Preparations

As I prepare for my first recital on the Baroque flute (in two forms), I am learning about the complexities that go into making this program well worth the effort.  I remember from one of the earliest traverso lessons I had, my teacher and I both agreed that modern flute was a toy.  There are many great modern flute players out there who can make some of the greatest music, in my opinion, but they have it so easy when it comes to maintaining an instrument!  I mean, since everything is made of metal, the instrument isn't quite as susceptible to the weather as, say, a bassoon is.

A typical reedmaking scene

For those of you who don't know me, I am a modern bassoonist by training and by trade.  I enjoy the instrument above all others, even if it seems like I stray quite far away from it from time to time.  I can play all my ideas on it and understand it the most.  During my time in college and graduate school, one of the most recurrent things in my preparations was reedmaking.  This is a craft that casts a shadow over many double reed players of many different backgrounds.  It's also a craft that requires just as much, if not more, time and attention than actual practice.  A good musician can make any instrument sing, but a bad reed can make any musician cry.  After eight years or so of having to make my own reeds, I had gotten used to having to work extra hard at, basically, making my instrument that I still can't imagine playing another instrument without dedicating such time to a craft like that.

But, playing historical flutes has given me an opportunity to avoid that toil.  One of my best friends said that playing recorder is a relief from reedmaking.  Sure, it doesn't have the same range as the oboe or bassoon, and it doesn't have much of a dynamic range, but it is still an instrument that we can play without worrying about reeds every break.  And, even after pursuing recorder further than our ridiculous reading sessions (Mozart Oboe Concerto for recorder quartet, anyone?), I still find recorder to be a joy to play with its ease of access to the entire range of the instrument.  Perhaps something that has been a blessing is the fact that my recorder is finished with some wax in the bore, so I don't have to worry so much about the instrument being as temperamental with the climate, but I do still have to deal with the mouthpiece getting clogged.

Look at that high C!  Screech just for the fun of it!

Yes, that is the same drying rack I use for reeds.

What I found to be quite strange, at least in my experience playing wind instruments, is having to oil the bore.  In a lesson I had a few months ago with my current traverso teacher, I complained that I wasn't able to get a consistent tone out of the instrument.  Of course, I blamed myself for the issue, especially since I'm still quite new to the world of flute playing.  However, she asked, "Have you oiled the instrument lately?"  Then I remembered that the instructions that came with my traverso said to oil every six months or so.  It had been over six months since I had oiled the bore, so I decided to do that that night.  The next day, the instrument was playing wonderfully, and I became confident once again in my playing.

Learning recorder and traverso has been quite a journey for me, but I am loving every step of the way, and I hope to be able to impart that same joy with anybody willing to hear my playing.