automatic translation,
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with Marten Root
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A few thoughts on practicing the baroque flute, or in fact practicing in general.
Practicing the Baroque flute is never just scales and studies—it’s a personal dialogue with the instrument. In these reflections, Marten Root shares how a late start, years of switching between many kinds of flutes, and a naturally analytical mind shaped an individual and deeply musical way of practicing. Instead of relying on traditional études, he builds technique from real music, from identifying and solving small problems with clarity, and from a “black-book” of one-bar challenges collected over decades. This practice pill gathers his ideas, from his own voice, into a set of practical, musical tools to keep your playing agile, curious, and inspired. |
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The story behind the method
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Marten began the flute at sixteen and entered conservatory only one year later. This late beginning made problem-solving essential: identify → analyse → solve → apply. That habit stayed for life. Technique grew not from routine exercises, but from understanding what needed to be fixed—musically and physically. Études and the Question of Relevance Many classic études were written for keyed flutes, not for the instruments he was playing. What helped instead were musical difficulties inside repertoire: variation movements, fast lines, awkward shifts, expressive challenges. Technique came from the music, not alongside it. |
My way of solving problems was first realizing there was a problem, analyzing it, solving the problem, and learning by doing. And this analytic approach stayed with me up until today.
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Practising across different flutes
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Marten moves constantly between Renaissance flutes, Baroque flutes at different pitches, Classical 4–6-key, Romantic 9-key, and Böhm models. With so much variation, one principle became indispensable: First synchronize with the instrument. Feel the pitch. Feel the resistance. Feel the resonance. Only then start practicing the part. |
You have to be very pragmatic- firstly, trying to get in sync with the instrument, so it feels comfortable.
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Warm up through real music
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Before touching any technical material, Marten often warms up using real musical lines—taken from whatever he has recently played. Why warm-ups from repertoire?
Two of his favourites: |
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Bach — Brandenburg Concerto IV (Violin part, G major)
Play it on any flute you have in your hands. Feel the line, the direction, the string-like sustain. 
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Beethoven — Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”, Scherzo (B♭ major)
Difficult on traverso, but perfect as a challenge. All legato, all registers, all tonalities. 
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The 'black book' method
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One bar. One problem. One solution. Whenever a passage feels “impossible,” Marten writes it down in a notebook as a one-bar exercise. Over years, these tiny drills became his most powerful technical work. Why it works
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How to identify a problem
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Recognising the problem is often more than half the solution. When a passage feels inconsistent—tone, articulation, intonation, response—stop and ask:
How we resolve—or hide—them is where artistry begins. |
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Three technical thoughts for the Baroque flute
Fingers
Modern flute closes holes; baroque flute “opens” holes by lifting.
Listen to Marten
Fingers
Modern flute closes holes; baroque flute “opens” holes by lifting.
Listen to Marten
Change the mental model: baroque technique asks for faster, more conscious lifting.
“Baroque flute technique is essentially different… pay more attention to lifting fingers faster, better coordinated and more consciously.”
- Shift attention from “pressing down” to lifting cleanly and quickly.
- When a passage is difficult, make your own exercises to coordinate the lifts.
Sound
Embrace difficult notes instead of grading them.
Listen to Marten
Sound
Embrace difficult notes instead of grading them.
Listen to Marten
His point: don’t force equality; design exercises that work with the instrument’s “enemies”.
“Embrace and cherish your ‘enemies’… practice and design exercises to make a D sound like a G# and enjoy it.”
- Stop labeling notes “good/bad”.
- Practice to bring weaker notes closer to stronger ones — without erasing character.
Articulation
Quantz fragments → categories → repertoire → learning by doing.
Listen to Marten
Articulation
Quantz fragments → categories → repertoire → learning by doing.
Listen to Marten
Extract, group, practice, apply — then build your own exercises inside repertoire.
“I once cut out all fragments from Quantz’ Solfeggi which contain indications for articulation… I stuck them together in different categories, practiced them and tried to make sense of the how and why they were there.”
“The rest was learning by doing… but it took me a year.”
- Collect → categorize → practice → apply inside repertoire.
- Design your own micro-exercises for the passages you meet.
Stay inspired: practise through music that you love
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Keep your technical work hidden inside beautiful music. Return to pieces often—not to dissect them endlessly, but to let breath, tone, and gesture evolve naturally over time. Microscope practice is useful, but only briefly. The real work happens in phrases, lines, and expressive shapes. We often look for answers, but the real reward comes from the process of exploring, failing, refining, and learning by doing. TRY AGAIN. FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER. —Samuel Beckett |
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Marten Root ........
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