Try this. Get a tomato seed and place it in your hand. Few of you would ever say that you have a tomato plant in your hand. Now plant it in the ground. It is now covered in dirt and you have begun to water it. If you showed someone your tomato plant, many would still doubt that you have a tomato plant. As the tomato plant goes through different stages towards maturity, you may still find those who still doubt that you have a tomato plant.
As a beginning flutist, I was introduced to the Melodie de Gluck. I immediately fell in love with the piece and the flutist for his interpretation of the piece. The piece became an inspiration to practice diligently. At first I practiced the piece quite often. At times I would record myself playing it, but I was never satisfied with my interpretation of the piece. Time would march on and eventually I became intimately acquainted with the piece. Playing it became more than an interpretation. It became something that I could say–like speaking.
What I didn’t fully appreciate was the fact that a tomato plant is a tomato plant even if it hasn’t produced ripe tomatoes yet. It is perfect at every stage of development.
Click the video below to play along with this piano accompaniment. There are many place where you can get the sheet music free online. Click here for one example>
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About four years ago, I was playing for a few University of Connecticut functions, in venues like The Aqua Turf Club, in Plantsville, CT. This used to be a yearly gig for me. They would also book places like the Marriott, in Hartford, CT. Playing for these banquets was kind of tricky. Finding a good volume that would not be too loud, while maintaining that “live” feel was a challenge. Also, maintaining that “background music” volume meant that at times I was struggling to hear myself. This would at times become rather frustrating and a temptation to not accept any other receptions. My other challenge was finding appropriate music for the banquets. After playing strictly religious music for many years, mostly in Churches, I really didn’t have a proper collection of backing arrangements.
At first, I played most of the inspirational music that I had readily available, and it was well received; however, it somehow felt like the music was out of place. So slowly I started to make the arrangements that would become the Quicksand CD. The song that I’m posting below, The Mirror, is a bit of an accidental song. It was initially meant as backing music for a vocal track, but necessity called for it to be a flute solo. As usual I’m playing all of the instruments on this track, as I do on all of the tracks I record.
One of the first styles of music that any aspiring flutist should encounter and study is Baroque music. The Baroque music period takes place approximately from 1600 to 1750 A. D. In this period you will hear from favorite composers like Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Friderick Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach. Playing music from this period helps to establish good phrasing skills. The music will also expose you to the use of ornamentation and improvisation.