Tag: practice tips

  • “Can you play it in one breath?”

    “Can you play it in one breath?”

    Long phrases under pressure One of the most famous examples of a long phrase for flute players is the opening of Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un faune. This appears on almost all orchestra audition lists, and there is a common expectation to play this all in one breath. In performance, one can generally do what one wishes…

  • Benjamin Godard Waltz: Practice Tips

    Benjamin Godard Waltz: Practice Tips

    Here are my practice tips for the tricky, yet wonderfully joyful Waltz (Valse) by Godard, from his Suite de Trois Morceaux. Here’s a video of me demonstrating the exercises given below. Waltz character From the 1st bar, the character is exuberant and joyous. There are many examples of Waltzes in classical music. Some are more serene…