automatic translation,
may not be accurate
may not be accurate
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with Elizabeth Walker
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Starting from Moyse
Marcel Moyse’s De la Sonorité (1934) remains one of the best-known approaches to developing flute sound. Although written for the modern flute, some of its exercises can become surprisingly revealing on the traverso — provided we do not expect the instrument to behave like a modern flute.
I find Exercise 4B particularly effective on the baroque flute, in both octaves, for tone, intonation, precision and resonance. The principle is simple: begin from a single note, D, and move through progressively wider intervals. On the traverso, however, those intervals lead us through notes with very different responses, colours and degrees of stability. The simple pattern becomes especially revealing on the traverso, where progressively wider intervals bring changing responses, colours and degrees of stability into play. |
Moyse and Sound Moyse did not present De la Sonorité as a recipe for producing one perfect “beautiful sound.” His exercises encourage close listening: to resonance, flexibility, colour, intonation and, above all, to what happens when we move from one note to another. That idea becomes especially interesting on the traverso. Its notes do not all have the same resistance, strength or colour, and trying to make them completely uniform can work against the character of the instrument. Exercise 4B offers another possibility: establish a sound you trust, then use it as a reference while the intervals become progressively wider. The aim is not to make every note sound the same, but to preserve the resonance, ease and openness established on the D as the intervals widen, without suppressing the natural character of each note. |
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What is in Moyse Exercise 4B?
The exercise begins from D and repeatedly returns to it while the upper note rises chromatically:
D–F, D–F♯, D–G, D–G♯, D–A, D–A♯, D–B, D–C, D–C♯, D-D'. But before beginning the intervals, there is an important first step. I would spend time finding a settled, sonorous D before starting. I suggest a slow airstream, round soft embouchure and resonant open throat. If you start this exercise without establishing the D first, I feel the intention might be lost. So don't hurry into the first interval. Allow enough time for the sound to become stable and resonant. Pause there and listen. Notice not only how the D sounds, but also how it feels to produce it. That becomes your reference as you move through the exercise. From there, each new interval asks a slightly different question. As the intervals widen, can you keep that same sense of resonance and ease, without pushing, tightening or making unnecessary adjustments for each new note? |
How I Would Practise It
1. Find the D
Take time to find a settled, sonorous D before starting:
slow airstream · round, soft embouchure · resonant, open throat
Listen and notice how it feels. This is already part of the exercise.
2. Widen the interval
Start with D–F and listen carefully to the relationship between the two notes.
Then return to D before moving to D–F♯, D–G, and gradually through the complete sequence.
I would use each return to D as an opportunity to recover that initial sense of resonance and ease before moving away from it again.
3. Notice -- and do less
As the intervals widen, notice what changes. Are you pushing the air, tightening the embouchure or preparing too much for the upper note?
Try doing less. Can the air remain continuous and the embouchure responsive as the interval opens?
4. Take your time
I don't think there is any particular advantage in reaching the end quickly. The useful work is in the comparison between one interval and the next.
If one interval exposes a problem, stay with it for a while. Return to the D, recover its resonance, and try again. Then put the interval back into the complete progression.
Take time to find a settled, sonorous D before starting:
slow airstream · round, soft embouchure · resonant, open throat
Listen and notice how it feels. This is already part of the exercise.
2. Widen the interval
Start with D–F and listen carefully to the relationship between the two notes.
Then return to D before moving to D–F♯, D–G, and gradually through the complete sequence.
I would use each return to D as an opportunity to recover that initial sense of resonance and ease before moving away from it again.
3. Notice -- and do less
As the intervals widen, notice what changes. Are you pushing the air, tightening the embouchure or preparing too much for the upper note?
Try doing less. Can the air remain continuous and the embouchure responsive as the interval opens?
4. Take your time
I don't think there is any particular advantage in reaching the end quickly. The useful work is in the comparison between one interval and the next.
If one interval exposes a problem, stay with it for a while. Return to the D, recover its resonance, and try again. Then put the interval back into the complete progression.
Interactive Listening Stations
The whole chromatic progression matters, but I like the idea of using a few notes as Listening Stations — points along the way where you can focus your attention more closely.
I wouldn't think of these as fixed descriptions of the notes themselves. They are simply listening prompts at different stages of the widening interval.
Click any of the highlighted notes in the staff to explore.
The notes in between are just as important: the gradual widening of the complete sequence is what gives the exercise its meaning.
I wouldn't think of these as fixed descriptions of the notes themselves. They are simply listening prompts at different stages of the widening interval.
Click any of the highlighted notes in the staff to explore.
The notes in between are just as important: the gradual widening of the complete sequence is what gives the exercise its meaning.
What to Take into Your Playing
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For me, resonance, tone, intonation and precision are some of the most useful things we can explore through this exercise on the baroque flute. More importantly, they are qualities we can carry from the exercise into our playing.
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Keep returning to the sensation you established in the opening D. How much of that sense of resonance and ease can you retain as the interval becomes wider and the instrument responds differently?
Rather than searching for one ideal tone everywhere, listen for a sense of connection between the notes while allowing them to retain their individual colours.
I would listen to pitch as a relationship, rather than simply as a property of the upper note. What happens to the intonation when the air becomes more stable, the embouchure softer or the resonance freer?
A clean interval doesn't necessarily require more effort. See whether greater precision can come from clearer coordination and fewer unnecessary adjustments.
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This is perhaps what I find most interesting about bringing Moyse's exercise to the traverso: continuity does not require uniformity. Each note can retain its own response and colour while still belonging to the same musical voice.
At the end, I would return once more to the original D and simply listen.
Does it settle more easily? Does it resonate differently? Has your way of hearing it changed?
If so, the exercise has already given you something worth taking into your repertoire.
At the end, I would return once more to the original D and simply listen.
Does it settle more easily? Does it resonate differently? Has your way of hearing it changed?
If so, the exercise has already given you something worth taking into your repertoire.
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Elizabeth lives in the UK and finds playing the baroque flute feels intimate and enjoys feeling the wood in her hands and the resonance buzzing under her fingers!
She has written two award winning baroque study books, including ‘Baroque Flute Studies’ (Winner – Best Flute Method NFA 2015) available from Wonderfulwinds. Elizabeth has recorded the Telemann 12 Fantasias and Flute Sonatas by J.S. Bach on a FluteMakers Guild flute. More recently, she has worked on the W.F. Bach duos with longtime colleague, Rachel Beckett and exploring the different keys, fingerings and sonorities that this repertoire contains, was challenging, but rewarding. |
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