In the Netherlands we now have two weeks of vacation. Time to let go or work even more on your flute playing. These are busy times, I’m told. My 11 year old flute student didn’t have time to practice because…and then there’s a very long list. The same goes for adults and even college students have to work alongside their studies to pay the bills.
I was once in such a situation myself. During my flute studies I was asked to teach music at a secondary school. I needed the money, so I said yes and got to work. First only a few hours a week and after a while ending up with a full-time job. Wanting to be a great flutist and teacher is not a great combination. Teaching in a school is not just about the lesson you teach a class, but you have to fill out forms all the time, meet all the time, come up with projects and so on. I played the flute as much as possible, went to school half an hour early so that I could practice my scales every day. During that time I also practiced many extended techniques. I had private lessons with Wil Offermans once a month and those classes and practicing the extended techniques really helped me get and stay in shape, even though I didn’t have much time to practice. After twelve years I quit my job in education. Not because I didn’t like teaching, but then I was ready to choose a (work) life with only the flute.
Don’t get me wrong, this blog is not about shortcuts. The work has yet to be done to be or become a truly great flutist. But extended techniques can help you develop more skills or stay in shape, especially when you don’t have much time. The techniques can be used for several purposes, but for now I’ll show you which combinations I like to use:
Sound:
Harmonics
Ghost-harmonics Flutter tongue
Wind sounds
Tone bending
Sing and play
Whistle sounds
Technique / dynamics:
Wind sounds
Key clicks
Pizzicato
Quartertones
Articulation:
Flutter tongue
Key clicks (with sound)
Pizzicato
Tongue stops
Intonation:
Tone bending
Sing and play
Quartertones
Coordination:
Wind sounds
Sing and play
Multiphonics
Check out the Flute Colors book and website for more information, thoughts and exercises.