Baroque Flute Meditation

Have I mentioned how easy it is to transport yourself to a calm state of mind by practicing long tones?

Pick a note, any note, preferably one from the middle register of the flute, take a relaxed breath, and start playing. Count to ten while playing this note. Play it a few times, trying not to think about its quality. Focus instead on the breathing and blowing ("Breathing in, I calm my body; breathing out, I smile;" or "I count to ten"). After a few times on this note, go to the next note, 1/2 step away, higher or lower. It doesn't matter. What matters is maintaining the calm feeling of breathing in and blowing out. Calming, to be sure, but energizing at the same time. The essence of Baroque flute playing, at least for me, is exactly this contrast of energies. Soft fingers, calm mind, intense musical energy, sharply focused breathing and blowing. Move quickly, don't hurry. Deliberate, organized practice will set you free, musically.

Long tone practice is not drudgery, It is the core or your flute playing. It is the path to good tone, secure intonation, stamina to play an entire recital, and the control of your instrument in the event that your mind temporarily wigs out when you realize everyone out there is listening to you (and ENJOYING what they hear; remember that).

Long tones are your friends.

Long tones. Not just a good idea, it's the law.

Feel free to visit older posts on this blog regarding practice, long tones, and more long tones.

The 20-minute workout

20-minute workout testimonial

Long tones

Practice techniques

It Herz So Good (or, the Baroque Flute Low Down)

And by low down I don't mean a song by Boz Scaggs from the 1970s. . .

No, I'm talking about one of my favorite things about playing Baroque flute. The ability to play at 392 cycles per second.

With this in mind, I draw your attention to the BFBC XIV schedule, particularly on Monday night. IF you have an instrument (or two or three) that plays at a=392 Hz, please try to find room in your luggage to bring it/them along. We should be able to do this, or, at the very least, have a system of alternating players so that everyone gets the opportunity to play in a flute ensemble at this pitch.

Kathie will likely have at least two flutes at this pitch. If you are bringing 392 instruments to the boot camp, please let everyone know through the wiki.

Have fun playing in the deep end!

Baroque Flute Festival (or, time to make some more observations)

Hello Everyone,

Instead of Practice Pieces of the Week, I present here some videos of people playing Baroque flute. As with the earlier posts of this nature, found here and here, please feel free to discuss your observations here on the blog or over on the Boot Camp wiki.

BFBC XIV: What to Bring to Seattle

For the "newbies" this year and as a reminder for the "seasoned veterans," here is a list of things to bring to the workshop.

• Music stand
• Flutes (if you have more than one flute, bring it/them; there is usually a contingent of 392 Hz flutes; penny whistles and trad flutes are welcome too; see schedule for Trad/Irish events)
• Workbook
• Repertoire from the list (now on Wiki)
• Solo music
• Other music, outside of the assigned, because impromptu duets and trios can happen at any time, even if it seems as if there is NO spare time, there always is. 
• 3-ring binder with at least 3 tabs
• Small post-it notes
• Pencils, highlighter (optional)
• Something on which to take notes during masterclass
• Light jacket
• Flute maintenance kit (beeswax, electrical tape, silk thread, super glue, small piece of neoprene, etc.)
• And most important: the HAWAIIAN SHIRT for Thursday. 
• Remember: Thursday is Hawaiian Shirt Day.

BFBC XIV Daily Schedule!

The BFBC XIV Schedule

MORNINGS (09:00-12:00): 

Below are the keys we will work in each morning and also some pieces to look at for warming up your fingers in those keys.  These pieces are not for performance, but we will be looking at them together in class.

·         Monday:  Focus will be on F Major / d minor  -   #18, #26 of Quantz Capricen;  Telemann Fantasie #6 in d minor

·         Tuesday:  Focus on Bb Major / g minor  -  #14, #37 (don't forget to turn the page!) of Quantz Capricen;  Telemann Fantasie #4 in Bb Major;   Fantasie #12

o   **Extra credit for Bb Major: Ich Folge Dir from St. John Passion**

·         Wednesday:  Focus on Eb Major / c minor  -  #32, #38, #59 of Quantz;  WF Bach duet in Eb Major; 

o   NB: Teacher's Pet Award Compulsory Rep for 2012:  2nd mov't from JS Bach's 'Musical Offering' Trio Sonata (emphasis on notes, tuning, and tone focus; not tempo-based, thus giving everyone an equal opportunity for this pain-based event). Score available on Wiki.

·         Thursday: Focus on A Major / f# minor - Telemann Fantasie no. 1 in A; no. 10 in f#; Quantz Caprice no. 34 and 40;

o   extra credit: mvt. 1 or 3 or J.S. Bach A major sonata

·         Friday: Focus on E Major / c# minor - Telemann Fantasie #9; Quantz Caprice, no. 41; J. S. Bach E major sonata, any movement.

AFTERNOONS/EVENINGS:

Monday:

·         13:30-15:00     Flute ensembles

·         15:30-17:00     Ornamentation session - Quantz and Telemann as models, maybe a little Blavet Op. 3

·         19:00-21:00     The Low Down - Flute Ensembles at A 392  (Maybe few Irish tunes)

Tuesday :

·         13:30-15:00     Flute Ensembles

·         15:30-17:00     Solos by those who want to play for the rest of us

                               Mini lessons from either K or J (3 people)

·         19:00-21:00     Yoga for flutists and Peter Noy on building flutes

Wednesday: 

·         Afternoon off     (Faculty rehearsal)

·         19:00-21:30     The Dragon Jam Session (Baroque flute orchestra, assorted solos with continuo, etc.)

Thursday: (Hawaiian Shirt Day)

·         13:30-15:00     Flute ensembles

·         15:30-17:00     Session on Preluding and 3 private mini lessons

·         19:00-21:30     Faculty Recital

Friday: 

·         13:30-15:00     Flute Ensembles

·         15:30-17:00     Solos by those who want to play and also 3 mini lessons

·         19:00-21:00     Celtic Cacophony (Irish night)

Saturday:

·         09:00-10:00     Final Group Warm Up, Technical Review, etc.

·         10:30               Concert prep, rehearsal, etc.

·         11:00               Student Concert:  A mixture of solos and flute ensemble piece

Boot Camp group lunch, location TBA, time depends on when the recital is over.

N.B.: Lunch every day at 12:00; Dinner every day at 17:00 (Wednesday and Saturday excepted)

The PDF of this is available on the wiki in the Workbook folder. 

Boot Camp Schedule and Format Coming Soon!

Hello Everyone,

As soon as Kathie and Janet finish the agenda (sometime this week, I believe), it will be posted here and on the wiki.

Also, the wiki will soon have a folder called "Bios" where I encourage you all to post a bio of your self, your musical life, your non-musical life, whatever, so that everyone in the workshop will know something about you before you get there.

This year we have two (2) brand new workshop participants, as well as a couple of folks who are coming back after a brief absence.

I've seen a draft of the workshop agenda and it appears that the spa-like atmosphere that ran rampant on my watch will be but a fond memory under the tutelage of Commanders See and Stewart . . .

More soon.

kp

2012 Housing Application Now Available

Hello Everyone,

The housing application is now available.

From the workshop web page, click here: 2012 Baroque Housing Application.

More news as it happens.

Kathie Stewart will be posting the PPotW (Practice Pieces of the Week) soon.

Baroque Flute Boot Camp XIV: Message from the Director

Dear Baroque Flute Enthusiasts,

For the 2012 Baroque Flute Boot Camp I will be on hiatus. Many of you know that since September 2008 I have been pursuing a PhD in Musicology at the University of Oregon. It has been intellectually stimulating and very enjoyable. One requirement for the PhD is writing a dissertation. Another aspect of the PhD program in music history/musicology is the opportunity to teach undergraduate lecture classes. The dissertation and teaching not one but two summer sessions this year will keep me from participating in the Fourteenth Annual Baroque Flute Boot Camp (14 years? Really? Wow!). 

This is only a one year hiatus. I expect to be back at the helm in 2013. But the boot camp will only miss my personality this year. My collaborator, friend, and colleague, Janet See will be there, as usual, and after a two-year apprenticeship, our friend and colleague Kathie Stewart, Baroque flute teacher at the Oberlin Conservatory, will be the other boot camp instructor. 

The participants will continue to be pushed out of their respective comfort zones to acquire new skills and knowledge of Baroque flute and Baroque performance practices. My patented Forehead Slap of Despair (FSD) may be missed, but other than that, the Boot Camp Experience will be the same. You can expect lots of flute playing, technical exercises, improvisation theory and practice, camaraderie, encouragement, and the feeling that your brain has been filled to capacity each day.

I will, obviously, be sad to not be a physical part of the BFBC XIV, but feel confident that Ms. See and Ms. Stewart will conduct business as usual. If anything, the environment may be more intense, challenging, and stimulating than in years past, because that is how we roll at the BFBC. 

See you physically in 2013. See you virtually all the time. 

kp

14th Annual Baroque Flute Boot Camp, July 29-August 4, 2012

Alert the media! 


BFBC XIV: July 29-August 4, 2012, in Seattle, at Seattle Pacific University. 


The website will be updated soon. 


For you past participants, we will be using the same workbook as last year. 


Watch this space for details and updates. 


More information to follow. Soon! 


Thank you. 


-- The Management