Sorry guys! Haven't been back for awhile, but here's a little video of me playing a piece that I absolutely love. Fernando Bertoni's Canzona. I'm sight reading this piece so there are a few mistakes, and my flute is in need of repair so the pitch quality is not that great.

I just think it's an absolutely beautiful piece. And it would be even more beautiful if I played it without tripping up :o:

Oh! I also posted another video here: http://www.musicbanter.com/classical...tml#post965095. Check it out!

Where has this thread been all my life

Have you ever played/jammed with a guitarist? My friend has a flute and can play and I m unsure of how it will go. Especially since I dont think they have to much theory, therefore making playing together even harder. I mean all that comes to mind is Jethro Tull :)

I've only ever played with classical guitarists, who were just as experienced with music theory and such as I am. But of course classical guitar is a completely different style than say, Jethro Tull (because that's all that comes to mind here too). But it's worth a try though, both the flute and guitar are tuned in C. Just keep in mind that the key of E major is a horrible key on flute. It's really hard to play in E major, and although guitarists like it because there's a lot of open chords and it's a relatively easy key to play in, flutes don't like it!

I have a question and I think you'd be the one to ask... Are you majoring in performance music? And how much time do you spend practicing, would you guess, a day? I'm looking into some options that would be combining music with other stuff and wondering if it will even be possible for me to pull off. Any advice would be very much appreciated, and sorry to hijack your journal for this! Didn't know where else to find you around here.

No worries. PM's work well too ;)

I'm not a performance major at the moment - in Canada (at least in Ontario), performance diplomas are awarded only with a post-graduate degree, usually a Masters degree. Right now I'm still an undergrad and working on completing an Honours Bachelor of Music (B.Mus) degree. But a concentration on an instrument (or voice) is still required. On average, 1.5 - 2 hours should be set aside each day for daily practice, about half of which should be spent on scales and studies and the other half on repertoire.

Sometimes it can get overwhelming, like anything else in life. When I first started university I never thought I'd be able to pull off doing a music program, what with the lessons, band rehearsals, and core courses and electives to balance. But it can be done, and I find that I get a good amount of free time out of it too :D

I hope this answers your question, and if you have anymore just PM!

Honestly any key is easy on the guitar. (as easy as E i mean) All it takes is a capo. To bad you cant capo your flute.

Oh I know, I play guitar too :) I wish there was a capo for flutes too... or for other instruments... but that would just create lazier musicians!

Okay, thought that since this thread has seen a little activity as of late, I would post something new.

The school year is almost done, 3 weeks left, which means that my university's concert band and marching band are putting on their spring performances. I am a member of both, and I love it. The marching band's repertoire for this performance is more exciting than that of the concert band, as we are playing a number of pieces composed by John Philip Sousa.

The first piece is one that should be familiar to all, The Stars and Stripes Forever.



This piece is really the epitome of march music. It is probably the most well known piece from the genre, and the most widely performed. My favourite part has to be the piccolo feature that starts at about the 2 minute mark. It's so complex and beautiful at the same time. It's also a great exercise for the fingers, and a great way to improve the flutter tongue technique.

I also found a trombone quartet playing it - the original piccolo part is played so well by the soloist here, and it must be twice as hard on a brass instrument:



One march that we are not playing, but is still one of my favourites, is Semper Fidelis. This is another march that should be familiar to a lot of people, as it is (I believe it is) the official march of the United States Marine Corps Marching Band.