Flute Solo Music

Music and more for the flute

Aurora Borealis: A Trio of Solos for Flute or Piccolo

1/2013

PLEASE NOTE: TO ORDER MUSIC, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO FLUTESOLOMUSIC@GMAIL.COM  There is a problem with the link below. I am working on getting it fixed as quickly as possible! 

Piccolo and flute lovers, are you looking for something fresh and new? Do you like to have music that does not need an accompaniment to sound complete? If you answered yes to either question, then click here: “Aurora Borealis”

Collection or Sheet Music

Kaleidoscope $3.50

Floating Through the Sky $3.50

Pirouette $3.50

 “Aurora Borealis..” is three unique pieces of music written to showcase the unique character of a piccolo or flute, demonstrating the things that make them stand out among the woodwinds. Each piece can be played by itself, or play all three as a suite. There are no accompaniments, as part of the concept behind the music was to create something that would stand on its own without any other instrumentation.

The first piece, “Kaleidoscope” shows all the different colors that our instruments can create. It has ever-changing keys and meters so there is a sense of contant movement and change throughout the piece. This movement is all about the color and tone of the instrument. Play “Kaleidoscope” to impress and fascinate your listeners.

Next comes “Floating Through the Sky.”  I wrote it with the idea of the way a flute or piccolo floats out over all the other instruments in the orchestra. I see is gliding and soaring like a seagull riding the air currents over the ocean. The music soars and floats like a butterfly, a bird, or as the young soloist it was written for says: “a teddy bear with wings.” As you play your listeners will fly peacefully along with you.

Once you come back to earth, enter the world of rhythm and dance for “Pirouette.” This is a quick moving dance written in 8/8, following the patterns of dancers on a stage as they move according to the syncopation of eight-count patterns. It twists and turns and spins along. 

“Aurora Borealis: a trio of solos for piccolo or flute” is available as individual sheet music, or as a collection. I recommend the collection!

 

 

My Process as a Composer

I have started to write a new Flute Solo! I am always excited at the beginning of a project, and this one is no different from any other. The excitement is the same. There is inspiration, and there is just plain work. I seem to compose in bits and pieces, first rushing along as the music seems to fall into place; and then getting stuck and having to work very hard just to put a couple notes on the page.

This piece is developing in a new way, which I suppose, is why I felt compelled to write about it and share. Here’s a list of what is different from before:

  • It has a name already! “Butterfly Dreams” This is unusual because until now, the title has been suggested by the music, but this time it has a name at the beginning. So that means I am loooking for ways to suggest butterflies in musical terms.
  • The first inspirational melody was the longest I have ever set down at one time: 25 bars in 3/4 time.
  • It started with a bass line for the piano instead of a melody for the flute.
  • For the first time, I started the score on my iPad, using an app called “Notion”
  • After the first bit of inspiration, I sat down at the piano, and then put the treble line down all at once, too.
  • I have been studying music notation, and for the first time I recognize the chords I am using. This makes it a good deal easier, because I don’t need to sit at the piano and pick it out by ear.

What is not different is the way it is moving after the initial inspiration. I seem to rush forward, then drag along for a while before I rush forard again. Here are the things I have done so far:

  • I decided the initial 25 bars of teble line obscured the bass melody I began with. So those have been set aside, hopefully to pop up later in the work.
  • I moved the original bass line into the treble and then wrote a new bass line to go along with it.
  • Now I am adding the flute line, being careful not to lose my original melody.
  • The next step is to figure out whether the original melody line can be fit into the piece.
  • I am emotionally attached to every little phrase, and want to keep them all!

So here I am..50 bars of music, but I don’t know if it is two different pieces of music, or two parts of one piece. As often hits at this point, I have no idea what to do next. I have to just play what is here, listen to it being played by my computer and wait to see where it will go next.

Click here: “Butterfly Dreams” to visit my YouTube Channel and hear the work in progress – played by my trusty computer via Sibelius Music Notation

Update: 1/2013: I have abandoned this project for now. One thing I am learning as a composer: sometimes you want to set a project aside. You may or may not return to it in the future. For now, I have no plans to develop this work.

 

 


Recital in Two Weeks – or – How Long Does it Take?!

I have a recital in two weeks. A flute solo. I am prepared, finally. I started working on this piece of music eight long months ago!

EIGHT MONTHS!!!

Now maybe that isn’t surprising to more seasoned performers, but it’s pretty incredible to me. I remember how shocked I was when I finished my third recital and at my next lesson my teacher asked, “Now, what are you going to play next year?”

A YEAR? WILL IT TAKE AN ENTIRE YEAR? . . . . it did. Camille Saint-Saens, “Romance for Flute and Piano, Op. 37″ I never did get those quick runs up to speed…sigh…

The next year I chose “Valse Bleue” by Angela Morley. So pretty. It took so long to get the music that I “only” had eight months. . . still struggling with some quick runs at performance…sigh…and not up to tempo, either.

Last year was easier…I simply wrote my own piece to play. It’s here on the site: “Pirouette,” the third portion of my suite for unaccompanied flute or piccolo. Did I say easier? I STILL worked on it for months! But I didn’t mess up anything. Pretty cool.

This year is different. I’m prepared. Finally. There are 9 sets of 8-32nd notes that were my mountain to conquer. Of course, they have to be arpeggios, and they end on E and on F sharp…top of the flute range…two of the most difficult notes, at least as far as I am concerned! But I am ready. What a lovely feeling!

I wasn’t ready a month ago. Those arpeggios were ugly! Impossible! Hopeless! Then came the challenge from my teacher: “Do them 20 times a day–for 5 days. That’s 200 times.” 

Do the math: 9 times 8, plus a few extra notes (about 10) that set the arpeggios up, times 20…thats 1,640 notes…whew! First time I did it I was exhausted. Oh, and of course there’s warm up and playing through the rest of the piece, too. (8,200 over the 5 days)

It worked. Then all I needed to do was to relax.

So how long does it take? I don’t know. For me, this year…eight months.

Here’s the pay off though. I have my own video camera this year. So look for a video to be posted after the recital. I promise to get it posted by the end of November.

Oh, I didn’t tell you what I’m playing, did I? Check back next month to find out!

Or, if you happen to be in the L.A. area…Lake Avenue Church, Pasadena, Ortlund Hall, second floor, November 6, 4pm. You can see it live!

Preparing a Flute Solo: Are You Fighting Frustration?

Are you preparing a flute solo for a performance? Have you become frustrated? Do you feel like your tone has gone into the trash can, your technique out the window, and nothing seems to help? Are you discouraged and wondering if you’ll ever improve?

The first thing you want to explore is the source of your frustration. Mine is completely self-generated. I am motivated by performance. I want every performance to be perfect, and when I feel like I am not moving toward that goal, I get frustrated. It’s silly, I know, but that’s the way I work! Other people become frustrated because they are trying to meet the standards someone else has set for them.
 
No matter where your frustration comes from, it does not have to be an on-going part of playing an instrument!  Nevertheless, if you struggle with it like I do, and if you’ve answered yes to any of the opening questions, then this article is just for you! I am going to share some tips that help me, including one I just discovered today, which was my motivation to write this article.

Techniques to fight frustration:  
 
First apply your scale study techniques–

  • Before you start to play through your solo music, play the scale that matches your key. Play it from the tonic all the way up and down.
  • Next play it so that you cover the entire range that your music covers. For instance, if your music is in the key of D, and the highest note is a B, then start on low D, go all the way up to the highest B and back down to D.
  • Work your way up and down the scale, staying in the key.
  • Work your way up and down the scale, chromatically. ie: D to D, then D sharp to D sharp, now E to E, etc.
  • Now play it in arpeggios.

Now use your theory:

  • Go through the music and identify scale progressions in other keys, and practice them.
  • Break your music into short pieces, say 4-12 measures. Then practice ONLY one section a day. Use a metronome and focus on all aspects of that section, rhythm, dynamics, ornaments, finger patterns that trip you up.
  • Go through the piece backward. Start with the last 2 notes. Play them. Make sure they work well together. Then the last 3 notes, then the last 4, and so forth. In doing this you will identify little spots where something is a problem. The fun thing is that usually it will be a surprise where those problems are!

AND HERE’S THE ONE I DISCOVERED TODAY:

  • Ignore your solo piece for a day, and pick up music that you played as a solo a year or two ago. Play it through, just like you were sight reading. Listen to yourself. You should be very pleasantly surprised and able to see how much more skilled you are, how much easier it is. This is especially effective if it’s something that you had to work at, or had frustration with at the time.

 
That’s what I did. I played a piece of music from a performance a year ago. It’s not an especially hard piece of music. It wasn’t terribly hard before, it’s just a piece of music I enjoy playing. I didn’t expect anything to happen, and what a surprise!

wow, Wow, WOW!!

All of a sudden, my fingers flowed with ease.
My dynamics (always a struggle for me) were right on target.
I heard myself and the tone was lovely, full of the right expressions.
It was so much MORE in every way than the last time I performed it.
Best of all, I enjoyed playing it–no frustration, no struggle, just making pretty music.

So now I have a new tool for fighting frustration and discouragement: play something that I haven’t played in a while. When I do that, I re-discover the joy of making music. I see my own progress. Once I’ve done this, it is much, much easier to go back and work on the new piece because I know that one day I can come back to it and find it easy!

IN SUMMARY:

These are not all the techniques that exist to fight off frustration. I’m sure you have ones that work well for you. Write a comment and share your own favorite techniques!



 

The Time Has Come To Play A Flute Solo!

by Janet K Bordeaux

Welcome all flute music enthusiasts! You have come to the right place to find solo music for the flute that will delight your senses, thrill your fingers, move your listeners and please your teacher!

What is the first thing you do when your teacher asks you to plan for your next recital? If you are like me, you roll your eyes and groan. The first thought to come to your mind is “I don’t know what I want to play! Something not too hard, but that will sound impressive. A piece of music I can polish so that my listeners will enjoy coming to my recital. A solo that will impress the other flutists.

As you begin the process of finding just the right solo you probably first look at the music you already own. Sometimes your teacher may suggest a solo piece. At other times you need to go to the music store and browse. I have done all of theses things, and have discovered how hard it is to find the right flute solo which will challenge me, delight me, but not too much. I have spent money on music only to discover that it is too hard, or too easy, or boring, or it just doesn’t “speak” to me.

An important factor when you start to search for a flute solo is to make sure that you can at least get through the piece, even if you stumble. If the music is too hard, you will become discouraged. If it is to easy, then you will not build valuable skills and improve as a flutist.

Another importatnt considerations is that the flute solo music appeals to you. You must enjoy the melody and like the overall tone of the mood. The music must speak to you so that you can move your listeners to join you in the mood of the music.

Music for the flute is often filled with quick passages, tricky rhythms, trills and other frills. If there is too much, then it becomes busy and very difficult to execute well. If there isn’t enough, it becomes boring and dull. Once you are no longer a beginner it seems to be very difficult to find challenging pieces that are manageable.

The flute solo collections you will find here are designed to carry a chllenge. They are designed with the intermediate flutist in mind. FluteSoloMusic.com is the place to find unique compostitions that are less well known or newly written pieces. We are looking for composers to submit their works to us for distribution, or to link to our website.

Visit here often, as we will be adding more music and links to other sites. If you do not find solo music for the flute here that delights you, please contact us with your requests and suggestions.

Also check out my companion article on eZineArticles.com          As Featured On EzineArticles

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