Helen Bledsoe, Flutist, Teacher, Performer, Composer, Writer

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  • Bite by Rebecca Saunders

    This is a cross-posting from Musikfabrik’s BLOG In Bite for solo bass flute, Rebecca Saunders attempts a special synthesis of speech and bass flute sound that I have not encountered in the repertoire so far. Unlike most works that use the voice and the flute, the voice is not relegated to a singing or narrating […]

    October 19, 2020
  • (Bore) Size Matters

    Several times this year I have had other flutists asking me about my bass flute and whether I was able to play easily in the upper 3rd and into the 4th octave. My Kingma bass flute has a mid-size bore (sorry, don’t know the exact specs) and is able to play up to high C […]

    October 17, 2020
  • Audition videos and tapes – presentation advice and warnings

    Here are some of my insights into presentation as someone who watches and listens to many auditions. Please feel free to add to this in the comments below. I won’t talk about equipment or software now, an internet search will provide lots of advice on this subject. Audio or Video? If given the choice, I […]

    March 23, 2020
  • Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire Mondfleck errata

    Here is quick reference list of errata in the flute part for those preparing for piccolo auditions or performance. The score and parts are available if you search IMSLP, and the manuscript can be found here. This movement is palindromic, but there are several inconsistencies which raise questions, and there are discrepancies between the part […]

    March 11, 2020
  • Our Mythical Past

    Time to vent another pet peeve: “there are no great ____________ today”. Another take on the adage “kids these days….!” “The standard of flutists has declined. There are so many good flutists today, but none can compare to the giants of the past” is a statement I have actually heard in several contexts by flutists […]

    August 31, 2019
  • New Work for Piccolo (or any instrument) with Video Score

    Last April I had a chance play at the Flute Festival of Krakow’s Academy of Music, organized by the wonderful Wiesiek Suruło. There I premiered a piece of my own, and had the added bonus of sharing the stage with stellar flutists like Wiesiek, Anna Garzuly-Wahlgren and Sarah Louvion. I want to tell a little […]

    August 11, 2019
  • Too Many Flutists

    The phrases “there are too many flutists today”, and “conservatories are producing too many flutists for too few jobs” may be true in a certain respect, but they really sadden me. And piss me off, if I really admit. It has been hard to put my finger on exactly why, but when a friend posted […]

    May 19, 2019
  • Contemporary Music Pedagogy, and Benefits of Teaching Extended Techniques

    [This is an excerpt from a questionaire sent to me by Lorenzo Diaz for research purposes. The answers represent my opinions only.] Do you think conservatoires and schools of music really attach importance to contemporary music education? My short answer to your question is “not really” because I think a “Comtemporary Music Education” should require […]

    April 28, 2019
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Helen Bledsoe, Flutist, Teacher, Performer, Composer, Writer

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