Teach Flute: Andersen Etudes, Op.15, No. 3

The third and final in a series of videos on the Andersen Studies, Op. 15 by Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies covers etude number 3.  Mr. Edmund-Davies remarks that this etude "has to be one of the most beautiful studies ever written for the flute."  That being said, he focuses on the melody in the first part of the video and recommends practicing the melody as lyrically and vocally as possible.  The melody is complimented by an accompaniment of sixteenth notes and triplets, which Mr. Edmund-Davies recommends you build up in blocks.  Finally, he notes that the fingers "must be nimble" to play the etude successfully and suggests a few of the studies from his book, The 28 Day Warm Up Book, to help.

Andersen Etudes, Op.15, No. 2

In the video lesson below, Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies discusses Andersen Studies, Op.15, No.2.  For this particular etude, he tells us that the biggest challenges are articulation and intervals, and he stresses the importance of practicing warm-up studies to focus on these areas.  Mr. Edmund-Davies explains that proper articulation on the flute must be learned because the English language, in particular, is a language that causes us to use our tongues very aggressively -- which is quite the opposite of the way we need to use the tongue for proper articulation.  He also helps us approach the etude in the most musical manner by making suggestions on note length and tempo.

To practice articulation and prepare for this Andersen study, Mr. Edmund-Davies recommends the Bach Sonata in A Minor, BWV 1013 for unaccompanied flute.  He also recommends etudes from his own publication, The 28 Day Warm Up Book, to address articulation (etude number 4) and intervals (etude number 7). 

Andersen Etudes, Op.15, No.1

Powell artist Paul Edmund-Davies takes a closer look at the Andersen Studies, Op. 15, No.1 in a video lesson designed to help us play the etude with musicality and technical proficiency.  He discusses a few points to consider to ensure success with the studies in general.  First, Mr. Edmund-Davies tells us that each study has a specific technical challenge, so we must look at it to discover this -- asking ourselves, "why are we playing this?"  He says that it is always important to play an etude with a good tone and to play it musically.  He suggests visually inspecting the etude to uncover difficult passages ahead of time.  Finally, he recommends playing some warm-up exercises before tackling the Andersen studies.

With Etude No.1 of the Op.15 studies, Mr. Edmund-Davies mentions that the study falls mostly within the flute's low to middle range.  He suggests adding depth to the lower range and then working your way up.  You will find the complete lesson in the video clip below: