Laura Rónai is a Brazilian flute player, musicologist and populariser, with extensive academic research on baroque flute performance practice, both in US and Brazil, where she now holds several chairs at UNIRIO. She has toured the Americas and Europe, both for performing and teaching engagements. Laura has been vastly promoting and spreading the knowledge of baroque flute, also trough historical groups that she directed, such as the UNIRIO Early Music Ensemble, the only baroque instrument orchestra in Rio de Janeiro. Among her many performance flutes, Laura plays a copy of a Stanesby flute in ivory and gold.
The first thing you do when you pick up your traverso to start the practice day, and why?
I tend to improvise for a few minutes, usually in an easy key, such as D, G, e, b, a.
Any recurring piece to play every day, and why?​
I don’t have one single piece that I always play at the beginning of my practice, although there are many, many pieces that I re-visit every once in a while.
Do you have a daily routine?​
I used to, but not anymore. Life here is too hectic, I have too much to do, too many responsibilities…so I tend to practice more whenever I have a concert coming up. Don’t tell my students! 
What kind of goals do you set for your practice?​
My objectives were primarily to get a beautiful sound; to get a flexible sound; to be able to play larger intervals smoothly. Nowadays I concentrate on the specific challenges of the pieces that I am playing. 
Do you do any systematic warm-up?
For daily practice, I suggest one should start by freely improvising on one tonality (a different one per day). Just for fun, and to get acquainted with the sound of the instrument at that day and time. Then I play long tones, not, as in the case of Moyse, to get a homogeneous sound out of the instrument, but rather to find the specific color of each note, that one place where it sounds its best. Then I play a few thirds going up and down, listening to tone and intonation. Then one of Hotteterre’s preludes, calmly, with no rush. Then I take a look at the specific piece that I happen to be playing that week.  
Do you have a specific structure for warm-up and practice sessions?​
Not anymore. But it used to be sound (long tones-Moyse “De la Sonorité”, mainly) – scales – intervals (Taffanel et Gaubert)- one melodical study (yes, even on the traverso: Andersen, for example, the ones that don’t go too high or have too many chromatic passages). 
Any distinctive characteristics of baroque flute daily practice vs. modern flute or other instruments?​
On the traverso I tend to do far less mechanical exercises, and concentrate on more specific problem-solving within the repertoire that is being approached that week. For instance, I play the chosen piece once through, to establish what are its main difficulties: long phrases? large intervals? chromatic passages? fast notes? Too many flats? Sequences of notes that are hard to tune? I then zoom in on these passages. I play them slowly and try to figure out if there are any patterns that will help me understand the phrases.  I break these down, play with different rhythmic accents and articulations, then I add one note at the beginning and another at the end of the passage, then two, then 3, then a whole measure before and after, until it is smoothly inserted in the whole phrase.
What are the key elements and unmissable points of daily practice?​
To me the most important points is to try to make sense of the exercises. Repetition without connecting the brain, that is, a sort of musical gymnastics, never worked for me, although I recognize the fact that it does work for many students. So to me I try to understand, before I play anything: what is the objective of this exercise? What should I be listening to?
How long and distributed should warm-up and practice be?
I don’t think there is a rule. It varies according to the person. Some people learn fast, some take a long time to arrive at the same place. It is important to achieve some sort of regularity. But 20 minutes of intelligent practice is better than an hour of inattentive one.
Any  specific tip to address difficult technical passages during daily practice?
I play the chosen piece once through, to establish what are its main difficulties: long phrases? large intervals? chromatic passages? fast notes? too many flats? sequences of notes that are hard to tune?
I then zoom in on these passages. I play them slowly and try to figure out if there are any patterns that will help me understand the phrases.  I break these down, play with different rhythmic accents and articulations, then I add one note at the beginning and another at the end of the passage, then two, then 3, then a whole measure before and after, until it is smoothly inserted in the whole phrase.
Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?
A good music stand, a good soft pencil with an eraser, a mirror. A GOOD instrument!
Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?
Different styles require different kinds of attention: in Bach, trying to really show where phrases begin and end can be tricky. The only way to do it is to try different solutions, over and over. And work with a very soft pencil, to be able to erase many times. For French baroque, it is sometimes hard to place the ornaments in their precise place, and even harder to think about what kind of tone I need, generally darker and more mysterious than for Italian music.
It is very, very important to listen to good music, well played by interpreters. Actually, to listen to badly played pieces is useful, as well. It is important to try and understand what pleases your ear, and why. But I usually avoid listening to pieces that I am currently playing. It is almost impossible to create our own interpretation if another’s concepts are ingrained in our brain. I try to decide on phrasing, breathing, tempo and articulations… and only then do I look for recordings of that specific piece. But I look for an immersion in the style: it helps a lot to listen to fine singers and string players performing similar repertoire.
And also always try to enjoy the music and get other people to play with you. 
How do you advise your students as far as structuring their daily practice?
The most important thing is that it should be feasible. If you have 2 hours a day to practice, think about a 1 hour and 45 minutes routine, so that it will always be possible. Start with things that are easy for you. Try to fit in some time for sight reading. If you can do it with someone, all the better. 
Do you suggest or teach a warm-up routine?
Yes. It varies according to the students’ strong or weak points.
Are there any specific pieces particularly beneficial to be played regularly in daily practice?
I try to make students realize what are their weak points and search for exercises that address those specific points.
Boismortier suites for flute are a very good challenge, partly because they are so simple. The first movement sets the stage, so to speak. The sound needs to be flexible, round, the phrases interesting. The faster movements need to have a lively rhythmic drive, and also require precise, clear attacks. And because nothing is particularly difficult technically, everything needs to be thought out and clearly enunciated.
Telemann's fantasias are another case in point: the first movement of each presents a particular challenge, because they are preludes, many quite free and improvisatory in character, as if they were really the space where phantasy can develop and thrive. Then typically there is a movement with a lot of counterpoint, disguised within the solo lines. Thus, it is very important to figure out which voice is which, and make them both stand out in different ways, creating that typical two-flutes sound. Lastly, the Fantasias usually finish with a very simple, almost silly little movement...with a twist. Here, the secret is creating the expectation of a trivial movement, but then realizing (and showing to the listener) where the composer showed his genius. If one tries to be too expressive all the time, for example, the movement will not work out. Or if the syncopations are “smoothed-out” (a frequent mistake) the rhythmic high points get totally lost. 
The slow movements of Handel sonatas are wonderful to practice fluid ornamentation, and it helps a lot to check Telemann’s Methodical Sonatas to get ideas for that task.
Blavet sonatas are wonderful pieces to tackle, mainly because they have so many suggestions by Blavet himself, so we can get a reasonable idea of how he thought about phrasing in general.