Category: technique

  • The Highest Peaks: Tips for the Third and Fourth Octaves on Flute

    A lot of these tips can be applied to high-register piccolo playing as well. Twentieth Century pioneers in the realms of composition and performance have set the standard for us in terms of how high we are expected to play. For better or worse, we need to have fluency at least up to high D…

  • Why Augmented Scales Kick Butt

    Because of the seemingly innocuous combination of half-steps and minor thirds!It’s one of those symmetrical scales that I just love, although I know nature abhors perfect symmetry, and true beauty (like those lovely Japanese gardens) operates on the principle of slight asymmetry. But for composers, symmetry in the context of tonality is very useful when…

  • Fast or Schnell

    On May 9th 2009 I gave a small workshop in Wulfrath, Germany for amateurs on finger technique. I thought I’d put the link to the PDF hand-out here, although it is also on my website. Have a look, in English or auf deutsch, and let me know what you think! Tips for learning fast passages…