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! 

In my last workshop "24 Tips & Techniques for Playing Couperin's Second Concert Royaux", I talked about where are good passages to do the flattement / finger vibrato. Most players may know that flattements can be done on long(-ish) notes. However, I specifically suggest looking out for places where the melody moves downward to further enhance a kind of tender expression. Here's my latest video about this subject which includes clips from the workshop:

So after my last post talking about Wilbert Hazelzet's idea of "don't play", I thought to follow up with this list of common issues we encounter when playing the baroque flute. Just off the top of my head, these are movements or tendencies that are unnecessary and prevent us from playing in an efficient way. The more we can reduce, the easier and more enjoyable playing becomes. Go through this checklist as you play - maybe you'll discover more and I'd love to hear from you! 
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✅ 1. The baroque flute takes less air and slower air compared to the modern flute.
 
✅ 2. When moving upwards to the mid and higher register, keep using the slowest air possible and avoid overshooting.
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✅ 3. You can influence intonation by adjusting angle of air and/or the airspeed. Sometimes you'll need to do both, but sometimes adjusting air speed is enough and also a better choice than adjusting angle. Adjusting air speed is the more subtle way and there are times when that's all you'd need. 

✅ 4. Lips should remain stable when doing staccato or accents. Refrain from air kissing! 

✅ ​5. In an ensemble (starting with a duo), you'll often have plenty of time to prepare yourself for an upcoming passage. Take advantage of that. You have to check your air, lips, tongue, and also maybe cueing in your fellow musician(s) - that's A LOT that needs to happen! Is it a high note that needs to be soft? Is it a note like F natural or Gb that requires attention in terms of intonation and/or focus? Start taking in air way in advance and don't wait until right before you play to breathe. You can still take a kind of small, "symbolic" inhale to help you be in the movement of your cue (or even none at all but just cue with your flute), but keep your movement simple and precise. 

✅ 6. Avoid breathing right before your entry with your mouth open. Breathe through your nose so that your embouchure is ready for the coming passage. 

✅ 7. Watch out if you're approaching a rather high note, say like F#3 or G3  (or any note that feels unfamiliar to you) to not tense up in the body and literally "shrink" with your flute. Instead stand steady and tall, imagine to release the sound from your hands rather than clamping down on the flute.

✅ ​8. Watch out to not squeeze with your lips to produce high notes. If you're feeling tension in the lips for high notes (signs include when you feel the outer edge of your lips, or when they tremble or produce buzzing), that means they're not quite strong enough yet to handle the slightly faster airstream needed. 

✅ 9. We achieve brilliance and strength with forked fingering notes like F natural, G#, Bb etc. by being able to play them with a focused tone and in tune. They don't gain strength by us blowing more (too much too fast air), although it's very easy to do so, especially due to stress.

✅ 10. Tonguing is more about precision than tonguing hard. Use less tongue surface but back the note with air to create accentuations when needed. 

✅ 11. Explore more the softer dynamics, creating more diminuendo/lightening effects to create contrast. The baroque flute is not known as a loud instrument, but you'll have much more success in creating a rich dynamic range by widening your middle to soft dynamics. And in this way, a beautiful resonance is achieved which shows off the instrument at its best.

Less is more, achieve the maximum with the minimum.