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Anticipations Anticipate

9/11/2025

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An anticipation anticipates the next note. At a cadence, no matter how much ritardando occurs, the anticipation must have the intention of MOVING TOWARDS the next note. They belong together. You can do a great ritardando, stretch out on the trill and really elongate the anticipation, but the resolution must follow organically afterwards and not feel separated from the anticipation.

Use the tongue strokes 
T-D or T-R, ease up on the air (diminuendo), and think the word "A-MOUR" - which is 1 word with 2 syllables, just like anticipation + resolution is ONE entity with TWO parts.

A suggestion from Bart Kuijken - you may also think of the phrase "merci beaucoup" - "merci" is the trill, and "beaucoup" is the anticipation plus resolution. You'd also never separate the syllables "beau....coup", but rather the word falls and follows naturally after "merci"!
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The Art of Rhythm - Telemann's G minor Fantasy

26/10/2025

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Here's the moment in my last chat with the inimitable Eva Legêne talking about the expressivity of rhythm in Telemann's G minor Fantasy. While it's good to know what affect certain rhythmic patterns may imply, we still have to bring them to life in actual playing, and what we see is not what we get in music!

So for example, the opening "anapest" rhythm (short-short-long, 2 eighths + 1 quarter) suggests action, something lively, maybe even violent. In this particular case, it's effective to *very slightly* rush the 8th notes and be sure to use the tongue stroke t-d'-t, which will give an energetic swing to the motif. The slight stopping of the tongue on the second 8th note (notice apostrophe in t-d'-t) before the quarter helps to give a rhythmic anchor and thus reinforcing the rustic sound of this movement. If we play this rhythmically correct and "straight", we won't arrive at the spirit of this music.

The "trochee" in the major section (long-short, dotted quarter + eighth) represents something gentler. In this case, be sure to lighten up in the air pressure at the end of the slur, slightly over dot the quarter and make the 8th note almost inaudible. This will give a sweeter expression compared to the boxy and spirited first section. Again compare this with playing it as written, I guarantee you'll never want to go back to that way.

Eva and I are so looking forward to NOV. 8TH to share with you the fun in connecting knowledge with artistry! Registration info: ​https://www.eventbrite.de/e/the-affect-in-rhythm-tickets-1450312366329
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Using the Articulation Silence

24/8/2025

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This may sound like bad flute technique, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s all about doing and using it correctly. For starters, say a couple of times “tudt-tudt-tudt-tudt”. The silent “t” at the end stops the sound and it’s like you’re imitating the signal tone when a phone line is busy. Your tongue comes back to the roof of the mouth, right behind the teeth so that it’s ready to start the next note/sound. You should feel a slight pressure on the tip of the tongue which is holding back the air. Make sure to keep your airstream constant and that you’re not just *pushing out* air every time.

The articulation silence brings clarity, structure, and rhythmic stability to our playing. Without it, the music will sound run-on and without tension. It also prevents playing too fast and losing expression. Every time before you place an appoggiatura, before you start a trill, between repeated notes, leaped notes, and musical phrases are some of the common places to use the articulation silence. 
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Don't Sacrifice Fun for Speed!

23/6/2025

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Here's a screenshot from my last workshop where I was explaining one of my favorite passages in the Corelli Allegro. The key here is not to gloss over the 16th notes with a fast tempo, but take the moment to have fun with sculpting the notes with varied articulation.  

In this particular passage, we see two different types of passages.  In the first line last bar and ongoing, the 16ths indicate a passage where we're moving by harmony and not by melody. In this case, we'll want to use a gentle "tu-ru" and not clipping the notes too short. This is to create an acoustical effect which imitates the arpeggiation on a violin and is most suitable here. We want to refrain from focusing on individual notes, but rather on the movement in harmony which requires focusing on groups of notes.

In the last two bars of the second line, I show how the pattern suddenly breaks up with the leap up to G2 and then something new starts. Here, we can create a sense of swing in this gesture by clipping the G2 short, almost dotting it before going on to the rest. In the last bar, try to accentuate slightly on the little off-beat notes to further create a cheeky, playful gesture. (g C# d / F# e / D c# / E d). Here, you'll want to clip the last note of each group.

With practice, it is possible to create this space and expression even within a fast tempo. However, our intention needs to be discovering and creating these fun gestures and not aiming for speed. Speed is only one of many tools in the service of expression! In this way, it makes playing fun for YOU as the player.
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Getting Away from the Notation

12/5/2025

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Meter, phrasing, and harmony are some of the possible factors that determine a note's length. Remember that notation is really a very limited way of suggesting how the music should actually sound. Beyond any rules or historical knowledge, I feel the best piece of advice I can give is to always think about what kind of AFFECT, what expression do you want to achieve with a piece of music. And then everything you do is to serve that expression.

So for example, in the above Andersen etude I wanted to show something joyful, light, moving, something bouncing between the ground and the sky. So my point was to utilize different types of short articulation to create those effects and affects. You won't get this idea by simply looking at the sheet music and it would be almost impossible to notate every nuance. And since articulation is always in connection with how you manage your air, both the tongue and the breath give each note a definitive shape, length, and timbre. So always listen and observe carefully whether the tongue and the breath are really coordinating together to achieve one goal, one expression, or whether they're a little out of sync with each other. 

Coming back to notation, if we accept that notation is only a rough way of suggesting how a piece of music should basically go, then it's not far from understanding inégalité. The subject is complex but I want to mention one instance in regard to this topic. You see above a typical cadence (from Boismortier's Op. 35, E minor suite). After the cadential trill, the first G we play is known as an anticipation. As the name suggests, it anticipates the final note and thus should go towards it. Don't be influenced by the notation in thinking that you must play a proper 8th note, or think because baroque music has such an emphasis on articulation that we have to make that separation of the two G's distinctly. Also, even if you claim to not speak French, you probably know a bit more than you actually think you do. Think of words like "amour", "café", "merci" - or look them up in YouTube or any pronunciation site. Notice how in these words the first syllable also slides smoothly towards the second syllable. That's how we should play such a cadential pattern. This is also why using the tonguing pattern "TU-RU" is extremely helpful and, ultimately, natural. Compare by playing it with two equal tongue strokes and you'll notice the difference. Compare also if you would try to "soften" the 8th note but still playing with two equal tongue strokes, you may even find your tongue nevertheless naturally wanting to retract to create an alternation in the tonguing. 

And one last thing but crucial in this formula, be sure to diminuendo, lighten up the breath as you play the "TU-RU" into the cadence. Notice in the French words mentioned above, they all sound somewhat open-ended. We don't have a definitive "stop" to the sound. Many French words act this way, even if there are letters at the end. (think of the composer's name "Blavet", "croissant", "toujours"...). The diminuendo we do is in response to creating and imitating that subtlety.

Try this out and let me know what you find! 
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