As a child I learned to play the flute on a flute with closed holes. This is quite common in the Netherlands. When I was ready for an upgrate, I bought a flute with open hole keyes. I like to play with open holes. It feels like the notes are more open and clear, especially […]

We all know the feeling of starting a new piece that seems impossible to play. The more ink a composer has used (for example, 32nd notes), the more difficult it seems. I see a lot of students who just go for it, hoping to make it to the end. A good way to start and […]

I read you were 9 years old when you started playing the flute. Do you remember why you chose the flute? Back in the day when I started going to music lessons, one wasn’t allowed to start learning the flute straight away – I had to do 2 years of recorder first. So getting to […]

For years now I have regularly been visiting a coach, someone who helps me reflect and who gives sensible advice. One of my music academy tutors once said: ‘We don’t think twice about giving our car a yearly MOT, so why shouldn’t we provide ourselves with some mental maintenance also?’ I completely agree. Recently we […]

Tough love and key clicks When I was about 16 years old, my flute tutor had me play Edgar Varèse’s Density 21.5 for flute solo. It wasn’t an easy feat at the time. Not only was it one of my first scores in which I repeatedly encountered a D4, it contained something else that was […]