The Flute Blog
-
Five fabulous study books for flute
Need a practice re-set? Look no further than these imaginative studies guaranteed to get you thinking! Aleksey Igudesman: Magical Spells for Solo Flute These ten short pieces are really quite difficult and they are certainly different. There are some that require good tonal inflection, such as ‘Open Sesame!’ others like’ Izzy wizzy, lets get busy!’…
-
Five Great Books for Flute Players by Cecilia McDowall
Cecilia McDowall writes really imaginative music. Explore her styles in these wonderful books. Cecilia McDowall: Six Pastiches for Flute and Piano Clever, amusing and with unexpected twists, Six Pastiches is probably the best known of Cecilia’s books. Each movement is a caricatures of itself. Comic Song is in a minor key, the Hornpipe has the…
-
Five Beautiful Flute Books That Make Great Presents
Everyone loves new music and here’s our pick of the best surprise gifts for the flute player in your life. Guaranteed to please! Otto Schwartz: Poesia for Flute and Piano There is surely a place in everyone’s library for a book of beautiful music to play with a really good audio download and this lovely…
-
The Five Best Christmas Playalongs for Flute
Playalongs are great at Christmas as they make good presents and are fun to play. There’s something for everyone in this fabulous selection. Complilation: Play Happy Christmas for Flute and Piano This lovely book is pitched at just the right level for all those young players who started the flute in September. The most popular…
-
Five Great Works for Flute by Black Composers
Celebrate Black History Month by playing these special works by ground-breaking composers! Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Danse Negre for Flute Choir The opening of this sparkling work is instantly engaging with it’s swirling run-up and rhythmic energy. Sped along by a driving bass, articulated semiquaver passages and a catchy melody, this excellent arrangement holds the ensemble together…
-
Christmas Flute Choir Music Hidden Gems
There is now so much choice of Christmas music available for flute choirs that it’s difficult to know where to start. In this post I’ve selected some of my favourites which I can really recommend.
-
The Best Flute Tutor Books for Young Beginners
This blog was first written in September 2018 and has been updated for 2022. September is such an exciting time for flute teachers with new young beginners raring to go. Here are our top picks of the books to help them on their way. Kathryn Blocki: Flute Zoo Book 1 The Flute Zoo series of…
-
Five Great Play-Along Books for Flute
Play-along books are great fun, and these five fantastic books feature excellent arrangements and stunning backing tracks. Otto M Schwarz: Playing with the Orchestra, Vol 1 This great book will take you to the heart of the large orchestral whirlwind sound of film music. There’s a fantastic list of pieces and a full orchestral track,…
-
Top Five Books on Extended Technique
In need of a project? Try something completely new with our pick of these inspirational books. Rogier de Pijper: Flute Colors This is the definitive book on getting started with contemporary techniques. With something this exciting, it’s great to have a book that sets everything out in logical and easy to follow steps. This series…
-
NFA New Music Competition: Selection of Flute and Piano Winners
Enjoy these five astonishingly good pieces and expand your horizons. Stephane Vande Ginste: Sonata This Sonata is worth the cover price for the second movement alone which is a beautiful mix of enigmatic melody and jazz-like harmonies. The outer movements are good too, with an opening scherzando full of syncopated energy and angular phrases, and…