This months issue: July

Taonga Puoro


Making and Playing Koauau - Brian Flintoff

Playing Koauau, here are some tips on learning to play these crossblown Maori Flutes.

1. Keep the finger holes covered as it is easier to begin with.
2. Set your lips and tongue for the lowest whistle you can make.
3. With the instrument at an angle to the lips and partially sealed against the outer side of the lips, move the k auau into that jet of air. (Basically you seal two-thirds of the mouthpiece against your lips and find the right angle to blow at, this is a bit to one side, just off straight ahead.) Once you find the right position for you, you will learn to go straight to this position and excitingly you will find this new skill works on many things, like bottles or even some sea shells.
4. When you have mastered the basic sound, practice varying the pitch by making slight movements of your tongue and lips. This will create the flowing sound of these taonga, remembering that traditional music moves in microtones.

These steps give the basic techniques, but there are many aspects of refinement and other blowing techniques which take years to understand and master. Sometimes the player follows the melody or hints at it and at other times adds ornamentation. Breath vibrato and vocalisation while playing, together with fingering techniques and tonguing will add greater dimensions to the sounds made. These refinements are beyond the written word's limitations so careful listening to recordings and taking lessons are needed to advance to this level. The DVD from Rattle Records which accompanies Te Hekenga a Rangi by Aroha, Hirini and Richard shows many of the instruments being played and it is a recommended resource for any student. Subscribe to read the full article

Performance Anxiety


Mind Over Music - Judi Bray-Ferguson
As a psychologist having worked in the field for twenty years, I have encountered many clients who suffer with varying degrees of anxiety which impacts upon the quality of their everyday life. Over the years I have approached working with these clients by giving them as much information as possible to help them make sense of their situation and to come to believe that they can "control" their symptoms rather than feeling controlled by them. Whilst aspects of anxiety have a biological component, many of the behaviours of how individuals deal with the symptoms are learned. What can be learned can also be relearned!

Flute Warm Ups - James Kortum
The warm up to my practice routine has always been an important start to my flute day. Like runners who stretch before a marathon, there would be plenty of benefit to the flautist having a selection of ‘stretches' before starting the daily practice session, rehearsal or performance. This warming up is when I investigate my flute playing - I may revisit a standard tone or technical exercise, use the time to break my playing down and explore how to execute a better diminuendo, or develop more lightness and speed to my double tonguing. It's the time to make mistakes and understand how to prevent them in performance. Subscribe to read the full article

From Alexa Still


From Alexa - Alexa Still
This issue includes a look at the wonderful flute playing going on in New Zealand's Taonga P oro and a really popular topic(!); Performance Anxiety.

Taonga Puoro represent our indigenous music, and being largely comprised of flutes, it is a fabulous area for us to explore. My own interest in this area was sparked by hearing Richard Nunns play a stunning, double-chambered Putorino (made by Brian Flintoff). I have never, ever, heard a more beautiful and haunting sound. Slowly, but surely, I'm getting closer to replicating that for myself. Along the way I have unexpectedly become much richer through meeting people and learning about things I had never dreamed of. Subscribe to read the full article

Other features & columns

More on our main topics plus:

Teaching notes - Helen M Colthart
Jim on jazz - Jim Langabeer
Irish flute - Brendyn Montgomery
Dear Cathrine - Cathrine Bowie
Piccolo notes - Nancy Luther Jara

Junior section
Recent CD releases
What's on in the world
Directory of flute societies

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email: mary@flutefocus.com