, retract your air for the turn, and then you'll need to lean on the appoggiatura of the trill, nudge with your air to start, only to let go again, so that the anticipation and cadence happen within that whole diminuendo part of the trill. Create sub-shapes within one big shape. This is enjoying the magic behind the print! Discovering and having fun with the flexibility, the fluidity, and the expressiveness behind what's visible. In your sound, in your being. |
ABOUT THE BLOG:I got inspired to document my own observations in flute-playing and music-making. Also, I thought it's important to pass on the teachings of the great Wilbert Hazelzet, as well as many other mentors who have influenced my artistic visions one way or the other. Enjoy this potpourri of tips, inspirations, and musings. ✨CONTRIBUTE!✨Yes I love the writing that I do! If you love them as well, how about consider showing your appreciation with a personal contribution? 
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