Playing the baroque flute requires an incredible amount of nuanced technique in handling the breath. We have to create our own resonance on an instrument which can't take much air and air pressure. I always tell my learners to use a slow, “warm” air that simply activates the instrument just enough to sound and not more than necessary. This is, of course, such a challenge when we're under high pressure – the nerves kick in and maintaining a slow, steady airstream may feel next to impossible. It would be so much easier to just blow! But the baroque flute is about resonance, not loudness. And even if you're thinking about loudness, you'd still have to start with resonance first. 

Also, we don't typically use vibrato and taking care of notes like F natural or G# demand a very particular kind of airstream. Any unevenness in sound (in the negative sense) is quite noticeable. Again when our nerves get the better of us, when we're unable to maintain that slow air to create a “glow” in the sound, everything sounds a little dull and fuzzy and it's very hard to be expressive with this type of tone quality. Articulation, dynamics, intonation, phrasing (everything?!) – they all depend on a specifically centered, supple sound that gives us the technique and flexibility to play expressively. 

Another common challenge is playing in a space with dry acoustics. One problem is that everything can easily sound kind of the same in such conditions. Also, any unevenness or impurity in the sound will be immediately reflected back to us. We then get a little uneasy with that feedback. We stress and it becomes harder to maintain the proper airstream. There can be a variety of issues that robs our resonance, but we keep feeling like we need to do more to be expressive. Ultimately, the whole thing becomes a vicious circle, as the baroque flute cannot take much pressure before the sound cracks, gets disrupted, or intonation goes awry. I've been there so many times so I'd like to suggest something which may seem counter intuitive at first – create expressive contrasts in the soft dynamic range. People will listen differently and a concentrated, attentive piano is more advantageous and effective in such a space.

Keeping these sound issues in mind will ultimately make you a better flutist, competition or not. Really listen and observe your airstream in practice, see if you can use an even slower air to achieve the same result, perhaps also less air. In all aspects of your technique, can you play USING THE MINIMUM TO ACHIEVE THE MAXIMUM? Are you aware of the super fine muscles of your embouchure to bring more center and brilliance to your sound? (again, work with resonance, not loudness). 

We only need a SLIGHTLY faster airstream to play the higher register, so be careful to not overshoot. Again, this happens super easily when we're under stress. And for me, I get stressed even more when I hear my own sharp and scratchy high notes while performing!!😅 To combat that, I like to “think low as I go high”. Lower your lower jaw, open your nostrils, use the slowest air possible....again, use the minimum to achieve the maximum.

Another tip I'd like to offer is something regarding tempo. It's natural to play a little faster when we get nervous. Or maybe a lot faster, to the point that we lose control. All perfectly human. When studying a piece, how about finding ways to bring spirit and liveliness through other means first, and consider tempo as the very last element? Remember that tempo in itself doesn't express much, and what we learned in our young modern years as “tempo indications” were originally indications of affect. Can you show joy with your articulation? How can you let the audience hear and understand that peculiar phrase? And even in fast passages - can you find deepness in them and produce a SINGING VIRTUOSITY? (a concept I learned from Wilbert Hazelzet) Remember also baroque music is about changing affects - are you giving yourself (and the listener) enough space for showing those wonderful changes, or does it feel like the notes are just flying by? 

Speaking of which, not only does the technique of stopping the sound between notes work wonders by making your articulation lively and expressive, it'll also help you slow down and gain security in fast passages. For me, that's a must-have multivitamin.

​It's impossible to cover all grounds, but I'd like to get this out to people while the experience is still fresh. I hope by thinking and working through these concepts, you'll acquire some helpful tools. See if you can get to that place of being where you're able to observe yourself while performing. Direct yourself gently to slow down that air. Go for resonance. Slow down your fingers (and slow down more than you think!), use articulation to help you stay grounded. Keep your air going and going “long” to resist it from getting "shorter" (again due to nerves). And besides all this playing technique - stay in the music! No matter what happens (and often it isn't as bad as you may perceive it), keep telling the story and immerse yourself in your interpretation. That'll help keep you away from distractive thoughts which can make you fall. 

Feel free to ask questions, start a conversation thread here, or write to me directly. Others may just be thinking what you're thinking!

We all keep trying, keep refining, keep PLAYING.

Here's a recent post I did on Facebook, reaching out to those who appreciate Rudolf Tutz and Wilbert Hazelzet. It all began with some photos I did with my fancy socks, which people seemed to appreciate. You'll see the connections more clearly though once you read on: 

Still no Christmas socks, but I've got two walruses enjoying a starry sky.

When I began my historical flute studies in The Hague, I met the renowned Austrian traverso maker Rudolf Tutz for the first time.❤️ I mean this in complete and absolute endearment, and that is, his immense stature and unmistakable moustache reminded me exactly of a walrus 😅....The 415 flute I mostly play on is from him and it has taken me through thick and thin in life. It has a very hard-to-repair crack and I hope I'll never jinx my luck with it.🤞

✨As the 2nd Advent approaches, I'm reminded of the second movement of JS Bach's B minor sonata for flute and obbligato harpsichord. As Wilbert Hazelzet once so eloquently put it, it's a piece about enlightenment and I think that's such a beautiful concept. Maybe that's what the "Largo e dolce" means - large in our phrasing, in our vision of the music, with a sweet and heartfelt expression. Here's to Bach, the stars, the universe.🌟

You can find me on Facebook under Teddie Hwang Music and Photography. Please like and follow!

Music is like speech, there's a natural rhythm that we follow, but there are also times when we accentuate things for the purpose of expression. Rhythm is just one way to do that.

Another very Wilbert concept - to apply rubato to sound and not necessarily (just) to rhythm. What he means is to explore the infinite subtle nuances that are possible in the sound, before doing the more obvious concept of shifting the rhythm. As young learners, that's how most of us were taught to do, for understandable reasons. But it is certainly not the only way to expressivity. We should always be on the look-out for creating many more options and opening oneself to multi-dimensional playing. 

Just like how photographers should work with the subtleties of light and shadow. This is what will set one's work apart from others.

A beautiful example of rubato with sound by the very talented Yente Lottman. Notice she's using a combination of historical bow and modern violin. Understanding is the key, instruments are tools. You need to have good tools of course, but they remain as tools. 

Wilbert often said, "Don't play." We train ourselves so that we "don't play" in the end. 

This sounds so cryptic at first! But in the context of music-making, he's referring to how we should internalize everything so that we no longer feel like we have to "do something". The sound, the music just flows, emanates out of us. It becomes a part of us and is not something external. A classic example is say, a light pickup. More challenging is a light pickup in the higher register. Or a passage with many notes. We train to do something only to let go again.

In this way, playing becomes more and more effortless and you expand your realm. 

Wilbert Hazelzet once mentioned technique as a "singing virtuosity". I think this is the highest level of technique we should strive for. 

We are not playing to express technique, to express a rhythm, or to express notes. We aim to express something which is beyond the medium itself. Art is always about going beyond the natural boundaries of the discipline. Through all the complexity, we show the beauty of simplicity.