Flute Solo Music

“Musical Journeys” – I am pleased to announce that I have added a Youtube video of another of the songs in “Musical Journeys!” Each of the songs I produce into video goes a little faster as I become more proficient at creating the video. I’ve also learned to enhance the music a bit so it sounds a little less like the computer who is playing it. As I progress in skill, I’ll find a way to bring to you actual “human created” music. But for now, please click on “Springtime in Vienna” and listen, comment and enjoy!

I am pleased to announce that  my collection  of   Flute Solo Music, “Musical Journeys,” is now available for purchase! The collection consists of six solos and one duet, all with piano accompaniment.    

                                                          

All of the pieces are three to five minutes in length and each one has a story to it, here they are:

“Festival Dreams” was my first path along the trail that led to today. It began life as a piano piece. The music dropped into my head while at a Fall Festival with my church. I didn’t know if it was something I had heard before, or was an entirely new piece of music. I didn’t have access to a piano, so I jotted down the music in a notebook and when I got home a week later was surprised to see I had only put four lines for the staff! Amazingly, as I sat down to the piano, the melody again dropped into my mind, and I was able to set it down. It was a long time before I finished it–somehow it didn’t seem to go anywhere. I finally added an arpeggio and called it done. Years later, after I started playing the flute I ran across this little piece in my piano bench. I added a flute descant to go with it and so it appears at the beginning of this collection.

“On A Lovely Afternoon” also dropped into my mind one day. The roses were blooming in the rose garden, birds were singing in the trees, and next thing I knew I was at the piano jotting notes on paper. After a bit the song seemed to get lost, so I set it aside. I remembered one form of music from a long-ago college class: Rondo. I always liked the idea of a rondo, identified as A-B-A-C-A. So I wondered if maybe I could build this little melody into a full piece by using that form. After it was finished, I thought it would be fun to play it with a violin, and that’s how I started the treble line which eventually became the piano part. Still, I wonder how it would sound if I violin played that line? Or maybe an Oboe?

My next stop on this journey was ”Springtime in Vienna.” It started life with a different name, which I don’t remember anymore. Then one day a friend asked me if I had something I could share with her piano students so they could have the experience of being an accompanist. I showed this piece to her and she liked it, but there was a small problem. She had a theme for her students: each piece played was to have a country in the name. So I thought a bit, changed the name to “Springtime in Vienna,” with the plan of it being a temporary change. Then I decided the new name suited the piece so well, and decided to keep it. When I think of Vienna I think of happy music and friendly people.

This piece was the first one that I wrote while actually playing the flute. I was warming up, and next thing I knew I heard a happy melody, so started to write it down.

Now I decided I would like to write a song in 6/8 time. I love playing in 6/8! So I began “Kenellen: A Love Story.” As I was trying to come up with a melody a friend of mine told me about the fascinating lady he had just met. That was the trigger to start the music! I kept getting stuck, and it sat there a while. As my friend fell in love and eventually proposed the rest of the music came together. Along the way the 6/8 time got lost, although there is still a section in 3/8…

So now I had written four songs, each one beginning with a melody popping into my head. I decided to see if I could write something just because I wanted to. I asked my teacher to give me a time and key signature, and that was the beginning of “Gentle Breezes & Bird Song.” I had met a young lady who played harp, so I tried to write something she and I could play. Before it was done she had changed instruments, so I turned the harp line into a second flute, added the piano and there it was! I was quite fascinated with Pachebel’s “Canon in D” (who isn’t!?) so I copied the idea of making 8-bar phrases. I like the little trills of the birds in the first flute part! Oh, and don’t worry that you NEED another flutist to play this piece! This song can also be a solo, too–just leave out the second flute. It will still sound lovely!

The final two pieces, “Walking in the Sand” and “Crossroads,” came in fast succession. I hadn’t even finished the accompaniment to one when the other started to build itself in my mind. Each of these were written almost entirely on the flute, only using the piano to get the rhythms right.

It has been a lovely journey, this musical path. Along the way I have had a great deal of help and support, most of all from my friend and teacher,Stephanie Doell. Here are her comments about Musical Journeys:

“I highly recommend “Musical Journeys” for any flutist wanting to explore the beauty of their tone, the depth of their vibrato, and the richness of colors the flute is capable of producing.  With simple rhythms and a moderate range, this collection of 7 pieces is great for younger flutists developing their sense of musicality and their ability to hear phrasing in music, but it is also a fulfilling experience for the advanced flutist because of its lyrical melodies and array of textures.”

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