Many people have written to me over the years for advice about Renaissance flutes, both instruments and repertoire. Kate Clark and I have co-authored an entire book addressing everything related to the Renaissance flute, and I am delighted to announce that “The Renaissance Flute: A … Continue readingAdvice for Renaissance Flute Beginners
When you are deciding which traverso to buy, you should first consider what music you are most interested in playing with it. For an all-around Baroque flute for music composed before about 1750, including music by composers like Telemann, Bach, and Handel, I recommend trying copies of an original, pre-1750 German, English, Belgian, or Dutch instrument. … Continue readingAdvice for Traverso Beginners
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 If a picture is worth 1000 words, then here are 6000 about today’s class: ______ ___ ___
I interrupt the chronological flow of my flute-building project in order to show you some tools of the trade. I was going to just pull flashy, high-resolution images off the web until my husband pointed out that I’d be violating copyrights, so here are photos … Continue readingTools of the Trade
February 23 and March 2, 2009 (I have combined these two lessons into one post because I was doing basically the same thing in each class.) Now that the flute is complete with cork and holes, I have started the finer adjustments. This part of … Continue readingOn making an instrument *7
February 18, 2009 My flute has holes! And, as a friend said, “Wow, look, it has bling!” Rewind a couple of hours: Today was a very fun class for me. Drilling the holes on the milling machine was actually very easy, and it is somehow … Continue readingOn making an instrument *6
February 10, 2009 Oh, I have been cold and running late all day! It started out fine when I left home, but by the time I got to the Hague to teach, the weather was awful, with terrible wind blowing the rain everywhere! No need … Continue readingOn making an instrument *5
February 3, 2009 My third class has been much like my first. Since we are making my instrument in two parts just to be safe (in case the headjoint is great but I mess up the finger holes), I had to turn more wood today … Continue readingOn making an instrument *4
January 26, 2009 Today will be my second day in this class. To prepare, I’ve gathered some information online I found about Renaissance flute measurements. I’ll also take along my Tardino tenor Renaissance flute, to practice making and converting measurements. Since it is my first … Continue readingOn making an instrument *3
January 25, 2009 Today I went to Paul’s own workshop in the Hague, where after tea he showed me the instruments he makes, and even gave me a little demonstration of these beautiful musettes. Afterwards we took my maple cylinder into the shop, attached it … Continue readingOn making an instrument *2