The Number 1 Piccolo Problem Solved

By Kate Prestia-Schaub

Kate Prestia-Schaub

Don't be afraid!

It's truly as simple as that!  When starting students on the piccolo for the first time, the number one reaction I get is: "Oh, Miss Kate!!! It's too loud!"  Then, the shoulders shrug up to the ears, and the shrieking commences!  The kiddos blow as hard as they can, thinking that that will make the high register speak, they tighten up as much as humanly possible to make the the aperture smaller, and they press and press against the bottom teeth with all their might.  Then, lo and behold, they whack out a squeak, and the glass begins to shatter!  The biggest problem with starting students on the piccolo is they try to play too high too quickly.  With this technique, they are sure to play too loud, it will be uncomfortable, and they won't enjoy it at all!  

So, my approach is to simplify, relax, and try not to play piccolo differently than the flute.  I love starting students on piccolo at the same time as flute, because they don't yet have an aversion to it being high and loud.  Generally, if they start with the low register D on the piccolo, and pretend they are playing a middle D on flute, they can match the shape, speed, and direction of the air column, and go from there!  I have them switch every 10 minutes, playing the same music on flute and piccolo.  This way, they start off right, being comfortable with playing flute/piccolo interchangeably, which develops the technique on flute and piccolo evenly.  In this way, the  piccolo won't seem like such a huge change.  By hearing only a small portion of the range of piccolo to start, the progression to the high register will happen naturally, with no fear!  At this point, when they are ready to play in an ensemble, it is second nature, and not a foreign concept. By slowly introducing the upper octave of the piccolo, the student's sound develops with no strain, pressure, or force.  

If it is a student who already has a firm grip on the flute, starting piccolo can be either natural, or disastrous.  If it's as I stated in the beginning, it's important to have them ball up a ton of air in their mouth, and let as little out as possible.  Again, it has been helpful for me to start with very simple melodies in the low register so they can acclimate themselves to the sound without trying to go for the high notes right away.  The Moyse 24 Little Melodies work well for this.  Have them play the melodies in the middle or top register of the flute, memorize what it feels like, with no pressure, tension, or force, and then play the same thing in the low register of the piccolo, maintaining that it should feel natural, supported, and relaxed. The result is that they're not scared of it, and they can hear actual melodies in the range that they are already accustomed to, without having to do anything differently. They may actually enjoy the low register of the piccolo quite a lot, and thus, the shrill aspect of the piccolo is put to rest for a while.  Instead, the natural beauty, richness of sound, and melodious sonority is developed.  

Once the student is in control of the low register, with no force, pressure, or over-blowing, then introduce the mid range, again, until there is no pressure.  Then, of course the high octave. Melodious practicing is the best for this, leaving the technical "noodley-goop" until the student is comfortable with less pressure, no force, and until the sound is produced with the dark "wooden" quality that we piccolo players love so much!  Generally more advanced students are anxious to jump into the more technical repertoire, but doing this too fast is a recipe for the stereotypical forced, shrill sound.  So, to satisfy their urge to play fast and loud, give them pieces on the flute, in the upper register, and have them go to town!  (Make sure they stay loose on the flute, as this will then transfer to the mid range on picc.)

Once they've got the tone under control in all octaves, and they're not afraid to play the piccolo as a melodious instrument, then have them jump into the much-loved "bird pieces," and let them have a blast with the chirps!  Building the muscle structure in this way is not only safer for young players' ear drums, but it is a more natural progression in the magnified development of the muscles necessary to play with brilliant technique, and with a well-controlled, lovely tone.

Paul Edmund-Davies on Technique

Paul Edmund-Davies

Powell Artist Paul Edmund-Davies was Principal Flutist of the London Symphony Orchestra for twenty-five years.  He is currently Principal Flute with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the English National Opera.

In his fifth video lesson on the Powell website, Mr. Edmund-Davies discusses finger control.  He demonstrates exercises for improving your technique by keeping your fingers light as opposed to gripping, memorizing music, and practicing what he terms as "brain-to-finger coordination."  Definitely seems to work, considering Mr. Edmund-Davies' illustrious career and excellent examples in this video!  You can watch the the lesson on finger control here.

For more on Paul Edmund-Davies, take a look at his website at http://www.pauledmund-davies.com.

Joshua Smith on Performance Anxiety

Joshua Smith

Performance anxiety is a challenge for many instrumentalists.  Just how can one conquer their nerves?  Powell artist Joshua Smith, Principal Flute of The Cleveland Orchestra, addressed this issue in an interview on the Conversation page of his website.  When asked how he handles nervousness, Joshua answered with the following:

I don't think nervousness in performance ever really goes away. I hope it doesn't, actually, because I'm not sure I would perform with much interest or excitement without it ... Learning how to deal with nerves is what gets easier over time and with experience ... I think it's important to strive to find balance and perspective in one's approach to communicating and performing. How? Maybe start with asking basic (yet complex) questions, like "What am I doing here?," "What am I trying to say?," even "Why am I musician?" Answering questions like these brings perspective that helps to minimize the distractions that students (in fact, any of us) tend to feel about performance - doubts about ourselves, thoughts about who is listening to us, fears about living up to particular expectations ... Effort (trying to please, trying to do your best) often gets in the way ... Sometimes the most inspired performances seem to come when you withdraw your self and your fears and remember that the essence of what you're trying to communicate is the bottom line, the only thing that matters at the moment.

To hear more from Joshua, make sure to visit his website at http://www.soloflute.com/home.html.

Leone Buyse - "Inspiration from Jean Ferrandis"

Leone Buyse

When an artist challenges me to explore new approaches to music making and teaching, my fondest hope is to be able to share that gift of inspiration with students and colleagues. Summarized below are some ideas that have proven energizing and thought-provoking to the Shepherd School Flute Studio–and their teacher!

On November 19, French soloist and conductor Jean Ferrandis presented a master class and recital at Rice. His ability to communicate the importance of playing naturally, and of using the body freely to enhance the musical message, was deeply inspiring.

First and foremost, he stressed saying “Hello” before beginning to play. This simple act can connect us to the essence of artful flute playing: a natural inhalation that bypasses thoughts of blowing across an embouchure plate or reading notes and instead leads to direct, personal communication with our listeners.

A musical score is only a guide, and our goal should be to convey a personal message as if we were singing or speaking. He advised students to focus completely on the music rather than thinking about sound, saying “If your music is beautiful, then your tone will necessarily be beautiful.”

Jean Ferrandis

Reminding everyone that a long note is “many small pictures,” he repeatedly underscored the need to eliminate lower back tension, and to loosen knees, hips, and shoulders in order to find maximum air.

His recommendation for rapid technical passages: Think long fingers, light pressure, with power coming from the back, and above all, don’t change who you are! You may be riding on a fast train, but only the train is going fast–not you.

Perhaps his most powerful message: “While you are playing, you must love the music and you must love yourself.”

Merci, Jean, for all the inspiration you continue to give us.

*This post may be found on Leone Buyse's website at  http://www.leonebuyse.com/advice-inspiration/.

Practice Tips

Tammy Evans Yonce

Practice Tips by Tammy Evans Yonce

Establish a solid practice schedule: 

• Actually block off time in your schedule designated specifically for practicing. Avoid using it for lunch, socializing, homework, errands, sleeping, and so forth. As a musician, practicing is part of your job, so treat it with professionalism. 
• Write your designated practice time in your schedule. Enter it into your online planner. Make sure it ends up wherever you will see it until it becomes habit. 
• Arrange your practice time for when you practice best. Some people love getting work done first thing in the morning before anyone else is around to be a distraction. Others work best late at night. Maybe right before or after lunch is when you’re most alert. Figure out when your most effective practice time is and make sure you schedule around that. A reasonable amount of focused practice is better than lots of unfocused practice. 
• Your practice time doesn’t have to be one large block. Maybe you have 30 free minutes between classes early in the morning. That’s perfect for your warm-up! You can then schedule another practice session for technical work and repertoire, or you can split that work into two sessions. 

When approaching a new piece: 

• Listen to a quality recording of the piece. Yes, this counts as practicing!
• Do a quick run-through of the piece to get a feel for it and where the difficult parts are.
• Actually write the tempos of each problem area in your music (in pencil) so you remember where you are the next time you practice. You will probably have different tempos for each difficult section of the work, but that’s ok. You’ll eventually work them all up to the same tempo. Don’t forget to update the tempo in your music after you’ve made progress.
• In particularly difficult sections, it may be necessary to break your practice down into just 2 or 3 notes. This may seem too simple, but it’s a much more effective use of your practice time than simply running through the music and making little, if any, progress.
• Save run-throughs. Start doing more of these as you approach a performance to get a feel for the work in its entirety and to start building endurance. It’s also helpful to do occasionally to assess how well your practice is going, but it’s simply not enough to be your sole practice strategy.

Flautists Who Sing

Flautists Who Sing
By Jane Rutter

I  gave a flute masterclass yesterday  at the Australian Institute of Music.Coming away from it, the main thing I talked about  to the class,was the concept of Bel Canto. The notion of connecting the sound with a sense of voice. The technical ability to follow the vocal line in the music.

Jane Rutter

So here are my initial tips for  playing with communicative intent. Margaret Crawford commented on how lucky she–and I- were to be exposed to the wonderful Rampal school of flute playing in Paris.So here is the legacy of Joseph & Jean-Pierre Rampal and Alain Marion.… it’s my legacy to my students now too!

Flute players who sing through the flute–first tip from Jane Rutter: 

1. Use Marcel Moyse’s brilliant ideas from the Art of sonority, and tone development through interpretation. These books themselves are fantastic but they also are meant as a guide for you. If you have trouble technically sustaining the sound–particularly in fast passages–apply the same rules to your pieces. Play Marcel Moyse’s examples in every octave. Play them piano, Forte, with different tone colours. In fact  invent your own hoops to jump through!

A) Start with the first exercise in the art of sonority, which is like a yoga stretch for flautists, and play it chromatically. A good extension of this exercise is–when you get to low C, go back up in the same manner as high as you can. Turn around at the top and go back down to C3. This exercise illustrates the simplest possible form of phrase: from one note to the next semitone. You should play it from the heart and is musically as possible.

B) follow the same ideas as scales–connect the notes and imagine you’re playing a rhythmically and harmonically interesting piece. Place scales with emotional and communicative intent.

C) play difficult, fast pieces very slowly as if they were at tone exercise (see above). Join the notes and give them exactly the same line they would have if you were playing at the correct tempo. If they involve double or triple tonguing, you can still apply this principle: articulate as you would normally but join the notes together as part of one phrase. If the phrase is for today and you run out of breath playing it slowly, briefly unique to commence the new part of the phrase buy beginning with the last note you’ve played before your breath. This method allows you to practice any phrase in music and will improve your vocal line, your control of expression and your breathing. More later!

*Jane Rutter performs on a 14K Powell Handmade Custom Flute.  Find more information about Jane on her website: janerutter.com

Flute Choices

When choosing a flute for yourself, what are some of the factors you take into consideration?  We know that brand and model choices are ultimately determined by personal preference, but are there additional factors that help you make your selection?  Do you read reviews on other sites or forums?

For your students, we realize there are differences between what suits your needs as a teacher and performer versus what their needs are as growing musicians.  What helps you determine the brand and model choices for your students?  Have you noticed changes in the selection of brands and models over the years?