I’m from Poland. I started my musical education with piano, but during my secondary music school, I heard traverso for the first time at the Early Music Festival in my hometown Radom and from then on, I wanted to play this instrument. I studied modern flute at the Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk. After my diploma, I studied traverso at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Leipzig with Benedek Csalog. Now I have regular position at the early music orchestra MACV (Musicae Antiquae Collegium Varsoviense) in Warsaw. I teach historical flute class at the Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and at Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan.
Each summer with my very nice friends I also teach traverso beginners and advanced flute players at the Varmia Musica Academia in Lidzbark Warminski, the place I recommend to all early music lovers

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

When I start playing, I listen to the resonance of my sound I have on that particular day, if it’s not very satisfying, I usually do a couple of similar exercises. They are: long “frullato’’ notes, some easy legato scales, a couple of trills to warm up my fingers and long voicing notes. Then I try to add more articulated notes and play a bit faster. However, if my sound seems like it’s in good shape, I practice pieces that I need for my nearest concerts.

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

Not really…. Usually, I focus on pieces I need to practice more in near future or just my own invented exercises. Depends on the day. I like as well to open digital library of any public-domain scores and choose pieces I don’t know or to refresh pieces I haven’t play for a long time. Then I choose some special moments, which are more difficult for me and practice them more intensely. Sometimes I write them out if I think they could be useful in future, then I play them in other keys. For example:

Do you have a daily routine?​

Hm… Because I don’t have a regular schedule at work and I travel quite a lot too, it is difficult to have a daily routine for me, sometimes I have fifteen minutes to check things before rehearsals, sometimes hours to spend on details.

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

My goal in practising is to feel the impression that I am able to play the piece which I need to prepare with easy. But it takes time, sometimes a couple of days.

Do you do any systematic warm-up?

I am trying to do warm-ups regularly. If for some reason I don’t practice for a few days, then I have to spend more time with technical exercises, because my embouchure produces “wooden sound” and fingers are “on holidays”.

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

Usually, I play from slow to fast scales. I do have some favourite exercises, which I play more often for my warm-up, but it is not a rule: long notes with diminuendo at the ends, frullato long notes with endings without frullato, trills on chosen scale, triplets on chosen scale, chords on chosen scale played twice on one breath, articulated intervals etc. I like a lot the exercise below, which I play several times in several keys. When I am able to play it on one breath in slow tempo, then it’s ok.

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

Now I play mostly flutes before the Bohm system, but I very appreciate and use my technical experience I have gained in playing the modern flute. I think it is easier to play traverso after modern flute studies, because “the blowing body machine” is more advanced. When we start with a baroque flute and would like to achieve a good level of playing, we should at the same time practice technique and read sources about performing in styles.

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

Analysing and thinking during playing. I probably won’t write anything new, but for me it is practicing not for quantity, but to achieve the goal you are currently striving for. However, keeping the sound at a good level or trying to improve it and exercising fast fingers on the scales should be the basis of daily practice. 

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

It depends on individual needs, but I think until you are satisfied with what you are producing from the flute, for me that means:

• clear, deep, sweet sound, played with different dynamics in low and high register, 
  
• very high notes played with ease,
  
• deep, dark sound of the lowest register,
  
• beautiful legato notes, played without accents and without gaps between them,
  
• quick, even finger changes in difficult tonalities.

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

I remember from my modern flute teacher an exercise, which I still use it on traverso when I have to practice something very difficult. Fast difficult passages you should play a bit slower and in such a way: in the following example A notes with x you should only be fingered without creating (blowing) a sound and black notes play as they are written; in example B you just change the notes with x. 
This is an example:

Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?

I use the hole at the very bottom of the flute quite often - flute is always with you during practicing, so it is easy to use it as a tooI, I use it for quick warm up too - I turn the flute upside down and keep it in front like the oboe. I press lower and upper lip together and try to create a very tiny hole and try to blow trembling “pffff” like trumpet or horn players, then I press the flute to my mouth, close all the finger holes,  and play a very funny sound. That is very helpful with creating good embouchure, but it is not good to do this too long. 
There are also many helpful tools for breathing exercises, I have some of them and sometimes use them for myself or for teaching.
Tuner for sure is very good when you start your adventure with traverso, but when you play in the orchestra and tune the chords with others… it can add a bit of confusion. 

Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?

Everyone is different, so it is not possible to give the same advice to all the students. The goal is to play in a way that makes you happy, because then it will come from your heart and will be very convincing for the listeners.​

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

I like to practice with students and help them achieve higher and higher skills. They are all almost like family members to me, I am always very happy when I manage to find a way to improve their playing, although it is not always easy… 
When we find the way to solve a problem, we are planning what and how to practice in the next days, so I don’t give all of them the same suggestions.

Do you suggest or teach a warm-up routine?

I always start lessons with warm up, it takes approximately one third of our time.​

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

Usually, I use parts of pieces for practicing or inventing some passages spontaneously. I have a few pages with my own exercises. One of them I could share is based on harmonics: you must close all the holes through all the exercise, and playin overblowing what is written in the upper voice; just at the end play a scale without overblowing, as it’s written. It is important to play this exercise in slow tempo.

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