Category: extended techniques
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Extended techniques: Do We Need a Pan-Woodwind View?
Since the 1967 publication of Bruno Bartolozzi’s New Sounds for Woodwind, there have been many books published for new sounds, or extended techniques, for the individual woodwind instruments. (Read here about some thoughts about the term “extended techniques”.) However, to my knowledge, since then there has been no book that addresses the emerging uses of…
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Flute Microtonality for Composers
Please understand that for all winds, we have to use special fingerings or lip adjustments for microtonal playing. This can make fast passages tricky, and not just twice as tricky, but I would even say to a factor between 5 and 10 times as hard. My first advice is to avoid fast passages, but there…
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Bisbigliando or Not?
Let’s do some logic: I assume the answer is “no” – at tempo = 60 this is not really rapid. Again my guess is “no”, neither the notation nor the tempo would qualify this as a tremolo. Again the logical conclusion is “no”. It does not fit the criteria for a tremolo or a trill.…
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Lumping and Splitting Part III
Subtitle: the Great Jet Whistle Lump (for an introduction to the topic of Lumping and Splitting, read Part I) “Airy Sound” is an indication that I come across very often. Although I use it myself in my own pieces, I am aware that it’s a whole kettle of lumped-together fish! For flutists, the main distinction…
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Lumping and Splitting Part II
(Read Part I for an intro to this topic.) Here are my opinions (at this point) about notating techniques for the flute: which techniques for the flute one can lump together (generalize), and which ones benefit from more differentiation. Percussive sounds in Ensemble/orchestral situations There are several places to put your tongue inside your mouth…
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Lumping Whistles and Splitting Pizzes (Part 1)
In the realm of notation of extended techniques, the phenomenon of Lumpers and Splitters is alive and well. First, a short explanation of this phenomenon, then I will give you my take on how lumpers and lumping seems to be the dominant force behind recent notation trends. In Part 2 I will discuss where I…
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Right or Wrong? Extended or Not?
Every community has its own lingo, subject to the winds of its own political climate. The community of Contemporary Western Art Music is no exception. #Flutists and flutist/composers form a micro-climate within this community, and we certainly like to make our voices heard. There has been a call from our corner to scorn the term…
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Multiphonics: Tips for Study
Actually, this is a “notes-to-self” entry disguised as “Tips”. There are good sources for learning and practicing multiphonics such as Robert Dick’s “Tone Development through Extended Techniques” (although I know the term “extended techniques” has gone out of fashion, but the practice in the book is solid). I also have a detailed presentation where I…