The more technique you have, the less you have to worry about it... ~Pablo Picasso
Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion... ~Martha Graham
In any work with scales, always practice with a sense of personal search and great integrity.... Never practice for fingers alone. You must work for sound at the same time.... ~Alain Marion
I was talking with my friend Christina Jennings,about practice and technique and sound exercises... and the level of it needed to play the flute with freedom and artistry... she was saying that at the Interlochen Class she just taught at they were having a discussion and a college noted that in general in the US Technique is not regarded important enough for basics like, Scales, thirds, arpeggios etc..
It is so important to give ourself and our students a strong foundation to create the freedom for fine music making!
So how are we really getting to know these fundamental basics?
They are what gets us to know basic musical vocabulary and to master these skills gives us the freedom to play our instruments and the music.
I have found it useful to give my students "LEVELS" of technique to grow into.
And to give them a variety of books on Technique and Tone as there are so many very fine ones!
One of my new favorites for Sound is; The Wind and the Sound by Philippe Bernold. http://www.philippebernold.com/the-wind-the-sound.html
There are so many fine Technique books! When I studied in Manchester at The Royal Northern College we were the "guniea pigs" for Trevor Wye's Practice Books :-) Wow, after I felt there that year I felt I could play anything working out of his books and playing all my scales , 3rds, 4ths, arpeggios by heart full range too... very empowering. There is a list of technique books available on my flute sites and I will share my favorites on the following PDF.
Happy Practicing!
~Creative Flutist
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