​Toshiyuki Shibata is a Japanese flutist based in Paris and Brussels who has performed with leading early music ensembles including La Petite Bande, Il Fondamento, Vox Luminis, BachPlus, Anthonello.
He currently teaches traverso at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional d’Aubervilliers–La Courneuve (CRR Aubervilliers) in France and the City Conservatory of Bruges in Belgium.
In 2025, he released Flute Sonatas by Bach and His Sons (Channel Classics) with Anthony Romaniuk, which received international acclaim from Gramophone (England), VRT Klara (Belgium), and Record Geijutsu (Japan).
 Since 2017, he has served as Artistic Director of Musica Antiqua Takamatsu, early music festival in Japan.  

Toshiyuki 's website and Instagram

The first thing you do when you pick up your traverso to start the practice day, and why?

I check the octave to see if the cork is in the right position. Sometimes it moves while you are sleeping—like in a Disney movie.

Any recurring piece to play every day, and why?​

One of these flute partsby J.S. Bach:

• Benedictus from the B minor Mass
• Aus Liebe from the Matthäus-Passion
• Andante from BWV 1034
• Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh from the Weihnachtsoratorium

It’s all about playing the flute like a singer. We are instrumentalists, but many old treatises say that we should imitate a good singer. For me, this is the best warm-up.

Do you have a daily routine?​

I play the traverso (or recorder) every day—that is my only routine. I don’t believe in exercises for the sake of exercise. Playing the flute should not be like bodybuilding.
I feel the desire to practise when I discover a new musical idea. That can come not only from studying music, but also from art history or any kind of inspiring experience: reading novels, visiting museums, trying a new recipe, or even discovering new coffee beans—as I often do.
Everyone has to find their own way to stay motivated and practise every day.

What kind of goals do you set for your practice?​

Some people may disagree with this, but my method is to prepare a piece about four months before a performance, until it feels fully ready. I then leave the program untouched for the next three and a half months.
An old friend, now principal flute at an opera theatre in Poland, once told me that improvement often happens when you stop practicing. I strongly believe this is true.
Two weeks are enough to “microwave” a performance back from the “freezer.” It works very well for me, and there is scientific evidence to support it. I encourage you to try it.

Do you do any systematic warm-up?

I think it’s important to do some kind of physical activity for your health. It’s also about coordination. You simply cannot play well if you are fatigued or not functioning properly. Personally, I practise yoga and the Alexander Technique, quite casually.
As a warm-up, I often sing in my lowest register and become aware of the speed of the air being released while the voice sounds. This is, more or less, the airstream I aim to use when playing the traverso.
Some find it too slow for flute playing, but it works very well for me. It probably depends on the instrument—or perhaps I am simply from the old school…

Do you have a specific structure for warm-up and practice sessions?​

Many people have said that I am the least structured Japanese person they have ever seen… which is not something to be proud of.
Still, when I was an undergraduate student, I practised Taffanel & Gaubert with a metronome.
It’s all about coordination between body and fingers. It is worth doing this kind of work at some point in your life, so that you no longer need to “practice” every day, but can instead spend more time studying the music.

Any distinctive characteristics of baroque flute daily practice vs. modern flute or other instruments?​

I spend a great deal of time working on the micro-dynamics of each note with my students. Perhaps I am obsessed, but Quantz, Leopold Mozart, and others address this very clearly in their writings. Bruce Haynes also discusses the difference between modern and Baroque performance—but a completely sostenuto approach is something I simply do not believe in.
Too much detail can make phrasing sound mechanical rather than cantabile. Still, my goal is to help students hear the beauty of traverso sound as something shaped through combinations of consonants and vowels.
Unfortunately, this level of detail is difficult to capture on recordings—so go and hear it live.
Some players treat every long note the same way, applying messa di voce indiscriminately, without understanding the harmonic progression beneath. The best singers know how each note functions harmonically and how it relates to the text.
As instrumentalists, we have fewer parameters to work with—so we should at least try to understand harmonic function.

What are the key elements and unmissable points of daily practice?​

As I mentioned, I believe you can truly improve only if you allow time for rest after practicing.
If you work intensively on a passage, give it a few days, then come back to it.
Your brain needs time to process information and form new neural pathways so that intentions can become actions.
Modern society pushes us to work more and more. In early music, on the contrary, you practice—and you rest. It is also better for your body.

How long and distributed should warm-up and practice be?

Five minutes is enough to start—then let the instrument absorb moisture, and you are ready to play.
I personally feel that practicing more than one hour at a time is not healthy for the instrument. Forty-five minutes in the morning and forty-five in the afternoon is already the maximum.
Like coffee, I only take it twice a day.
In the evening, you should rest and eat properly with your family. Art must remain within the rhythm of human life—except, of course, on concert days.

Any  specific tip to address difficult technical passages during daily practice?

Many people say similar things on this platform, and I agree with all of them.
One thing I tried was hiring a “practice buddy”—someone simply sitting in the room while I practiced. You stop playing carelessly, because it already feels like a performance. That slight tension helps you focus.
I also feel that I improved a lot after I started teaching, because I demonstrate more often in front of students or audiences.
It may sound strange—but try it.

Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?

Tuner
Set a drone and practice tuning your thirds and fifths against it. It’s like a practice buddy for intonation.
Metronome
I hate this machine—but it works if you practice under tempo. In fast movements, adrenaline will naturally push you forward anyway.
Books
Quantz & Hotteterre — treasures. I simply love reading them.
Clive Brown, Classical and Romantic Performing Practice — anything after 1750. Thicker than my pillow.

Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?

Discovering the syllables that suit you best is essential.
I spend time with my students exploring Quantz’s articulation system and its musical purpose. Still, “di-d’ll” does not work for everyone.
We all speak different languages, and even within the same language, we speak differently. Take time to explore the syllables that work for you—especially vowel colours.
Also remember: the traverso is not a loud instrument. Quantz emphasized that its purpose is to convey Affekt and passion—not sheer volume.
We should therefore spend more time understanding the meaning of the music and how to express it.
If you have no time to read all the treaties from the past, try to read “The Weapons of Rhetoric: a guide for musicians and audiences” by Judy Tarling as an introduction, for example. 

How do you advise your students as far as structuring their daily practice?

Sorry… I am not a structured person. I should probably learn from my students and colleagues.
Just make sure to play every day—that is the only thing that truly needs to be daily.

Are there any specific pieces particularly beneficial to be played regularly in daily practice?

All Bach Cantatas.
They are like vitamins for your health.
The only thing I practise technically is the trill. I use Taffanel & Gaubert, Daily Exercises No. 17 (trills with termination).
People tend to slow down the final notes of the trill—but Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach strongly opposed this.
Playing trills evenly, including the ending, is essential for performing early music beautifully.

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