Category: humor
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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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What is your Superpower?
Having a kid and playing modern board games where it is teamwork against the forces of chance or evil (not everyone for him/herself like in my day), it is easy to fall into this kind of thinking. Because these days, everyone is special, right? No one is supposed to get left behind. Everybody has their…
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Some Practice Ideas
A few thoughts after some days of intensive practice. My focus has been awareness of tension, since I have a few sore points on my hands due to an old injury. One concept from yoga has helped me. According to what I have learned, the arm structure is considered an open system, whereas the legs…
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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)
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The True Range of the C Flute
Back in the USSR, when information was really suppressed, many people were hungry for the truth. Now governments hide the truth from us under a deluge of information. I think composers suffer from this deluge, but it is not a government conspiracy. The true range of the concert C flute is a matter of public…
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Are intervals born of air or lips? Let the leopard decide.
On forums and in masterclasses there has been a lot of discussion about which element plays a more important role in producing intervals on the flute. Aside from the change of fingering, do we change more with the lips, with the air speed, or with air volume? Take the fingering element out of the equation…
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Should I Study Flute with Karl Marx?
The short answer is no. Dialectical materialism* has no place in the music room. The long answer is more complicated. I am no expert on the works of Marx, and realize I am using his image for exaggerated effect. My real argument is anti-materialist and I could have just as easily picked on the Bourgeoisie.…
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Newsflash for Teachers: Being an Asshole is Ineffective
Every time I pick up a science news magazine or book I end up smacking my head in disbelief that science goes to such lengths to prove what everybody else knows already. So being an Asshole is an ineffective approach to teaching. Really, a Nobel Prizewinning scientist said so! I read it in a random…