Retrospect: "The Doctor is IN"

I really enjoyed working with people in my "The Doctor is IN" session on Oct. 16th, where I coached my learners in a 20-minute lesson. I thought to talk about here some common issues regarding playing the baroque flute and hope some may find this helpful! 

Managing airstream takes a lot of concentration and self-observing. It's really comparable to meditation I think, and small changes will make big differences. For the baroque traverso, the number one challenge many people have is reducing the airstream to be just the right amount and at the right speed. On top of that, many of the forked-fingering notes like G# or F-natural will have their own requirements such as a more specialized embouchure. This is why I recommend practicing scales and arpeggios so that we learn how to move between notes in the most efficient way and hitting the "sweet spot" of all notes each time. 

In close connection with that, feeling comfortable in using varied articulation is certainly one of the hallmarks in historical flute playing. This is no different from learning a language, and the only way to get more fluent is by doing it all the time. Again, practicing articulation with scales and arpeggios will help internalize the technique, make sure you also stop the sound with the tongue to gain clarity and control. Articulation is a source of great fun, as it creates so much expression and diversity with so little effort from us.

In short, I definitely lean towards seeing technique and music-making as reducing, how to achieve the maximum with the minimum - easier said than done of course. As my former teacher Wilbert Hazelzet often said, "It's all just a part of the game!"