Liane Sadler plays historical flutes ranging from Mediaeval to Romantic. She loves to play both orchestral and chamber music, most recently in Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Australia, with groups such as the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Orkester Nord, as well as her own chamber ensembles. Concert highlights have been at the Berliner Philharmonie, Tivoli Vrendenburg, Palau de la Música Catalana, Sydney Opera House, and Kursaal in San Sebastián, however she particularly enjoys performing in smaller, alternative venues, where a more direct connection with the audience can be fostered. Liane has received Masters degrees from the University of the Arts, Berlin (Christoph Huntgeburth) as well as the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Basel (Marc Hantaï) - where she also undertook further studies in mediaeval and renaissance flutes with Johanna Bartz.
She is a co-founder and -director of the Alte Musik Fest Friedenau.
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www.lianesadler.com ​

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

I tend to noodle around a little, just to make some initial contact with the instrument and see what my starting point for the day is. I often turn to a fun folk song or dance tune to stir up some energy, and don’t worry about how it sounds or any technical things, but just enjoy some music before doing more “serious” practice. I also enjoy doing modal improvisation over a drone which is a lovely way to warm up everything as well as your brain, and a natural and musical way to centre yourself around an intuitive sense of intonation.

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

Just the handful of folk songs I often turn to. For example, I particularly love playing my favourite tunes from John Playford’s collections. I also love turning to some Scottish and Irish tunes which I have picked up over the years.​

Do you have a daily routine?​

I have to admit, I’m not great at routine. I’ve noticed that I need to balance novelty and spontaneity with practical realities such as deadlines and maintenance. After many years of being very strict and often unkind to myself, a few years ago I started experimenting with following what I feel drawn towards instead of forcing myself to follow a strict routine. I noticed myself actually be more productive, and even enjoy practicing, connect with my instruments and the music more, and start to avoid or reduce injuries and frustration. That’s why my warm-ups change from day to day, depending on what feels interesting as well as useful for me in the moment.
But usually I start with some kind of long-notes exercise, maybe playing notes as long as I can, crescendo/diminuendo variations, slurring to different intervals, that kind of thing. Lately I’ve loved exploring the spectrum of whistle tones and easing in and out of crescendo/diminuendo with the whistle tones as as starting point. To be honest I still use some of the classic old Moyse exercises from his De la Sonorité, because they work well for a warm-up, and one can easily adapt them to historical flutes by focusing on a certain key or mode, etc. I even enjoy the original chromatic versions because I enjoy exploring the contrasting and extreme range of colours one finds in each note on historical flutes.
It’s also important to me to notice how I’m feeling, mentally as well as physically, so that I can utilise the energy I have in the most effective way. Sometimes it’s a good day for doing a lot of work, and sometimes pushing oneself will do more harm than good, and one needs to choose rest.

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

It depends on what I have coming up and the urgency of the repertoire. Sometimes I have to prioritise for a recording or performance, or prepare for a rehearsal. In these cases I focus on what is more pressing. Sometimes I have the luxury of time, and then it might the moment for experimenting and developing, for example exploring repertoire, writing diminutions, or trying new technical exercises. 
In any case, the objectives are based on trying to find a balance between what I feel drawn to do and what I need to do. And the balance always looks a little different.

Do you do any systematic warm-up?

It depends on how I feel, how much time I have, and what I need to work on on any given day. I’ve experimented a lot over the years, and keep doing so, because I’m very interested in what kinds of warm-ups actually help me (as opposed to what I was often told to do during my studies and didn’t always find helpful). I’m also very interested in finding out what inspires me. I used to be very disciplined with doing long notes, scales, etudes, then repertoire. Over time I learnt that really anything can be an exercise and I can save time as well as efficiently learn repertoire while also improving my technique, without spending countless hours practicing. 
Lately I’ve been thinking that I should start to incorporate some stretches before I begin playing, especially when playing on bigger instruments (eg renaissance bass flute!).

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

As described above, no, not really! It’s important for me to follow what feels right for me each time, otherwise I am not able to focus and practicing becomes a complete chore, which is not sustainable for me in the long run.
Sometimes I really get in the mood to do some technical practice and turn to exercises for tone, articulation, fingers, breathing, etc, and will just enjoy doing those for any amount of time.
Sometimes I just follow my focus (on technical practice or repertoire) until I feel finished, and don’t think about how long the session lasts.
Sometimes I don’t feel motivated, but I need to practice. I might set a timer for 20 or 30 minutes and focus on something until the alarm goes off (this technique doesn’t work for everyone, but for me it definitely helps). 
Each practice session requires a little think-through of what needs to get done and what I am also in the mood for - it’s important for me to follow what I feel pulled to and work with that, otherwise I’m not able to be productive. But of course I also usually need a find a balance between need and want.

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

Something that I think is particularly distinctive and special about historical flutes is the range of colours that are available to us and in fact inherent in the instruments. I would say this is a core part of my practicing, as it’s something I strive to incorporate into my playing, I’m still searching for more extremes.
My way of practicing on historical flutes is very different to the approach I had back when I played the modern flute. As I already mentioned, I used to have a strict routine and practice long hours. This was not good for me personally, as I got bored, frustrated, and I also began to injure myself. I didn’t listen to my body and it also wasn’t a very musical way of practicing.
When I started learning the baroque flute, I had a fantastic teacher - Megan Lang - who started to guide me through learning to listen to my body and turn anything into an exercise. Additionally, she taught me to incorporate a much more musical way of thinking while practicing, centering around the music rather than perfecting everything technically (ironically, this improved my technique tenfold). This changed everything for me. It brought a lot of colour and energy back into the music I made and into my life. My general musical goals are completely different now and that is reflected in my practicing, and I believe also in my performances.

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

I suppose for me the key is understanding what I need and want to get out of that session, and also what my capacity is during that session. We all feel different from day to day, due to the complex lives we live, and for me there’s no point in forcing a certain practice style because I think I “should” for whatever reason. The better I understand my my own needs and capacities, the better I am able to practice.

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

No idea! It depends on how much time you have available to you, what you need to do, what you are able to do in that moment, etc. I think having a set amount of time is not the goal.

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

Generally I try to find exercises that help me focus on the issue - is it a certain finger that’s too slow? A breath support issue? Is it a mental block? I like to change the rhythms, articulations, speeds, zoom in on just two notes at a time, that kind of thing. My first baroque flute teacher, Megan Lang, taught me to imagine very precisely how I will play something, including exactly how my fingers will move and how I’ll breathe, and then to actually play it. A really great exercise Johanna Bartz got me hooked on is singing while playing, it totally opens up the sound and support, making some technical passages suddenly easy.
I would also say: patience. Things take time. I’ve often observed that if I do some intense technical work on a hard passage one day, repeating all my little tricks, I often feel like I don’t get anywhere - but then I allow myself to rest and then one or two days later the passage suddenly works! It’s like weight lifting or any kind of sport - you have to rest the muscles so they can build. It’s the same with working on our technique.
It can be easy to get lost in a perfectionistic loop that actually doesn’t help. In those moments I’m still learning to try and forget the technical aspects, and focus on actually making music instead - and I often find that was the issue all along. Once the musical priority is clear, technical things can just flow. Sometimes we can get hung up on that aspect, forget what the real goal is, and actually sabotage ourselves.

Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?

• A metronome - if used in a very intentional way, it’s a fantastic tool!
• A drone for tuning - learning intonation through listening and feeling. I use a free app on my phone called Dhwani Tanpura and I find it great!
• Maybe a recording device, even on your phone, to get an outside perspective every now and then.
• A glass of water.

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

I would advise them to do a little warm-up, a couple of technical exercises, and then dive into repertoire. I try to give them tips on practicing repertoire in fun and creative ways. I also tell them they don’t have to practice every single day if it doesn’t always work - as a student I found this pressure rigid and stressful.

Do you suggest or teach a warm-up routine?

I suggest they carry on with the warm-up routine we’re focusing on in the lessons - I like to focus on different types of warm-ups to develop different techniques over time. But I also advise them to do one of the old ones we’ve done before or make up a new one if they get bored.

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

With beginners I always start off with playing the notes they know as long as possible, like a little game. This is to build the sound, embouchure and body stamina, and breathing technique. Next I like to quickly move onto playing notes against a drone (either with me in the lesson or with an app at home) to already start developing a connection to sound and intonation. For more advanced embouchure development, I also love getting students into harmonics and working on crescendo/diminuendo exercises.
These can all be used forever by anyone! They are exercises I constantly use myself.
I also remind students of previous pieces they’ve learnt and suggest going back to them often. In one way, this reminds them of how far they’ve come, and in another, the old pieces can also act as fun and low-pressure musical warm ups - like how I use the folk tunes for myself.

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