Category: Density 21.5

“If you ask the questions, the answers will come.”

9/28/2016

We warmed up with whistle tones. It turns out Robert can play the entire range of the flute in whistle tones. #nobigdeal #goals. There is a section in his book Tone Development Through Extended Techniques to aid in this for us mere mortals. Strengthening the lip muscles can only help with traditional playing, and this is one great way to do that. There’s also a crazy thing that can happen in the whistle-tone universe where the air in your mouth is amplified, rather than the air in the flute, resulting in a single pitch unrelated to the fingerings on the flute. That, my friends, is insane.

Robert also played a gamelan inspired piece for us. There are some fingerings on the flute that allow for a sustained low note while microtonal pitches change above it, which works out perfectly for a gamelan feel. The structure was chorus, verse, chorus, verse (and so on) with the verses being improvisations. Getting to hear Robert play this piece, which has never been written down, was truly an experience.

There was quite a bit of talking in class, and about legitimate things. Like creativity. Robert stressed that if you’re musical, you’re creative, and we need to hear that as musicians and as students. I can’t capture the beauty of everything that was said. But it was really nice to hear. This went along with identifying our personal dreams and goals for our flute playing. Figuring out what you want to do and then sticking with it for ten years was his suggestion. Robert’s ten-year goal was mastering multiphonics.

We also talked quite a bit about the body and its importance. You need your body to be in good shape in order to be a good musician. That’s just how it is. And of course, having a strong core is ideal. One way to pinpoint your weak spots is to play a long tone on a note of your choice…while doing crunches. Your body is also important in your musical involvement of a piece; your mind and heart are key when playing and learning music, and your body is as well, especially considering that your mind and heart reside in your body. This can work well for practicing too. For example, when we were working with Density 21.5, Robert suggested dancing to the piece to get physically involved with the music. He said once during practicing, he ended up laying on the floor with his feet in the air. Yet again, #goals.

Also when working on Density 21.5, we talked about establishing an image or narrative when working on and performing music. One suggestion for Density is to consider the music spatially in 3D, as if the sounds and textures are the result of distance from the performer or listener. Your own perspective in the musical story is also important and something I’ve never really considered before; generally I view any narrative I imagine as an observer, merely an outsider. I hadn’t thought about inserting myself into the story. I suppose that's something to explore.

Other things:
- Mention of Carlos Castenada’s book The Teachings of Don Juan occurred when we were discussing silencing the inner dialogue that happens while performing.
- Creative and emotional “long tones” are necessary for remaining healthy and musical.
- What you say with music is a direct reflection of who you are.

Until next time!

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“I can’t remember ever having a senior moment.”

9/14/2016

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The title of this post is a saying by Robert. He’s hilarious.

We started the second class by reviewing throat tuning and working on harmonics. There is a section in his book Tone Development Through Extended Techniques that focuses on exercises to build up harmonics. They really are a great tool in helping to focus one’s tone. In working with harmonics (and generally any interval larger than a major second), it’s important that the throat tuning leads the notes. This means that if you were to sing and play, the singing would practically glissando to the next pitch before you change the fingering or embouchure to play it. We continued working on harmonics practically while looking at the first of 30 Studies for Flute Op. 107 by Karg-Elert. To best learn music, play through using harmonics whenever possible, and always use the lowest harmonic. For example, in beat three of m. 1 of the first Karg-Elert, the notes are C, G, A, B, C. But the harmonic fingerings would be low C, C, D, B, C. Talk about a pinky work out.

Flying Lessons 1 (volume 1) also makes use of harmonics. In the first phrase, playing the harmonics without the tremolo is great for establishing the embouchure. And pay attention to the dynamics; the G harmonic can be difficult to place when played too loudly, but according to the dynamics Robert notated, by the time you get to that point in the phrase, the sound should be at a softer level. Thankfully, Robert’s extensive knowledge of the flute makes his writing very idiomatic. You can trust it! Another tip (straight from Robert) is to roll out for odd partials in the harmonic series. The last page of the etude is three “swells” of harmonics. Robert suggests changing the vowel shape in your mouth for the arches of the partials.

Also in Flying Lessons 1 are multiphonics. For these, using throat tuning for the weaker note is suggested. Robert was very kind when writing these multiphonics because he sets up the pitch of the weaker note via the note that is sounded directly proceeding the multiphonic. For example, on the second line, there is a tremolo on D, and the following multiphonic has a C as the lower pitch, followed by a multiphonic with B as the lowest pitch. This stepwise motion helps the flutist anticipate the throat tuning needed for the multiphonics.

Covered key clicks also appear in this piece. They are similar to tongue rams in that the sound heard in this instance is a major seventh below the fingered note. This is because the headjoint of the flute is not cylindrical. Huzzah for understanding the mechanics of your instrument! If you are interested in resources for Flying Lessons 1, Robert has made a DVD set to help you out. Buy one. And tell all your friends. Why would you not invest in this???

We also visited Density 21.5 again. Robert has a folder of sketches and publications of and about the piece through the years. It was fascinating to walk through the development of the piece in such a way. There is a great article written by Carol Baron about the connection between this piece and Debussy’s Syrinx and the use of material. The most well known is the pitch relationship of the first three notes of each piece; they are exactly the same, just in different keys.

We also briefly discussed my (current) favorite extended technique: difference tones. Difference tones occur because of how the difference of the sound waves reacts. A helpful visual is ripples in a pond; if you were to throw one pebble to the left and one to the right, they would both create their own set of ripples. Where those ripples meet in the middle and produce yet another set of ripples is the “difference.” To try this for yourself on flute, choose a note in the upper range (let’s say third octave D) and sing a D as well. While continuing to play, glissando your voice down; the resulting sound will be a frequency that glissandos UP. Seriously, how cool is that?? And it turns out difference tones plus multiphonics are even more rad. Go ahead and try some out. You won’t regret it.

Other ideas:
- Play to something living. Direct your sound and love and energy to a plant or a pet. Or even a figurine of an animal if no living thing is available.
- When preparing to play your first note, think and move in an upward motion.
- The sensation for vibrato is the same as when you engage the throat to sing.
- When deciding on fingerings for fourth octave notes, you can save your ears and rely on whisper tones to check the fingerings. Related to that…
- Please protect your hearing. Aka, visit an audiology clinic and invest in musician earplugs. You can then buy different strength inserts. Once you lose your hearing, you can’t get it back, so take care of it now.

Until next time!

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“A cricket died in Mongolia…”

9/9/2016

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Day 1 with Robert! We covered SO MUCH and it was all wonderful.

We spent the first half talking mostly about acoustics and singing. I think the book Robert suggested as a good source on acoustics if you don’t want to wade through calculus is Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics by Arthur Benade. While the air we blow through the flute is on a one-way mission out, sound is actually on a two-way street; there is primary resonance in our chest, throat, face, and flute. Notice that three of the four involve the body! (PSA: Eat well and exercise. Please.) This is part of what contributes to each person’s unique flute sound. One way we can help tap into those body-acoustics is through singing. A whole section of Robert’s book Tone Development Through Extended Techniques is about “throat tuning.” This is the term he dedicated to the practice of engaging your throat as if you were singing the notes that you play on the flute. There are different warm ups and methods to practice this, such as playing and singing simultaneously or creating a dialogue with yourself, alternating between singing and playing phrases. Building your singing chops alone is a great idea, too. My biggest take away from that? Go ahead and belt “Defying Gravity” while on the subway. Of course, straining the voice is not advised. So once your voice is tired, TAKE A BREAK. This is where he made the comment about some singers taking this to the extreme and saying, “Oh, a cricket died in Mongolia so I can’t sing today.” (Sorry vocalist friends…but it was hilarious.) If you’re interested in this idea of throat tuning, check out his book.

I had taken Density 21.5 by Edgard Varèse* to play in class. This is credited as one of the first pieces for flute to use an extended technique: the key click. [Basically, you finger a note and then use a different finger (typically the ring finger on your left hand) to click a key, resulting in a pitched “popping” sound.] The first comment Robert made was that musicians should listen to a lot of music, especially to better understand a composer’s style. So for Varèse, may I recommend Hyperprism and Poème électronique. (If you have a favorite piece by good ol’ Eddy, leave a link in the comments!) Robert then talked about the many revisions Density 21.5 went through before becoming the final version we know and love today. There’s apparently a theory that the famous key clicks were not in the earlier sketches, but that the flutist it was written for, Georges Barrère, was trying to get the sound out of his monster of a platinum flute (the density of platinum is 21.5, hence the title), and in attempting to help the low notes speak, he popped the keys…Varèse liked the sound and the rest is history. Robert also pointed out a nifty trick: engage your wrist for a more satisfying and projecting key click. Also, THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS FOR ALTERNATE FINGERINGS IN THIS PIECE. Because Density 21.5 is all about extremes, there are ways we can manipulate our air and the flute to help add to those edges. For example, there is a held third-octave E-natural in mm. 13 and 14 that is notated with a crescendo. Now, all flutists just cringed because they know that E is not exactly known for being, erm, the most beautiful or in-tune of notes. But! Let’s look at the context in which it appears. It’s the first note in that register we’ve encountered in the piece thus far. It’s also one of the loudest so far (marked with a crescendo from fortissimo). So I think it’s safe to say Varèse was hoping for some brightness in this moment. So let’s help that little note out! Instead of lifting the right pinky to lower the pitch (as I was doing before), why don’t we press down both the E-flat paddle AND the D-flat paddle with our right pinky? Try it, I dare you. Guess what happens? The overtone of the next octave E is waaaaaay clearer. So that’s going to contribute to a brighter sound. Mission accomplished. You can play around with the right hand pinky for a ton of notes, especially in the upper octave (since those are cross fingerings anyway). That’s my assignment this weekend.
*Related, contemporary flutist Claire Chase has a whole project based on Density 21.5. Check it out.

The thing that most blew my mind was when we briefly talked about flute multiphonics. As Robert put it, you will have these “eureka!” moments in life, which will then be followed by a great wash of humility when you realize whatever you just discovered was staring you in the face the whole time. So my moment like that was when we talked about how multiphonics are just fingering patterns on the flute. For example, look at the keys while fingering a third-octave D-natural (a fairly simple multiphonic of D6 and C5) and notice where the first open key is from the headjoint. (Note: An open key doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not pressing down a key. For example, the A-flat key becomes open when depressed.) Once you find the open key, count how many closed keys follow it. Once you know this pattern, you can take the pattern anywhere on the flute; it’s the equivalent to shifting on stringed instruments. The point of all this jargon is that you have the ability to figure out your own fingerings for multiphonics; you don’t need a diagram or fingering chart. How freeing is that???

Some of the other highlights from class:
- Play thumb B-flat all the time if you want. Your hand naturally sits there and it’s not “cheating” if it works and sounds exactly the same as one-and-one B-flat.
- Uvular flutter tonguing (versus forward, tip-of-the-tongue fluttering) is great because it can be combined with French tonguing (between the teeth) to still articulate the beginning of notes while fluttering. You can practice this by gargling and singing for about 30 seconds daily, slowly lessening the water needed, then taking out the singing, and then adding the flute to the mix. Eventually, you can even vary the speed of the flutter.
- We can change how we think about and approach certain notes. For example, D-flat is not the worst note ever on the flute; it is simply the most flexible note and allows for a wide array of color changes.
- Listen to a ton of music by a ton of composers. Just listen to more music in general. (And that doesn’t necessarily mean listen to more flutists.) And this pairs well with…
- Consider “practicing” to be anything you do that aids your music making. So listening counts. As does exercising. And talking with people, sharing ideas. And reading. I bet you’ve already practiced a bunch today based on this criteria!
- It is pretty widely accepted that our music is often based around the human heartbeat. Robert made the comment that if we had a different body, we would have different music. It made me think about this recording of crickets.

Until next time!

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“If you ask the questions, the answers will come.”

“I can’t remember ever having a senior moment.”

“A cricket died in Mongolia…”

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