Helen Bledsoe

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  • Nono: a Bass Flutist Prepares

    Working on Das atmende Klarsein has provoked a bit of a crisis. Not that I can’t handle a piece for solo bass flute, small choir and live electronics. I eat that stuff for breakfast. Well, ok, I usually wait until after breakfast….

    The crisis comes from several directions. One is historical. You wouldn’t think a contemporary music person like me would be faced with issues of historical performance practice, but it happens all the time. Styles change, techniques change, instruments are built differently, all with the rapidity of less than one generation. And I’m not even thinking about the electronic components!

    I did not really like the piece at first. Take the first movement for flute: at first listening it is nothing more than a grab-bag of (now cliché) flute sounds: airy, elephantine honks on a piece of metal plumbing along with the rattling of ill-fitted key work. A real 1980’s museum piece. How on earth does one mould these sounds into something that can say something today? Was there even a “something” that needed to be moulded? My guess was yes. I have noticed a direct correlation: the more obscure something sounds you can bet the more heavy the philosophical component lurking behind the work. And it turns out I was right. At least that is somewhere to start! Research!

    There is no lack of information regarding the background of this piece. The score is sold with a DVD for didactic purposes. OK. I’m undyingly grateful and informed. However, the audience will not have the benefit of this DVD, they may not even bother to read the program notes. I need to present something that sounds convincing without a brief lecture on the philosophical texts of Plato, Hölderlin, Walter Benjamin and Rilke. Is it just me, or am I strange in thinking one should be able to enjoy music on a purely sensual level?

    That is crisis No. 1 in a nutshell. Crisis No. 2 is this: I’m having to eat my words. All my composer spanking has, in a way, come back as a great kick in the behind. Ok, some of you may be sniggering about that. Go ahead. You see, Nono was one of those great composers who really, really worked closely with the performer. This is what I’m always encouraging composers to do, telling them not to do this, not to do that, to be precise in notating what the player can do. Well it seems to me in this respect Nono was so successful that I see in the score what Roberto Fabbriciani could play, and in fact, I don’t know really what Nono himself wanted. I can only infer it by gathering background information on this piece and working with those who knew him. (So you see, oral tradition still plays a great role!) That is a grey area I can deal with, as I am experienced in interpreting and improvising. But it is an example where I wish the notation were a little, hmm, less precise and more open to variations of articulation, dynamics and sound color. As a matter of fact, I don’t feel as if I am playing a piece by Nono at all sometimes. Of course the overall concept of the piece is his, but when it comes to the flute part I feel less like I’m crawling into the skin of the composer and more like I’m crawling into the skin of Roberto Fabbriciani. Please note, I mean absolutely no disrespect here for the man!

    However, Fabbriciani says in the DVD that the score is a point of departure for interpreters. Whew! The role of the bass flute is also explained: it represents a nostalgia for the future, as the choir represents a nostalgia for the past. I wonder if it is the same esthetic as his work for violin, tape and electronics, La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura? In any case I found this a useful concept. Nostalgia for the future also goes through it’s fashion, from Star Trek to Sun Ra’s cult film Space is the Place. The trick is to present sounds, phrasing and so on that sound fresh and forward-looking in today’s world.

    I was reminded of a passage from Stanislavski’s book An Actor Prepares. The actor was to interpret the role of the hero who was a misogynist. The difficulty was, the piece was a light comedy, not a tragedy. What is funny about a misogyny? Analysing the role, the actor discovers that the hero does not really hate women, he only wants to project that image. That gives lots of scope for irony and self-deprecation. The parallel here is that I am reminded again not to take the written score at face value, but to find in it the voice I want to project.

    Was I successful? Well, depends on who you ask. After the concert I was pleased to hear from some that they enjoyed the piece on a purely musical level, not knowing Nono’s music. Approval from the non-cognoscenti, so to speak. However, one Famous Flutist remarked that it was impressive, but had nothing to do with actual flute playing. I was disappointed that was how it came across, as if intonation, long-ass phrases and extreme control of the direction of air stream have nothing to do with flute playing. Although maybe it was a compliment in that the technical processes were well hidden enough so that at least something came out?

    (edit) Here is a read-only share link to a later formal article that I co-authored with Daniel Agi concerning Nono’s late flute works.

    https://soundcloud.com/sfem-1/luigi-nono-das-atmende

  • Flute Multiphonics – Q&A for composers

    Q: Should I write in the fingerings for multiphonics?
    A: Yes. It saves time. It saves misunderstandings. Books go out of print, so please avoid naming multiphonics by number. I know writing or drawing in multiphonics can be a pain. If you have many of them and want to save time and ink, you could write the multiphonics with fingerings in your performance instructions so you need not repeat the fingerings in the score.

    Q: How should I notate the fingering?
    A: Robert Dick has the most intuitive system, it is just a template of the layout of the flute’s keys. Carin Levine and Pierre Yves Artaud don’t draw the trill keys but refer to them with the letters “A” and “B”. A flutist unfamiliar with these books (esp. if they get out of print) won’t know what to do. If you need a template, you may use the jpg below (taken from Robert Dick’s Flying Lessons):

    There is also a cheap downloadable font for Sibelius, Finale and text editors available here. I haven’t tried this out myself, so I don’t know how easy it is to use, but I like the results.

    Q: Which multiphonic resource should I use?
    A: At the time of this writing, I would most highly recommend Robert Dick’s The Other Flute and Carin Levine’s The Techniques of Flute Playing. Do not use Bruno Bartolozzi’s New Sounds for Woodwinds.

    Unless you are a flutist yourself, I would not advise using The Virtual Flutist. When a resource shows every single pitch that can be produced by a certain fingering, it doesn’t necessarily follow that a multiphonic can be created from these pitches. Try it with a live player before trusting a theoretical projection of the flute’s acoustic response.

    Q: Can I just notate the main note and leave the multiphonic up to the player?
    A: Sure! Be aware though that on the lowest notes only harmonic multiphonics are possible. In layman’s terms, multiphonics are made possible by venting the tube at a certain location which causes the note to split. Low notes need the long tube of the flute. If we vent a key, we shorten the tube: therefore no low note. In short, the best range for “free” multiphonics is the middle register and up to the flute’s 3rd octave B-flat. At least that is the most comfortable for me.

    Q: Can you trill a multiphonic?
    A: Depends. Almost all have the possibility to do at least a timbral trill. Check with your local flutist.

    Q: Can you fluttertongue a multiphonic?
    A: Yes. Some very close multiphonics are actually easier with fluttertongue. This is assuming however, that the flutist can fluttertongue. It’s not always a given.

  • To Honk or Not to Honk: Low notes

    Some flutists have a naturally rich low register. For others, high notes come more naturally. Some are blessed with the ease of both. I was a weakey one in the low register for years. The flip side of that was that I could play high and quietly with more ease than many others.

    What to do about weakness in the low register? I’ve compiled some advice and exercises that I give to my students (and myself!) over the years.

    First of all, make sure your flute is not leaking.

    There are two aspects:
    1. General weakness = unwanted decrescendo as you descend
    2. Forte attacks. Sometimes you may have a good sound down low, but when you are asked to play a short loud note, or start a passage on a low loud note, it doesn’t respond.

    For no. 2, forte attacks, Michel Debost gives some great advice in his book The Simple Flute:
    *”Finger Tonguing” = a faint percussion of the finger closest to the desired note. Not to be confused with key slaps.
    *Play on the middle breath, not a big inhalation
    *Hold back and give the sound a very small amount of time so that you hear it
    *Let air come through the nose if necessary, so the air speed is not too fast out of the mouth. This will prevent the note from cracking

    And from Robert Dick:
    *Drop the belly. A trick from brass players, it keeps the center of gravity low

    From Peter Lloyd:
    *Blow towards the chest

    If you can bring all this advice into play, that will start you off. If you really want to generally strengthen your lower register and gain control over all dynamics, you have to make a serious commitment. Have patience, it may take time to develop. It might take months or years before you are really happy with it. But isn’t life a work in progress anyway?

    Exercises:
    Moyse, Moyse, Moyse, souplesse des sons graves from de la Sonorite (page 10 in my edition). It helps, but only if you really, really do it, and like physical exercise, it pays to play it every day instead of a lot one day and then nothing for a week.

    Another exercise I call “Swimming”. There’s almost nothing to it: just take a low note, say D. Take a good but not huge breath and play the note mezzo forte until the breath is done (but don’t squeeze out). Breath in normally, don’t hurry. Repeat this process about 10 times. Why is it swimming? While you are playing the note, you can imagine you are under water and moving forward through sound. You go where there is the most resonance. You really listen, small hisses in the sound, unevenness, a sudden opening, whatever. Let them happen. Just go forward, and when you need a breath, surface like a dolphin and get a breath, then go back in.
    You’ll notice by the 10th time probably that the sound has opened up.

    You can also make an exercise from the Berio Sequenza. Almost every lesson I give on this piece ends up being a lesson in articulation, especially for the low register. Take the opening gesture, or any low articulated passage in the piece and do the following.
    *play legato with focused, not forced, sound. The throat should be open, but not too stretched. Too stretched will interfere with articulation that’s coming up in the next step.
    *play with “Ha” articulation. Move the belly, but not too exaggerated. Think more of activating it (and dropping it) rather than jiggling it
    *now use the tongue, only as an opening valve, not a sledge hammer. Keep in mind Debost’s comments above.

    Then there is the phenomenon of the disappearing low register. Players who don’t normally have problems with low notes encounter this like a bad hair day, there seems to be no explanation. You can wake up and they’re just not there!
    *Check your flute, maybe it’s leaking. Maybe there’s a cigarette paper stuck on a pad.
    *Gently, gently wipe your lips with a clean tissue. There might be a build-up of dry skin on the lips.
    *Some people swear that this happens when there is a drop in atmospheric pressure. Is it about to rain? Maybe that’s your excuse.
    Any other advice or observations? I’d like to hear them.


  • Composing for Students (Conservatory Level)

    I was asked by a composer what pitfalls there might be for writing an ensemble piece for a local conservatory. Since we both had copies Carin Levine’s Techniques of Flute Playing, I took that as my basis and made the following remarks.

    I will preface these remarks with an important note. If you are composing for students or young people, please go easy on the extended techniques: use them sparingly! Some rough guidelines: stick to one technique per musical phrase, and give the player enough time to set up an unusual fingering or to move the flute to a covered embouchure position.

    2.1 The fourth octave
    for a student piece, please don’t use extended passages above D4. Non-harmful 4th octave technique takes time to develop. Isolated notes up to E4 are OK for students.

    2.2 Fluttertongue
    seems like a normal technique but watch out – many Asian students can’t do it. And the distinction between glottal and tongue production – *in an ensemble situation* – falls into the category of DON’T BOTHER. You won’t necessarily hear the distinction if there are others playing, and most young players can only do either one or the other anyway.

    2.3 Harmonics
    Very good for students!
    2.3.1 Double Harmonics
    Also good. It’s good to have the fundamental note (fingered one) notated as in the Pagh-Paan and Richard examples. Beware that higher partials are difficult to produce and control dynamically.

    2.4 Whistle Tones
    Good for students, but may be difficult for them at first. Easiest to use them in an atmospheric, undefined way, with the fundamental tone notated, as in Carin’s examples. As you probably know, these are very quiet sounds.

    2.4.1 Special Whistle Tones
    Difficult for most beginners. These are the ones with the teeth and covered embouchure hole that need time to set up. Just for the record, Sciarrino notates them incorrectly. When you cover the embouchure hole, the pitch you produce is a m. 7th below. The Sciarrino example p. 17 does not produce the pitches notated.

    2.5 Jet Whistle
    OK for students – give them time to set up the embouchure; inexperienced/uncoordinated players can chip their teeth if they try to get into covered embouchure position too fast. Once in this position though, you can write quick passages. Please also give time for getting back into normal playing position. As a general rule, when writing for inexperienced players, set up all “covered embouchure” techniques as if they were actual instrument changes – leaving a bit of time on either side.

    2.6 Trumpet Embouchure
    I’d avoid in student pieces, although I personally am fond of this technique. It does mess with the circulation in your lips and you can’t get back to normal playing right away, and if you are too eager, it can cause temporary damage.

    2.7 Singing and Playing
    Good for students. But as you may already know, produces more of an “effect” than a true polyphony. As to where to notate the voice line: if it is simple, use the same staff as the flute – if more complicated (or separate dynamics) – use two lines (vocal line on bottom).

    2.8 Multiphonics
    Good for students – there are a whole bunch of “beginner” ones that are not too difficult. I’d check with a real flutist for these, or maybe you know them already. Otherwise, follow Carin’s chart with regards to stability and dynamics, but take away a few degrees of stability and mentally take the dynamic notch down too – an inexperienced player may not have as much success as notated in the chart. Also take care of the surrounding dynamics in an ensemble situation. The flutist has to be able to hear his/herself well enough to produce these sounds accurately. Also since the student has to learn new fingerings, it is better to use them in slower passages.

    3.1 Pizzicato
    Good for students to learn. Beware that in an ensemble situation, the difference between a tongue pizz produced on the lips and a tongue pizz produced on the palate is negligable. Most students will be able to do one better than the other anyway. Therefore, in order for them to be heard, it’s good to give them freedom to do what they can produce most effectively.

    3.2 Key Clicks
    In an ensemble situation, these fall into the DON’T BOTHER category. I almost always have to end up adding a tongue or lip pizz to make them effective (this is a good combination anyway, more percussive). In ascending first octave passages, one lifts up keys instead of putting them down so there is no natural percussive effect. You can hit an auxilliary key – but in a rapid passage this is awkward.

    3.3 Tongue Ram
    Ok for students. Give them lots of time to set up, although once set up, you can write fast passages. See comments to Jet Whistle 2.5

    4. Vibratos
    All ok – beware the different kinds can be very subtle – you may not hear the differences between them (for example, normal heavy vibrato and smorzato) if there’s other stuff going on.

    5. Air sounds
    OK for students. Although it seems like an airy sound would be the easiest thing in the world to produce, it takes time to control a mix of sound and air that will project. Not all young players can do loud air sounds immediately.

    Also, please note the following since I don’t think Carin makes the distinction:
    Be sure to specify if you want these sounds:

    * produced in playing position (so the air goes across the flute and produces a pitch that corresponds with the fingers), or
    * produced inside the flute: i.e., if you want the flutist to cover the embouchure hole and produce a kind of unpitched “white noise”. Here the pitch will not *necessarily* correspond with the fingers. However, if you change fingerings, you will get color and vague pitch changes. This technique is also effective when changing vowel sounds in the mouth.

    In an ensemble situation, please avoid the notational use of empty note heads, especially if rhythm is important. This makes it difficult to distinguish quarter notes from half notes.

    6. Circular breathing
    It takes a long time to master – would avoid in a student piece unless the student is already learning it.

    7. Trills
    all Ok, I’d just follow what Carin says.

    8. Glissandi
    Beware with embouchure glissando: the lowest notes have less flexibility. You can get better results from about E1 and upwards.
    Otherwise, follow Carin’s guidelines.

    9. Microtonality
    OK – rapid passages will take lots of time to learn though.

  • Bass Flute ins and outs – for composers

    Here’s some collected advice on how to compose for the bass flute.

    Please realize that the bass flute is not a true bass instrument. It won’t honk unless you amplify it or use its third octave. Both can be very effective, but I often wonder why composers don’t take advantage of the beautiful acoustic sound of the instrument’s first octave more often. What it lacks in carrying power, it makes up for in soulfulness.

    When composing extended techniques – some are very effective! All the percussive tricks like tongue or lip pizzicati and tongue rams work very well in the first octave. Be aware though that they too can get lost in an ensemble situation, especially if you have percussion or bass clarinet also doing slaps. It’s difficult to match the dynamic impact of a good bass clarinetist doing slaps.

    Key clicks – as with the C flute – fall under my category of “why bother” techniques. I almost always find I need to supplement the key sound with a tongue or lip pizz. They can be effective though if not much else is going on. And please (this is almost a no-brainer, but I have to repeat it all the time) when you write a fast passage, bear in mind that you’ll only get key noises on the notes that require you to ADD a finger. Logically, descending passages work better than ascending.

    Multiphonics work on the bass flute – fingering charts can be found in Carin Levine’s book The Techniques of Flute Playing vol. 2. Basically, you can use most C-flute multiphonics that don’t require half-holes. Again, though, there are acoustical considerations. Quiet dynamics, please! with the exception of high overblown harmonics. Multiphonics can be tricky on the bass flute, so don’t be disapointed with an airy, unstable result. If that’s the effect you wish to create – all the better! To seek a stable, dynamically viable multiphonic, work with the individual player. Each player will have his/her own set of multiphonics which come easier.
    It’s less of an issue nowadays, but beware that some cheap instruments are still being made without trill keys – so multiphonics using trill keys will not work on them.

    Whistle tones work well but are difficult to control. Sweeping through the overtone spectrum on a fingered low note can be effective. Again – as you all probably know – this is easier for the player when it’s just an atmospheric effect. Longer notes please! Or if they need to be short, it’s best to have a free or undefined rhythm as the response time may vary.

    Air/aeolian sounds. This is a great, if perhaps overdone, effect on the bass flute. Toshio Hosokawa uses it often in his ensemble works to good effect. Beware though that young or inexperienced players will need some time to develop when it comes to producing louder dynamics.

    Click here for frequently asked questions.

    Click here for more information through Carla Reese’s excellent website.

    Click here for repertoire for bass flute (add filter “solo bass”)

  • Early Summer

    Hey Folks,
    it’s been awhile, but now that I have re-couped from early summer projects it’s time for a retrospective.

    June 18th was a busy day. In preparation for an article for Pan, I visited the Hochschule here in Cologne. What a creepy place! Lovely naked concrete 80’s architecture. Anyway, that aside, had a very interesting 3 hours with Prof. Robert Winn and his students. He gave many salient points that I will need to sift through before airing them to the British flute-loving public. And sorry, I’m not at liberty to give anything away before publication!

    Later that day I pedaled over to Cologne’s Loft – which as some of you may know is the venue for improvised music. God Bless Hans-Martin Müller for founding it!

    My duo partner Alexei Lapin (Lyosha) from St. Petersburg had just arrived and we were ready for his German debut. For the concert I rounded
    up Melvyn Poore, tuba –

    Matthias Schubert, sax
    –

    and at the last minute Roger Turner, drums.

    I got roped into playing as well for the second set. We had a small audience, but all in all it wasn’t bad. There were also some good moments. And if we get the recording mastered well, we just might be able to put it out on CD.

    June 20 I arranged for Llyosha to do a jam/recording session at the musikFabrik with Frank Gratkowski sax/clarinet and Sebastian Gramss bass. I think those guys played very well together, and I learned a lot.

    June 26-27 I headed up to Hannover to record at the EMI Emil Berliner Studios. Jüri Reinvere had arranged for us to record his Requiem for flute, 4 male voices and female voice-over. We met the singers who flew straight in from Tallinn to the rehearsal. I was treated with a flood of Estonian words, and temporarily even learned to count in Estonian. It’s all long-gone the way all my short-term learning goes.

    June 29 I went north again, this time to Münster to do the German premiere of this Requiem. This was shown with film footage of Estonia from before the wars. We played in the Apostelkirche, quite nice but with acoustics too-churchy for this piece. It went OK, but the audience (a bigger turnout than I expected) response was underwhelming. Too bad, I like this piece. One we got the notation sorted out (subject for another blog entry) it went very fine – excellent writing for flute. The combination with male voices is very soulful.

    July 2-3 was busy with rehearsals for Royaumont with musikFabrik. Also with film. Very tricky stuff that needs to be coordinated with click-track. These are all new works by Michael Jarrell, Martin Matalon and Paul Cendo. Am looking forward to August in Royamount with lovely food and the beautiful Cistercian chapel where we will play. These Cistercian cathedrals and churches are my absolute favorite, no peeing putties or horrible bleeding cross paintings, just light, light, more light and beautiful stonework.

    July 5 was my solo concert which took place in an absolute sauna of light, speaking of…..
    After the first two works it didn’t go too badly. The concert got off to such a bad start – and I think I have the answer (also another blog subject). In short, I ignored my physical well-being again. On the whole, the turnout was better than I expected, the organizer was happy, and the whole thing will be available for purchase/download in the Fall. More on that later.

    Now coming up:
    July 15 in St. Petersburg at the GEZ with Llosha and Nikolai Rubanov, sax. I’ve been humbled though and am a bit shy now of this improv stuff. I’ve heard so many really good people recently that I’m inspired and ashamed (of my own piddling attempts) at the same time.

    Then it’s family time! There will be 2 sets of grandparents for my little boy to drool on. We are all looking forward to it. Maybe I’ll even have time to blog…..

  • Double Double Tongue

    Working on the Berio Sequenza, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to double tongue faster. Theoretically, I presume, one should be able to double tongue exactly twice as fast as one can single tongue. [1x ST = 2x DT] So if I can single tongue 16th notes at mm.=120, why can’t I double tongue 32nd notes at the same speed? It works sometimes, but only for a short burst of time.

    Here’s how I’m working to prolong it: practice double tonguing as fast as possible independent of the beat – not trying to fit two or for or however many on a certain note. It’s kind of like how you try to get vibrato to sound smooth, not sounding like 4 or 5 to a beat but just natural. Try it with the tongue!

    Take Taffanel/Gaubert e.j. no. 4
    I’ll play the ascending line slurred, then descending with double tonguing as fast as possible independent of the beat, but keeping the fingers in time. Usually I start with tempo mm.=100 then work up. Then I will switch, ascend with double tonguing, then descend legato.

    Going back and forth between fast articulation and legato gives a good rest for the tongue, and it’s a good way to focus on the tempo again. (For some reason, my brain can turn off when articulating fast!) When I feel confident, I will try articulating ascending and descending.

    One thing that helps: with the tongue moving so fast, it really does interfere with the airstream. Therefore, you really need a steady support from the abdominal muscles – it actually helps when keep them firm and moving in and up when exhaling.

    Berio uses this technique of double tonguing as fast as possible in his woodwind quintet, Ricoorrenze, as well, so learning this technique is  good preparation for his other works!

    Photo: Arthur Sassa/AFP-Getty Images File

  • Thought for the Day


    Here’s the caption in bigger letters:
    The planet is asleep and it’s the fault of musicians
    who are untrue to themselves. – Sun Ra