Category: extended techniques

  • Small-Interval Multiphonics

    On the occasion of the publication of my article on Kazuo Fukushima’s Shun-San in Flute Talk May/June 2010 and Robert Dick’s upcoming masterclass in Bremen (July 6, 2010), I’d like to elucidate some ideas about multiphonics. Working on Shun-San got me thinking about small-interval multiphonics (those with an interval of an augmented second or less).…

  • Tips for composing and notating aeolian (air) sounds

    Here are some tips on the use of air or aeolian sounds: Be sure to specify if you want these sounds: A. produced in playing position, so the air goes across the flute and produces a pitch that corresponds with the fingers (pitched air / aeolian sound), or B. produced inside the flute: i.e., if…

  • Extended Techniques: Benefits, Applications and Tips

    I’d like to open with some inspiring words by Sax player Jack Wright In the early decades of free improv, when new techniques were the mark of a fresh approach to traditional instruments, they were often considered the new standard to be displayed. But at this point I find players using a more integrated technique,…

  • Extended Techniques, Blessing or Abomination?

    I am astonished by the occasional vitriol I encounter from some prominent flutists when it comes to extended techniques such as multiphonics, circular breathing and so on. They chant the same nonsense: “bad for your embouchure”, “waste of time”, “don’t be one of those players”. After over 20 years of experience with these techniques as…

  • 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…

  • Robert Dick, 22 March 2009

    Left to right: Charlotte, Johanna, Nozomi, Robert, Wan, Kanae Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending, albeit briefly, Robert’s masterclass in Wuppertal, Germany. It was great to see him! The last time I saw him, he was walking out on a concert I gave at the BAM in New York! Not because of me…