Helen Bledsoe

Category: Advice for Composers

  • Style Guide for Composers

    If you are a composer looking for general-purpose layout advice, or a performer/group looking for a single page reference guide to give to the people who write for you, here is a document my colleagues and I at Musikfabrik have come up with. It is by no means exhaustive. One could read the 704-page Behind…

  • Extended Techniques for Flute – Notation Cheat-Sheet

    So here is my attempt to get a lot of information to you quickly and succinctly via Google spreadsheets. The photo quality is not so good, but this way I can make quick changes, and you are always viewing the latest version. This is not an exhaustive overview of all notation practices – it is…

  • Glissandi and Quarter Tones on the Lowest Notes

    I often get asked if (lipped) glissandi and quarter tones are possible on the lowest notes of the flute. Sure, I say, theoretically. Nine times out of ten, I regret this positive answer. Here are the notes in question: On these notes, glissandi and quarter tones are produced with the embouchure. There are no open…

  • Composing for Flute with Text or Vowel/Consonant Sounds

    Here is a tutorial for composers interested in specifying consonant articulations (p, b, k) and vowel colorations (o, a, i) for flute. Or for those who are interested in combining text with flute sounds. There are different contexts that can be applied. In the first few minutes I talk about phonemes and aeolian (air) sounds.…

  • Multiphonics, yes or no. A Flowchart

    Well, it’s more of a labyrinth than a flow chart, but here it is. This is specifically geared towards ensemble writing. Here’s a link to the file as a PDF: Multiphonic_flow(3)

  • Composing for Flute, advice and warnings

    Here is a running list of salient points from my separate blog entries together in one place. This is a work in progress, so any tips are welcome. For more advice on composing for flute, you can view all entries in the categories: Composing for Flute, or pet peeves. Range of the Flute and the Characteristics of…

  • Which extended techniques are harmful to flutes?

    During composer workshops, I am sometimes pleased to hear the question: “What are some techniques we should definitely not use because they may harm your instrument?” So I will keep a running list here. Slamming your hands onto the keywork. A snap of the finger for a key click is one thing (and not all…

  • Tempo, Where’s the Hurry?

    In my last entry, I made some sarcastic remarks about the tempo in Berio’s Sequenza for flute being too fast. Now with genuine curiosity, I would like to probe composers’ psyche in the hopes that it will reveal why given tempi are often too fast. I will try not to make this a rant. Given…