Re: flute vibrato

[AGREENBA <AGREENBA...>]

In a message dated 8/28/03 12:23:34 PM, sefirah (at) earthlink(dot)net writes:


> Ah!  Speaking of flutes, are there any listers here from the Los 
> Angeles area who'd be interested in taking on a flutist for your band?  
> I play, but never thought of incorporating it into a klezmer band!
> 
Actually, my daughter MAY start a student klezmer band at USC; she's a first 
year there and was in a student group at home. But needless to say, from this 
girl - moi - flutes ARE traditional instruments for klezmer bands so don't be 
shy. I'm fairly traditional in my approach as many know: wood flutes - 
conical, simple system, and Boehm - and you really need to be "careful" as to 
placing 
yourself "against" clarinet or brass leads, for starters. Anway, on to 
vibrato, a fairly complicated issue. First off, classically speaking, it 
"begins" at 
the diaphragm level, for wider and stronger puslations. The faster, shallower 
vibrato is closer to the throat with a "silent" coughing, but no noise really 
happening. If you understand that vibrato is a change in pitch - be it slight 
or great - then you work with flute like you would pushing the air stronger 
without adjusting for pitch, hence getting sharper, and then relaxing the air, 
hence getting flatter. This all happens, of course, very quickly. And now we 
can talk about whether the flutists who played solos so we could hear detail:   
Misters Anon., Kosch, and Chazzin. You will hear absolutely straight sounds 
and you will also hear VERY fast vibrato. NO slow, regular pulses. Not the 
goal, not the sound here. And now for the kicker, from someone who strongly 
believes that finger vibrato (call it battement, vibrati,), I believe that the 
tradition of finger vibrato, long since in use for a couple of centuries and 
existed and still does in other folk styles and baroque music as well, is very 
much 
a possibility. I began a little discussion of this either on this list or 
elsewhere (perhaps woodenflute list?) and I received mostly support from 
listers 
on other lists, not this one. Anyone wish to chime in? There are very clear 
examples in my ear of clarinetists choosing only certain notes to use finger 
vibrato (which makes sense because not all notes are possible, in fact, very 
few 
the more complicated the system of fingering beyond the Simple) and, although I 
should have kept notations, I would eventually be able to find tracks on CDs 
for examples - when I have the time....
But anyway, especially if this discussion hasn't taken place, I'd be 
interested to have votes "ferr"   or "agin"   
For me, I either do (very little....because I'm still learning simple 
system...) finger vibrato or 90% straight. It also means that vibrato is almost 
like 
an ornament rather than something that intrudes on the overall passion you 
express with your air streem. That's my 5 cents for now :-) Maybe I'll up it to 
a 
buck if listers would like more discussion :-)

Adrianne

_________________________________________________
Adrianne Greenbaum
Associate Professor of Flute, Mount Holyoke College
Klezmer flutist: “FleytMuzik” and “Family Portrait”
Classical: "Sounds of America"
fluteworld or cdbaby