Founding member and artistic director of La Guirlande, a group dedicated to the performance of music from the 18th and 19th centuries in which the flute plays a prominent role, Luis Martínez has won several national and international competitions. Luis Martínez has collaborated with important orchestras and ensembles, and has recorded for important labels such as Decca, Glossa, Passacaille, Lindoro, Vanitas, Coviello Classics and Orpheus Classical.
Luis Martínez is also professor of traverso at the ESMUC (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya), and artistic director of the Festival de Música Antigua de Épila.
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​https://laguirlande.com/
The first thing you do when you pick up your traverso to start the practice day, and why?
The first thing I do when I pick up my traverso is playing some long notes and some chords through the different registers of the instrument, to see that both the traverso and me are ok that day. Since we are not in the same condition every day (and that happens to the traverso as well as it is an alive instrument), I need to know what can I expect from the practice session to not get frustrated. For example, if I feel that I am in good shape, I know I can practice anything. On the other hand, if I feel that my body is tired, or that some parts of it are not working well (lips, tongue, fingers, diaphragm…), I usually adapt the practice session to play pieces that I know I will be able to play without so many problems.
Any recurring piece to play every day, and why?​
I have no recurring pieces to play every day. My repertoire varies, especially depending on what I have to play in the following project.
Do you have a daily routine?​
Yes. Usually my day begins with office work at 8:30 am, until 12:00 a.m. At this time is the beginning of the practice with the traverso, and lasts about two hours or two and a half hours. After lunch, I work for about two more hours. Depending on the needs, it can be more office work, reading a book, listening to music, working with the score, etc.
It is important also to have small breaks of 15 minutes every hour or hour and a half to rest both the body and the mind.
What kind of goals do you set for your practice?​
For me, practicing has to be as effective as possible. The more effective the practice is, the less time we will lose, which we can dedicate to other things equally important.  For example, when I practice a piece, I try to focus on the passages that I know that can lead me greater difficulty.
​If, on the other hand, I am practicing, for example, to play run through a piece, I always think on a limit of repetitions that I am going to play during the practice session. We don’t have to repeat the same piece infinitely and absurdly.
Do you do any systematic warm-up?
Yes. First of all, I warm up my diaphragm using a spirometer. This exercise is very effective, and I think it is truly important since the traverso is an instrument that does not require a diaphragm effort as big as with the modern flute. If we do not exercise it, we fall into the risk of using it improperly.
After I have warmed up my diaphragm, I warm up my lips using a Pneumo Pro, a very effective toy for flute beginners, which serves to control the correct direction and position of the lips. Both exercises take me about 15-20 minutes.  

Spirometer Demonstration

Pneumo Pro Demonstration

Do you have a specific structure for warm-up and practice sessions?
After warming up as described before, my practice session varies according to the instrument that I have to practice every time. If I have to practice the baroque traverso, I usually start by practicing one or more exercises of the Quantz’s Solfeggi (as you can find in this book almost any kind of exercise), to pass later to the repertoire that I have to prepare for the next concerts. If I have to practice classical or romantic flutes, I do some technique exercises (usually scales), to pass later to the repertoire that I have to prepare for the next concerts.
Any distinctive characteristics of baroque flute daily practice vs. modern flute or other instruments?​
My experience is that with the modern flute the daily practice focuses much more on the technique of the instrument, while the traverso focuses more on musical aspects. On the other hand, you cannot play properly the traverso if you do not have a very solid technique, as it is a very unstable instrument. 
What are the key elements and unmissable points of daily practice?
Daily practice must become a routine, but should not become a punishment. Under my personal experience, we must have the necessary discipline to practice daily, but we also must have the intelligence to know when we need a break of one or more days and not feel bad about it. Daily practice must be a moment of study, but also of enjoyment. If we do not enjoy, we fall into the risk of adopting bad vices with the instrument.
How long and distributed should warm-up and practice be?
I usually distribute my practice like this:
15-30 min Warm up
30-45 min Solfeggi, Capricen, Technique
30-45 min Pieces I must prepare
Any  specific tip to address difficult technical passages during daily practice?
Very basic. Practice slow. Also practicing the difficult passages changing the rhythm is very useful.
And please, whatever you do, do it always with a strong and stable air column, that is consistent and controlled flow of air through the instrument which may vary for different individuals, as it usually depends on several factors, like the diaphragm, the throat, the lips. In any case, if we don’t have a strong and stable air column, the instrument doesn’t sound.
Are there any tools that are particularly useful for practicing?
I have to say that I have never been a fan of tuners, metronomes, or any similar tool, and that I have barely used them (even when I studied modern flute). I have always preferred to trust my ear. I think we must educate our ear to be independent of these tools, since we will not always have them with us.
Any other general advice, suggestion, tip?
Practicing is not only playing the instrument. You also have to read books and articles, listening to as much recordings and concerts as possible, study with the score (but without the instrument), etc.
How do you advise your students as far as structuring their daily practice?
I suggest them to organize the daily practice dividing it on blocks, as I do with my own routine. I think warm up, technique / studies, and pieces must be the three main blocks of a good practice session. 
Do you suggest or teach a warm-up routine?​
I suggest the same routine as mine, but I consider that each person has to discover what is the best for themselves.
Are there any specific pieces particularly beneficial to be played regularly in daily practice?
I think the music by J. S. Bach is particularly beneficial to be played regularly in daily practice. We have a lot of music composed by him that we can choose (sonatas, cantatas, arias, etc.). Bach's music is precious and incredibly musical, while presenting technical challenges at very specific moments, but without becoming an "impossible" challenge. I think his music usually gathers everything someone needs to be a good musician: musicality, good taste, expressiveness, and technique.