| FriendlyFlutes
Newsletter - November |
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Welcome {!firstname_fix},
to the FriendlyFlutes November Newsletter
If you have any
requests or suggestions for next months newsletter please do
not hesitate to contact us - newsletter@friendlyflutes.co.uk.
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-The
History of the Flute-
If
you thought the earliest known musical instrument played by
our ancient ancestors was the drum you'd be wrong...
 Aside
from the voice, flutes are in fact the earliest known
musical instruments. A number of flutes dating to about
40,000 to 35,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian
Alb region of Germany. These flutes demonstrate that a
developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period
of modern human presence in Europe.
The
very first flutes of prehistoric ages were made of animal
bones. Unfortunately it is not possible to reconstruct how
the found flutes were played. Nor can one be sure the
instruments were purposely built and often only parts of the
flutes were found. Traces of the presence of flutes can be
found throughout classical antiquity, from ancient Greece,
to India and China. However the earliest picture on which a
flute is clearly to be seen is an Etruscan relief from near
Perusa from the second or first century b. c. (probably
similar to the Etruscan example below) and later they were
frequently depicted on coins.
 Throughout
the millennium flutes have developed into a wide range of
types and out of a variety of materials, however the
modern flute as most people would recognize today is
actually a relatively recent creation thatstems largely from
the genius and creative talent of a German goldsmith -
Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) Boehm's Munich workshop was in
his own home and he worked with a painter, Greve to design
and build his flutes.
Boehm's
discoveries were quite revolutionary and the two new models
he created were almost completely novel - instead of wood he
used metal, the thickness of the tubes wall, the number,
dimension and arrangement of the holes even the mouth-hole
were modified by him. Despite critics at the time, the new
instrument finally gained acceptance when in 1860 Dorus got
the chair at the Paris conservatory and today the Boehm
flute had become accepted as the modern standard form.
Article
by James W., FriendlyFlutes.
Would
you like to write an article for the FriendlyFlutes
newsletter? Submit your articles, short or long, to
newsletter@friendlyflutes.co.uk
-Video
of the Month-
Check
out these two guys playing the theme from Mario!
The sheet music is available here -
take it to your teacher and see if you can play it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wZCoeq9Ppc
-Featured
Flautist of the Month-
Miranda Gunn
Miranda
is a Jazz flautist, and editor of the British Flute
Society Jazz Corner. She first picked up a flute at
age11, learning in school and college with Sarah Logan
and Joanne Kidman. Miranda's love of jazz flute came
from playing
gigs with her band Juggla Heroes from 2004 - 2006, it
gave her the chance to experiment with sounds and
gain a grasp of extended techniques and improvisation.
She
was also helped by the producer Ben Startup who gave
her the chance to play with House and Drum and Bass
music for the first time, leading to recordings with
the Tali Trow Collective in which she featured on two
albums. In 2009 she graduated from the University of
Leeds in Popular and World Musics, studying with
Jennifer George. Miranda has been a member of
University orchestras, pit bands, 21st century groups,
African drumming, Cuban music bands, and her own band
MindFunk. In the band MindFunk Miranda was the lead
singer, flautist and saxophonist gigging regularly
around the Leeds area and also featuring in University
recitals.
Miranda
is now developing a style of flute beatboxing mixed
with extended techniques, she would love to
collaborate with more DJs and producers to extend her
jazz flute style into Dubstep and to continue her work
with bands as a jazz flautist. She also teaches in
London, enjoys playing classical styles for fun and
has been asked to play at the Lewisham festival of
Guerrilla Gigs in November.
We
are delighted that Miranda has taken some time out
from her busy schedule to do a quick interview for
our FriendlyFlutes readership!
At
what age did you start to play the flute?
I got given a flute by my
Grandad at age 11, and my parents bought me a
teach yourself flute book. I sat in my room all
summer teaching myself until I got to the end of
the book.
What
did you find most difficult when you first started
to play?
Getting
a nice sound out, I could play the notes but the
sound was not quite what I was expecting from
listening to CDs!
When
did you know you wanted to be a professional
flautist?
Throughout
school I always knew I wanted music to be my job,
and through the support of all my
teachers I discovered that it could be possible. The
actual moment when I knew I could be a professinal
flautist was when I did my first solo with orchestra
in the Spring Concert at school - the feeling was
amazing when I played the last note!
What
was your first flute?
I
had a Yamaha 211, with a rusty lip piece. I sadly
sold it and wish I had kept it now!
Did
you practice every day when you were first starting?
No,
I was rubbish at making myself practice once I
started having lessons, I used to get away with it
for a while as I was good at sight reading. Although
as I got older and started more challenging pieces I
got into it more and practice became a part of my
normal life.
If
you could give the beginner flautist one piece of
advice what would it be?
Stick
with it, enjoy playing and try to make practice part
of your normal daily routine. Join a beginner group
to give you goals and have a few trial lessons with
different teachers so you find the right one
for you.
Were
grades important to you?
Yes
and no. I really wanted to get to grade 8, and then
once I got that I really wanted my diploma. When I
got it at 16 I thought, what next? I then discovered
that there was more to grades and started becoming
interested in genres away from the normal
repertoire.
What
is your favourite piece of music for the flute?
'The
Great Train Race' by Ian Clarke. It's fast paced,
exciting, includes extended techniques and always
goes down well at a concert.
What
types of music do you like listening to?
I
love old jazz music like Nature Boy, jazz house,
flute beatboxing, orchestral works from the romantic
period. Anything that's not heavy metal really!
What
has been your favourite performance/gig to date?
Playing for the Lewisham Arts
Service as part of their Sampler Music Festival. I
did two gigs, one in Deptford market as a busker,
and one in Jam Circus in Brockley. Both were as my
new act 'Flauticious', a mixture of flute beatboxing,
classical and jazz pieces, and improvisation.
Thanks Miranda!
Click on the video
below to see Miranda performing!
-This
Month's Flute Highlights-
Below
is a selection of flute concerts from around the
country this month. Inspire or be inspired by
professional flautists! Have you been to a concert
recently? Send us a review and we will publish it in
next months newsletter!
- 23/12/10
Winter Prom- to support the Tait Modern Trust - a
programme to charm your ears and please your
senses. Agatha Yin (flute), St Paul's Curch,
Knightsbridge, London.
- 26/11/10
The Queen's Concert - baroque chamber ensemble,
performing music for various combinations of
voice, flute, viola and harpsichord. The Chapel,
Ardingly College, Ardingly.
- 27/11/10
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Soloists - Music from
Debussy, Mozart. Ravel, Roussel - Emma McDonough
(flute). Beaconsfield High School, Beaconsfield.
- 27/11/10
The Westgate Trio - guitar, violin and flute.
Music from Webber, Carulli and Rossini. Bognor
Regis Music Club, Bognor Regis.
- 02/12/10
English Chamber Orchestra - Prague (A London
Premiere), Ana De La Vega (flute). Music from
Mozart,Dvorak and Myslivecek. Cadogan Hall, London
Click the image to see James Gallway
performing
Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky Korsakov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI3wIHFQkAk&playnext=1&list=PLBB68BFCFC14A81C8&index=3
- 02/12/10
VSO Christmas Concert by Candlelight - well-known
carols for choir, audience and organ, Ileana
Ruheman (flute). St Martin-in-the-fields, London.
- 04/12/10
Bach Festival Concert - Spectacular concert of
Advent music - St Peter's Singers of Leeds,
Michael Short (flute). The Venue, Leeds College of
Music, Leeds.
- 11/12/10
High Peak Orchestra Winter Concert - proceeds to
'Music for Hospital' - Kirsty Hetherinton (flute).
Town Hall, New Mills, Derbyshire.
- 15/12/10
London Taxidrivers Fund for Underprivileged
Children - Gala Christmas Concert. Emma Hainen
(flute - finalist 2010 BBC Young Musician of the
Year). St John's, Smith Square, London.
- 18/12/10
Ian Anderson plays Christmas Jethro Tull. Rock
legend Ian Anderson with support from friends,
Canterbury Cathedral, Kent.
- 20/12/10
Soloists of the London Philharmonic Orchestra -
Flute, viola and harp. Music from Debussy,
Williams and Puccini. Wigmore Hall, London.
*For
further information on these events please "google"
them*
-Caption
Competition-
Can
you think of a caption for these musical mice?
Entries will judged on humour and originality and
should be sent to caption@friendlyflutes.co.uk by
20th December. The three best captions will be
published in next months newsletter, and the winner
will receive a musical gift!
We
had a go here at FriendlyFlutes HQ, and the best we
could come up with is:
'London
Philharmonic criticised for squeaky performance'
Mice work, James!
-November
Playlist-
If
you can't make it to any concerts this month, you
can still be inspired by listening to some of the
great flautists at home. This months playlist
contains three classical and three contemporary
pieces featuring the flute.
- Bouree
- Jethro Tull
- Lamento
- Ronda Winter, Amanda Friedhoff
- Latin
flute - Deodato
- Flute
Concerto in D: III Allegroassai - Haydn
- Suite
pour orchestre en si mineur avec flute - Bach
- Mogwai
Fear Satan - Mogwai
***Listen
now using spotify***
Click
here to
load the FriendlyFlutes Newsletter playlist onto
your spotify!
-Just for
fun...-
How
do you know there's a flute player at your
door?
You
don't. They can't find the right key and
don't know when to come in.
Two
musicians are walking down the street, and
one says to the other, "Who was that
piccolo I saw you with last night?"
The other replies, "That was no
piccolo, that was my fife."
A
young child says to his mother, "Mum,
when I grow up I think I'd like to be a
musician." She replies, "Well
honey, you know you can't do both."
Do
you have any jokes or funny stories you
would like to put in next months
newsletter?
Get in touch justforfun@friendlyflutes.co.uk
Try
our musical word search, how many of the 14
musical terms can you find below?
T O C O D C D P Q P E A T E D
J H X L H K R Q T I C C E T X
A F L O Z U G M O C A S N U V
Q H P S P S V S E C J S I L B
Q I A B C S I L P O G W R F V
N L Y M J I E B V L Y B A C H
B N J Q A R M I A O Y Q L R J
I Z E E A Y Y A C R D T C X O
H S T N F Z D L N O O R A T X
T O D G W L E N Z Y G Q A G M
U O C R O T C H E T D C U I R
L A C I S S A L C Y C E N E M
T R E V L I S X D A D I L C A
K Y V J D V E L T S M Y N U V
K E Z D A N K S T X F Q G C U
| Accelerando |
Dynamics |
| Bach |
Flute |
| Baroque |
Minim |
| Chopin |
Piccolo |
| Clarinet |
Silver |
| Classical |
Staccato |
| Crotchet |
Yamaha |
Musical
Quiz!
The
first person to email us with the correct
answers to these questions will win a packet of
chocolate pianos! Teachers, parents or pupils,
email your answers to quiz@friendlyflutes.co.uk
1. What is Haydn's first name?
2. Who composed the Moonlight
Sonata?
3. What is the term used to describe playing in
a smooth and connected style?
4. Define the term 'Rubato'.
-FriendlyFlutes
Community-
Join
our FriendlyFlutes
Forum! Help make it the first
online community dedicated to flutes and
clarinets in the UK, a place where musicians and
their loved ones can share tips and ideas. It is
also a great place to ask questions and get
advice. Both adults and children are
welcome on the forum, which requires a quick,
free registration. The forum is fully moderated
by ourselves to provide a fun and safe
environment.
FriendlyFlutes
are also on facebook! Become a fan of us and
keep up to date with the latest news and
concerts.
And
follow us on twitter...
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