Peter Lloyd
These notes are from a Masterclass at CU Boulder, on March 6th, 2005.
Singing
- "It all comes from Singing"
- "It is important to sing since the flute is a voice"
- Play a line on the flute and then sing it.
- You can sing with different colors and different styles. It is the same on the flute.
- Get the song inside you before you start.
- Listen to Singers
Tone
- Use the French sound: "Tu"
- Keep your head up!
- Breathing: fill up back, then your lungs
- Never blow down
- "Never use vibrato when you are not playing something musical"
- The first part of a yawn opens up the throat. When playing soft stuff keep your throat. open.
- Never hold sound back
- "Keep pushing the air"
- Don't drop down for the low notes
- Don't harden the sound
- When you breath, make sure you don't loose the line.
- Ad you continue a passage you have to push a little more. If you don't there will be space between the notes.
- "Using Vibrato all the time brings the sun out...and it isn't sunny all the time."
Stand
- Should be a flute lengths from your body
- Try putting it to the left and down a little.
Nervousness
- Tension in the sides, and it hurst the air; so you worry about the lips and arms.
- Before you play, for 6 minuets sit down and relax the lower bottom area.
- Try to think about relaxing instead of thinking about the performance.
- The more you think, the more you tense up.
Baroque Music
- p means dolce
- f means warm and light
- hold out the longer notes before the trills
- lengthen accented notes to create bounce
- Avoid Tongue 2, Slur 2.
- "Don't have any dirty slurs"
Alternate Fingerings
- "You can use any fingering you like as long as it sounds right."
- Middle Eb, Hold down L1 and slide R2 so you are pressing down the key and half way pressing down D.
- High F#, Don't use R3 it is sharp and hollow. Use R2, but just put your finger on the ring, don't cover the hole.