Hello, it’s your neighborhood workaholic here… to provide some updates.
First and foremost, I’VE GRADUATED WITH MY MASTERS!!!
That is supposed to feel exciting, but I am finding that I have more stressed out with what that means for the future. A lot of major life changes have been snowballing since April 2021 so let’s recap.
April 2021
In the month of April, I started by preparing for my final Masters’ recital which was a major undertaking and thankfully all went to plan 🙂
However, shortly after that performance my childhood cat’s health was rapidly declining. She had just entered the Senior cat life state, and already had some pre-existing issues from earlier in the year. So with the high of the final Masters’ recital came the low of having to say goodbye to my best friend.
Then, only several days after that began the treacherous journey I am now with housing.
May 2021
Halfway through my undergrad, my family moved into the house I have been staying in up to present. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, there tensions prompted some drastic life changes that bring us to present day.
I’ll be the only family member remaining in state – obviously I have new and old friends, colleagues, and support systems here – but it means that I have been navigating finding housing alone.
Which may not seem like a huge deal to most people – understandably so – in my case however, I have had to face what weakness I am bringing into rental applications as a recent graduate student, with minimal job experience, pending job, and I’m under 25. I think it is important to share this experience because I hear a lot of people say to me “just ask your parents” or “get a financial advisor” but this is with the assumption that I was in the privileged financial spot to begin with. Thus being the one that has to advocate for myself is a tough transition that I am currently navigating as I continue to search for a new home.
So basically…
I have been working really hard to advocate for myself. I’ve been teaching, securing summer work, applying to job positions for the new school year, practicing when the stress isn’t debilitating, and if I’m lucky remembering to have fun or engage in self-care.
I hope to hear positive news in regards to housing and getting a full-time job for next school year would also be fantastic.
For now, I am just continuing the grind. For weeks I have been hearing people say “oh once you’re an adult things never settle, there will never be a good time so just keep… blah blah blah”. I am tired. They say that moving is the most stressful thing in a person’s adult life; however, the type of person I am is excited, but the hard part is just securing a place with the unfortunate position I am in. Things will settle, the work isn’t the challenge for me it is the instability of not knowing where I will be in 2 weeks or a month’s time.
Once I have gotten that stability as I know (or at least hope) they will I will be back to regular posting.
Wow, 2021, that’s weird to write after the year that lasted a decade! I completed my training for teaching Suzuki Book 2, onwards to Book 3 in February. Here’s what I worked on this month:
I’ve started to incorporate my teacher training into my warmups by doing ear training/ memorization/ listening to the repertoire. With the isolation of the ongoing pandemic this has been a great way to spark active listening when warming up.
Moyse Gammes et Arpeges
I’ve been working through this book gradually since late-2020. I’m somewhere in the mid 250s currently, in the harmonic minor section of the book. I like to practice this in combination with other scales.
Taffanel and Gaubert
A staple. Currently, I’ve been using exercises #1 (5 notes, Major), #2 (5 notes, minor), and #4 (all Major and minor scales) intermittently during my warmups.
Karg Elert Caprices
Working through these with a new mindset after my Suzuki teacher training. Currently reviewing #4 with small steps/goals per practice session. This slower approach to these caprices has helped solidify technique that otherwise would have been (tbh) subpar if I was multitasking and running through for the sake of running through.
Preparing for my final Masters recital in April 2021, I am starting to cycle through that repertoire both new and old. I also started Suzuki teacher training in October 2020 so as we start 2021 I am beginning the training for Book 2!
Telemann – Sonata in f minor 41:f1
Today this sonata is more commonly heard on bassoon; one of the challenges of preparing this piece is finding reference recordings since most of the available ones are on recorder or bassoon. The international edition is by no means the best edition – plentiful errors in both flute and piano parts. However the free online editions are also riddled with errors so it can be difficult have a reputable reference score to start and then add embellishments.
Bach – Sonata in E Major (BWV 1035)
The authorship of this sonata is still being debated by music historians – many of the sonatas initially attributed to JS Bach are now thought to be written (at least in majority) by CPE Bach. This is the Barenreiter edition follows the original articulation of the manuscript – leaving out “obvious” patterns that the Bachs (whichever composed this Sonata in E) expected the perform to intuitively know. As a result, careful listening and score analysis is essential for creating articulation patterns that closely follow the style of this piece.
Ibert – Piece for Solo Flute
This piece starts with a cadenza-like introduction that centers around the note “D”. Like Ibert’s well known Flute Concerto (composed 2 years prior), this piece is good for demonstrating virtuosity and freeness in playing. Despite studying at the Paris Conservatory, Ibert didn’t emulate any of the popular genres during the early 20th century, and in this piece you can hear how he’s style transforms multiple styles rather than honing in on just one.
Martin – Ballade
Frank Martin is a Swiss composer; this 20th century work is comprised of several sections (sometimes considered “movements”) that contrast registers, tonality, tempo, and meter. One notable features of Ballade is the contrast of meter/rhythm between the flute and piano particularly measure 95 when the flute is in 2/4 and the piano is in 3/4.
Prokofiev – Sonata in D op. 94
This edition includes both the violin transcription along with the flute line – being aware that there are variations (and other editions of the piece) was really important when studying and listening to the piece before practicing. The infamous D7s are just one of the challenges this piece presents where the goal is for them to blend into the ascending arpeggio pattern.
Suzuki Book 2
The second volume of the Suzuki Flute Book builds upon the more advanced concepts of Book 1 (which ends with the Handel Bourée which is in the key of G and features many sequences. Volume 2 stays in the Baroque era for awhile starting with Gluck, Bach, and Beethoven and gradually moves into the 19th century.
Hi Everyone, I am happy to report that I survived my graduate comp essays. I passed the history portion, and just waiting to get my theory results back.
Other updates:
I finished teacher training for Suzuki Flute Book 1 so I can now teach that!!
I got my own ukulele – since my Teacher Popular Music course is coming to an end, I’ll have to return the school’s instrument so I wanted to have my own to continue learning – right now I can really only play the opening to “The Moon and Me” from the Addams family music and the melody to the Animal Crossing New Horizons intro song.
I thought I also might be useful to share some holiday gift recommendations for flute players since this is being posted on Black Friday, and most online retailers will continue sales through the weekend.
Originally, I posted this list on my OG tumblr (x):
Warm up/Technique books:
1. Paula Robinson Warmup Book
2. Taffanel and Gaubert – This is on IMSLP
3. Reichert – Also on IMSLP
4. Trevor Wye Omnibus Edition
5. The Flute Scale Book
6. Moyse … he has so much I like his 24 little pieces in particular
Solo (ie etudes,flute and piano or orchestral/band excerpt)/Technique
1. Flute 101 and 102
2. Baxstresser Orchestral Excerpts for Flute
3. The Orchestral Flute Practice Book – Trevor Wye and Patricia Morris
4. Andersen op. 33 (etudes)
5. Berbigiuer (etudes) – This may also be on IMSLP
6. Karg-Elert Caprices (etudes)
Solo (ie solo flute or flute and accompaniment) music*
*as a general rule, Barenreiter or UrText collections (such as Bach or Handel collections) are great if you’re looking for a specific piece and also want some other material to read through
Also, many parts published by the “International Music Company” are littered with errors (I have had several pianists go on and on about this so just a heads up to be cautious).
Flute-centric books/reading
1. The Flute Book (Nancy Toff)
2. Flute Secrets (Trevor Wye)
3. Quantz’s How To Play the Flute
Some good flute specific online shops:
The Flute Center of NY has an online sheet music shop: Rose Music and the prices have been very fair in my experiences with them – and they usually have sales going on soo definitely worth checking out.
Flute World also has a ton of music on their website, but it can sometimes be more expensive or take awhile to get to you because they do not have the item in their facilities and have to order it for you.
Or the Flutistry of Boston also tends to have a wide array of flute goodies!
How was your November? Do you have any holiday gift recommendations – flute-centric or otherwise?
This month is usually a hectic one for a lot of music students.
This November I am taking my Comp Exams (Graduate Exams in both Theory and History) to graduate. They are research based, running all month. If I was just taking my comps (if only) I might be able to keep on top of posting this month, but I also have to balance projects for my Teaching Popular Music course, Suzuki teacher training and observations, 20th Century Music History War and Peace seminar, teaching, and just my general sanity!
I may add some posts this month as updates to this process, but I will not be posting regular content (at least that’s the plan) again until December once things simmer down.
Good luck to all with a crazy month ahead of them.
W.A. Mozart – Concerto in D Major for flute (K. 314), mvt. 2
Mozart has 2 concertos for flute – one in G Major and this one, in D Major (which is really just a re-voicing of the oboe concerto in C). This Barenreiter edition is great for analysis and understand the solo flute’s role – it includes the principal flute part, piano score, suggested cadenzas, and a reference score.
Bach – Sonata in E Major (BWV 1035)
The authorship of this sonata is still being debated by music historians – many of the sonatas initially attributed to JS Bach are now thought to be written (at least in majority) by CPE Bach. This is the Barenreiter edition follows the original articulation of the manuscript – leaving out “obvious” patterns that the Bachs (whichever composed this Sonata in E) expected the perform to intuitively know. As a result, careful listening and score analysis is essential for creating articulation patterns that closely follow the style of this piece.
Rzewski – Coming Together (orchestra)
Frederick Rzewski was an American composer. In 1971, returned to New York from his period in Italy. That was an eventful year in a tumultuous era, and in September, a riot broke out at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York, demanding improved health care, sanitation, and food, as well as an end to beatings. Coming Together uses text from a letter from one of the inmates – the text is set (a few words per bar) over a running pentatonic bass line. The letter reads as follows:
I think the combination of age and the greater coming together is responsible for the speed of the passing time. it’s six months now and i can tell you truthfully few periods in my life have passed so quickly. i am in excellent physical and emotional health. there are doubtless subtle surprises ahead but i feel secure and ready. As lovers will contrast their emotions in times of crisis, so am i dealing with my environment. in the indifferent brutality, incessant noise, the experimental chemistry of food, the ravings of lost hysterical men, i can act with clarity and meaning. i am deliberate – sometimes even calculating – seldom employing histrionics except as a test of the reactions of others. i read much, exercise, talk to guards and inmates, feeling for the inevitable direction of my life.
The authorship of this sonata is still being debated by music historians – many of the sonatas initially attributed to JS Bach are now thought to be written (at least in majority) by CPE Bach. This is the Barenreiter edition follows the original articulation of the manuscript – leaving out “obvious” patterns that the Bachs (whichever composed this Sonata in E) expected the perform to intuitively know. As a result, careful listening and score analysis is essential for creating articulation patterns that closely follow the style of this piece.
Peter Bacchus – Quartet for Diverse Flutes
As the title indicates, this is a Quartet for “diverse flutes” C flute, alto flute, and bass flute. An unusual feature of this score is that it places Flute IV (the bass flute) on line 3 rather than at the bottom. This is because Flute I and II are C flutes so keeping all the concert pitch instruments (the C flutes and bass flute) together and placing the only transposing flute, the alto flute, Flute III at the bottom to avoid confusion… even though it tends to create confusion when referring to the III and IV parts.
Sergei Prokofiev – Sonata in D op. 94
This edition includes both the violin transcription along with the flute line – being aware that there are variations (and other editions of the piece) was really important when studying and listening to the piece before practicing. The infamous D7s are just one of the challenges this piece presents where the goal is for them to blend into the ascending arpeggio pattern.
W.A. Mozart – Concerto in D Major for flute (K. 314)
Mozart has 2 concertos for flute – one in G Major and this one, in D Major (which is really just a re-voicing of the oboe concerto in C). This Barenreiter edition is great for analysis and understand the solo flute’s role – it includes the principal flute part, piano score, suggested cadenzas, and a reference score.
The challenge with this piece has been playing what’s on the page versus playing in a stylized manner (as many recordings of this piece often exemplify). The technical elements such as the sept-tuplets, 32nd note pickups, or double tonguing in the 1st movement require a practice approach that will make the end result sound seamless or effortless.
Sergei Prokofiev – Sonata in D op. 94
This edition includes both the violin transcription along with the flute line – being aware that there are variations (and other editions of the piece) was really important when studying and listening to the piece before practicing. The infamous D7s are just one of the challenges this piece presents where the goal is for them to blend into the ascending arpeggio pattern.
Katherine Hoover – Kokopeli for solo flute
With no indicated meter and no accompaniment the challenge with this piece is maintaining rhythmic values. As well as keeping an active ear for intonation, especially on repeated pitches. And finally keeping a sharp eye on the accidentals since they do not carry through the octave. Despite these initial challenges, the phrasing and overall mood of the piece drive the player to overcome these visual hurdles.
W.A. Mozart – Concerto in D Major for flute (K. 314)
Mozart has 2 concertos for flute – one in G Major and this one, in D Major (which is really just a re-voicing of the oboe concerto in C). This Barenreiter edition is great for analysis and understand the solo flute’s role – it includes the principal flute part, piano score, suggested cadenzas, and a reference score.
Unpopular opinion: I love flute warmups… if that was not abundantly clear by my extensive collection of flute warmup resources.
I think quarantine is a great time for people who normally don’t prioritize warmups to step away from repertoire, and find something that resonates with them. My philosophy regarding warmups are that they are not a one-size fits all plan – everyone lives different lives. Some people have more time to practice than others, some people having certain restrictions regarding space and time they can play, etc. I am here to share what my current resources and warmup plan are – DO NOT feel less than or pressured to have a warmup that is exactly like mine. I will also take the time here (as this is my first post about warmups) to discuss HOW I got to this plan.
What you need to keep in mind regarding practice planning:
Time – both how much time you have AND the amount of time it takes for you to learn and process material.
Introspection – you need to reflect and BE HONEST with yourself that is the only way to improve. You must be active, not passive, during practicing. And you are only competing with yourself and no one else, don’t feel like you are racing against anyone else.
Practicality – know your limits and what you are capable of. Like any goal or plan, don’t set yourself up for failure; and this also goes with time, you will learn what works for you. Experiment, trial and error, and don’t give up when you fail.
What Is My Current Warmup?
Breaking down what resources I am currently using*:
George and Avidan Louke – The Flute Scale Book
Harmonics
Variations on scale patterns
Paul Robison – Flute Warmups
Singers Warmup – tone and resonance in scales
Radiating Arpeggios – arpeggios with extended range and varied rhythm
Bells Warmup – long tones
Nightingale Trills – coordination and balance
Kujala – The Flutist’s Vade Mecum
Extending technique
Moyse – 24 Little Melodic Etudes
Simple melodies focusing on honing techniques (dynamics, articulation…)
Moyse – Scales and Arpeggios
Variations on scale and arpeggio patterns
Taffanel and Gaubert – 17 Daily Exercises
Versatile simple scalar patterns
*I DO NOT practice all of these every day, I vary my warmup (following a general plan) to avoid injury and to tailor to what I need to work on depending on the day.
My warmup plan – what do I practice and why do I practice?
Harmonics – Tone/Focus
Control – being able to get a clear pitch (on whichever partial I play) and move with ease
Resonance – being aware of what I’m using to get a particular sound (regarding my nose, chest, tongue, vowel, etc.)
Lips/Apperture – finding and experimenting what works and what doesn’t.
Contrast
Dynamics, articulations, etc.
Being active in my warmup and having to assess whether something sounds different or the same.
Scales
To move air, get it spinning.
Get fingers and mind coordinated.
Range
Experimenting with what I need to do to make all registers sound even – tone quality; as well as balance and blend.
Finger coordination for extreme registers.
Coordination/Balance
Stability and consistency – make playing seem as effortless as possible.
Challenge myself with tricky finger changes while maintaining balance.
How I got to this point of structuring my warmup?
When I was in high school I was a violinist that started flute on a whim to be in the marching band with my friends. I didn’t start taking lessons until a year after I started playing when I knew I was going to take college auditions for music. During this early period, I mainly focused on scales (Major and minor) and maybe arpeggios. The book I picked up from my local music shop was actually the “Foundations For Superior Performance” book for wind band.
In my undergrad I was exposed to A LOT of warmups… I was given warmup after warmup (because I really had and still have this love for doing them – so much so that, during my undergrad, I would actually spend more time on warmups than on actual repertoire), but for the warmups I did in my studio I was rarely every told WHAT I was actually working on when given a PDF. I have filled in the gaps now as a Masters student, so here is the wide range of things I worked on in my studio as an undergraduate Music Education flute student:
Taffanel and Gaubert*
Moyse Exercise Journaliers*
Moyse De La Sonorite
Paula Robison Warmup Book
The Flute Scale Book
Andersen Op. 33
Berbiguier 18 Etudes
Karg-Elert Caprices
*These first two were the STAPLE books for our studio – our technique class really hinged on the patterns from these books.
Now in graduate school, I have a lot more (if you can believe it) books that I have used. I tend to cycle through books to keep things interesting. This is what I have studied on my own and with my teacher as a Master of Music Performance student:
All of the above
Moyse 24 Little Melodic Studies
Maquarre
Andersen Op. 15
Paul-Edmund Davies 28 Days Warmup Book
Kujala Vade Mecum
Trevor Wye Omnibus Edition
An example of a typical warmup (July 2020):
Every time I take my flute out I do the same thing: I get my KORG tuner/metronome and set it to A440 drone. I take a moment to listen to the A, and try to match my first notes to that drone. I’ll play that same A4, the As above it, and then a bit of noodling until I feel like my ears are discerning where I am for that day. By that I am referring to intonation (am I sharp or flat today?), resonance (am I playing too forward and shallow or am I supporting the sound?), and focus (do the notes speak and what am I doing to get them to speak).
This takes no more than 2 minutes, there are good days and bad days – I do this drone every day I practice as a gauge to figure what I will need to focus on for that day. So for this example of a typical warmup let’s say I am having a bad day – my pitch was very flat, I am playing too forward and tense, and the notes are not speaking right away. I move onto 2 exercises (the order can be reversed, as I use these exercises for the same reason):
(1) Harmonics – this can be stacking harmonics (C4, C#4, D4) or following the patterns in the “Flute Scale Book”. Here I am focusing on getting that deeper resonance and support. I reflect on what I am doing internally and externally with my body to get sound – usually my shoulders need to come down and I need to unarch my back when my resonance is too forward and shallow. By making these adjustments, the harmonics begin to sound more focused, in tune and come from a better place.
(2) A 5 note stepwise patterns – examples of this would be Taffanel and Gaubert “17 Daily Exercises” #1 and 2; or the Singers Warmup in the “Paula Robison Flute Warmups Book”. Again, I am focusing on achieving that deeper resonance and support. Here I may hum while playing the 5 note pattern to bring my resonance backwards in my mouth and nose. The 5 note patterns are great because they are taking out the complications of registers (particularly evenness) so I can focus on getting small groups of notes to all have one sound.
This part can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes. Say that after all of that work I have only slightly improved my tone quality, still playing forward and tense, I will move onto to a full register or full scale exercise and will do chromatic, Major and minor (depending on how much time I have – I will either play all forms or if I do not have much time I will just do harmonic) scale patterns:
Examples include the Moyse “Exercise Journaliers” extended Major and minor scales; a B3-D7 chromatic scale; Taffanel and Gaubert #3 or 5; “The Flute Scale Book” Major and minor scale patterns; the Maquarre chromatic exercise; or the “Paula Robison Flute Warmups Book” Orange Juice warmup. This is usually where the most improvement happens (in my own experience – my learning style is understanding a concept but it taking awhile for my body to catch up) because I am now mostly in the right mindset; and focusing finger coordination distracts my mind enough that the issues with tone quality will resolve themselves.
The scales can take 5-10 minutes. By this point, I will switch to a short easy piece or etude. Examples include “Andersen Op. 15”; Moyse “24 Little Melodic Pieces”; or duets from the Voxman books. I take this time to enjoy the sound and be less critical than I had been in my earlier warmup. Here I focus on dynamics, articulation patterns and musicality – looking more at contrast rather than trying to be ‘perfect‘.
The piece or etude will take another 5-10 minutes depending if there are variations or if I want to isolate any part of the exercise. The final part of my warmup is technique – I will focus on more precise or tricky articulation patterns, extreme dynamics especially with register, or tricky fingering patterns. Examples include Kujala’s “Vade Mecum”; Moyse “Scales and Arpeggios”; and or Taffanel and Gaubert #4, 10, 12. This final part of the warmup taking anywhere from 15-25 minutes.
This quarantine warmup can take about an hour, whereas, before quarantine I might not have had a full hour to spent just warming up I can take advantage of this time to focus on my weaker areas.
Let me know in the comments how you warmup, has it changed significantly since quarantine started? And what resources are you using in your warmup?
Hello! I’m Emma Piedilato, thank you for taking an interest in my blog. In this introductory post I will be giving an overview of what my current flute set-up as a graduate Master of Flute Performance student. This is my current set-up as of July 2020 which I’ve maintained since the 3rd year of my undergraduate degree several years ago.
I currently play on a Haynes, Weissman model flute. It is a handmade, custom flute that I bought pre-owned from the Flute Center of New York during my 1st year of undergrad in 2015. I’ve kept the original head joint which has a large squoval-cut hole, is made of silver, and has a 14K gold riser. The body is also silver, with Straubinger pads, a C# trill key, D# roller and B foot.
Getting a new flute (and making the jump from student to professional) meant that I had gone from a latch-style case to a french-style case. The different being that I now needed a case cover to properly carry my flute around. During my undergrad, the university would hold a Woodwind Day where vendors would come with limited stock for the students (usually at a discounted price). It was at one of these events that I bought my Jean Cavallaro case cover.
In 2017, I made the decision to add a LeFreque to my flute set-up. I made this choice after trialing several colleagues’ LeFreques of different materials and seeing (1) which metal I preferred and (2) if I really thought it would improve my sound quality. I eventually decided on the rose-gold plated, solid silver sound bridge. My recommendation is to try any flute product before buying it (especially if the price tag is expensive), and despite the varying opinions on LeFreques: I have used mine since 2017 to present day. Originally, I was struggling to adapt from a student Yamaha flute with a small oval lip hole to the Haynes Weissman flute with the large squoval lip hole. Getting low notes, overall control, and stability had been a challenge for about a year and a half since purchasing the flute. I do believe, in my case, the LeFreque was a tool in helping me bridge the physical gap between the two flutes – it is not a necessary tool for everyone, but is certainly is cheaper than buying an entirely new head joint.
The original Haynes case my flute came in was not sturdy enough to support my flute. I found this out one long day during my undergrad when my flute (in the case) was knocked off a chair, no more than 2 feet of the ground, and resulted in a bent key. Over the following summer, I saved up my money to invest in a sturdy case recommended by my repair tech to decrease the amount of movement of the flute while in the case (it can’t be seen well in the attached photo, but my repair tech glued additional black felt inside the case to make the fit custom to my flute). The case I ended up getting was the Valentino B-foot Wood Case.
Over time, I began to accumulate all of the gadgets inside of my case… I made the transition from a flute rod and cloth to a Valentino flute flag the same time I bought the case. Quickly, the flute flag has become my favorite method for cleaning my flute – it is washable, and doesn’t fray like the interior cloths tend to do.
The pad paper has been part of my set up from day 1 – especially in New Jersey with our ridiculously high humidity, pad paper is essential!!!
The mini screw diver was studio gift from my undergraduate flute professor, although I never use it on the body, I do use it for the screw holding the D# roller on the foot joint does which I occasionally need to adjust; I always keep it with me for that emergency.
The coffee straw may seem like an odd thing to keep in my case, but I always keep one on me for when I am teaching. The validity of teaching students the approximate apperture size with a coffee straw is vital… also sometimes if I’m having a subpar playing day I use it to retrain myself.
Finally, I have an abundance of Beaumount cloths. I use one to rest my flute when I’m taking a short break from playing or taking a quick note to prevent dirt or dust from getting on the flute body or pads. And the other one I use for exterior cleaning.
What is your flute (or other instrument) set up? Let me know what you’re using.
What's On My Stand 