Information for composers


General information for composers who would like to send me their pieces
Some common mistakes to avoid
Writing for flute and voice or alto flute and voice
Some caveats when composing with extended techniques in an ensemble situation
Some tips on the use of air or aeolian sounds
General thoughts about notation

Generally what interests me most are works that make extended use of the flute. What interests me just as much or more is working directly with a composer on the realisation of a piece, regardless of its style. If you have a flute piece already composed and want to send it to me in hopes that I may program it on one of my solo concerts, that chance will be slim. Practically all of my solo appearances are collaborations with the local organizers/composers and preferably include new works written for me and the occasion, ideally in conjunction with a workshop or lecture for composers or flutists. This, for me, is the most artistically satisfying activity.

Some common mistakes are:

When writing for the flute and voice there are several things to take into consideration.

The first may be: where to notate the voice line?
For solo pieces: if you have an extended or complicated voice line it is customary and practical to use a separate staff below that of the flute line. On the other hand, for short simple passages, I prefer to have the voice pitches on the same line as the flute.

In the context of an ensemble piece, I would use the same guidelines as above, and please be sure to notate the voice line below the flute. As a general rule, it is best to leave free space above the staff for an ensemble player to mark in beats, que notes, or remarks from the conductor.

Another consideration is the distortion produced by the simultaneous use of the voice and flute. The use of the voice (as most of you know, I am sure) in conjunction with the flute greatly distorts not only the flute sound, but the voice line and any text that you may want to set. Because of this distortion, getting a true polyphony going can also be tricky if you have a complicated passage. In this case, if you want true polyphony, use two instruments. I prefer the use of the voice and flute as a coloristic element, rather than using it as an attempt to create polyphony.

If you want to set text that is understandable to the audience, it is not advisable to ask the flutist to play at the same time as speaking. A better technique would be to have the flutist speak or sing the words using the resonance of the flute only. Beware of text with nasal vowels, these produce no resonance on the flute.

Speaking or singing directly into the flute (with the embouchure hole completely closed) is another option. This of course produces a muffled effect; however, rapid key action will interrupt the muffling and create an acoustic "panning". This effect can be heard at the beginning of George Crumb's Voice of the Whale

Some examples of the most effective uses of flute and voice are Noa Noa by Kaija Saariaho for flute and live electronics, and Toru Takemitsu's Voice .

When using a vocal line with the alto flute, there is the option of transposing the vocal line or writing it at pitch. Personally, I prefer having the voice line transposed with the alto flute. Since I have only a relative sense of pitch, it makes sense for me to have the voice always referring to the alto flute pitch; although, if the flutist for whom you are writing has a strong sense of perfect pitch, it would be better to write the voice part at pitch.

When composing for flute with extended techniques in an ensemble situation, please be aware that the following techniques deserve special attention:

In order for these effects to be, well, effective - two things need to be recognized:

  1. the environment has to be quiet enough for these very subtle sounds to be heard
  2. in order for a flutist to produce these sounds, the environment has to be quiet enough for the flutist to hear him/herself

This second point is very often overlooked, but I cannot stress the importance of it enough. Without aural feedback, the oral cavity and the lips are like a rudderless boat in a stormy sea! These techniques require very subtle control, and are close to impossible to produce when you can't hear enough of yourself to know if you are making the correct shapes with the mouth and lips.

Here are some tips on the use of air or aeolian sounds:

Be sure to specify if you want these sounds:

A. produced in playing position (so the air goes across the flute and produces a pitch that corresponds with the fingers), or
B. produced inside the flute: i.e., if you want the flutist to cover the embouchure hole and produce a kind of unpitched "white noise".

Sometimes I am asked to produce type "A" with the specification "no discernable pitch". This is nonsense: if a flutist blows across the flute they will always produce some sort of pitch. Even with no fingers down, you will get something in the neighborhood of C#. If you want unpitched noise, ask to flutist to blow into or inside the flute (cover the embouchure hole). In this position, the flutist can produce a range of unpitched sounds from bright (higher sounding white noise) to dark (lower sounding white noise) by changing the position of the tongue.

This leads to my next point: the use of different vowel sounds for color effects. This is most effective with the embouchure hole covered (type "B"). A good example is Hans Zender's Lo-Shu I. Vowel sounds are much less marked in normal playing position (type "A"), so be sure to take care in ensemble situations.

Some general thoughts about notation:

I hate to say this as someone who regards herself as supporting innovation, but I will say it anyway. When it comes to notation, please resist the temptation to be creative or innovative. The interpreter of your work has enough to do - and learning a different rhythmical, dynanmic, or pitch notation will make the work of the player 100 times more difficult.

For flute sounds, there are several books that serve as excellent references for notation: The Techniques of Flute Playing by Carin Levine and Present Day Flutes by Pierre-Yves Artaud.

If you are really want to be creative with notation, why not go all the way and create a graphic score?

There are several notational traditions from the Artaud and Levine books concerning the notation of "aeolian" or "air" sounds which I would like to ask composers to avoid. When composing these sounds especially in a situation where rhythm is crucial (especially in an ensemble situation) please avoid the notation that uses empty note-heads:
This notation makes the distinction between a quarter note and a half note difficult. When a player is reading, this can be very annoying. It's good to have a different note shape, but be sure to fill in the notehead in when needed so the player can read the rhythms easily:
An easy way to indicate a gradual change from normal sound to air is by using text with a dotted line:
or simply with a filled circle connected to an open circle by a dotted line:

There is another compositional tradition which I would like to ask composers to please avoid, especially when writing for wind players. This is using a comma (which looks to a wind player like a breath mark) at the end of a note to indicate that the player should maintain the intensity of the dynamic and end the note abruptly, without tapering:

A wind player's instinct on seeing this mark is to make a quick inhalation - not the effect desired. A preferable solution would be to make a stylistic indication at the beginning of the work, or to indicate the dynamic graphically: