automatic translation,
may not be accurate
may not be accurate
by Anna Reichhold
This article deals with the art of preluding as described by Jacques Martin Hotteterre in his treatise L’Art de Préluder, and how one can use it to design simple, self-composed preludes.
L'art de préluder sur la flûte traversière, sur la flûte à bec, sur le hautbois et autres instruments de dessus, the first published method devoted to improvisation for melodic instruments, is essential for daily traverso practice because it can turn warm-ups into short, improvised preludes that teach key-setting, meter–affect matching, clear harmonic frameworks (canavas), and idiomatic ornaments. Practiced this way, the flute starts to “speak” the iconic French Baroque language naturally and with stylistic confidence.
L'art de préluder sur la flûte traversière, sur la flûte à bec, sur le hautbois et autres instruments de dessus, the first published method devoted to improvisation for melodic instruments, is essential for daily traverso practice because it can turn warm-ups into short, improvised preludes that teach key-setting, meter–affect matching, clear harmonic frameworks (canavas), and idiomatic ornaments. Practiced this way, the flute starts to “speak” the iconic French Baroque language naturally and with stylistic confidence.
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On the occasion of my recent recording of a complete collection of Hotteterre's preludes in every key, I engaged intensively with this fascinating work and with a historical reconstruction of a Hotteterre flute after a Graz model from around 1700.
In this Practice Pill, I would like to give a brief overview of the background of the book, of Hotteterre and his historical context, as well as a purely practical approach to Hotteterre’s “musical language” and to the possible design of one’s own prelude in his style. |
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Why this matters: Learning to prelude is the gateway to improvisation. Hotteterre gives us models, traits, patterns, and canavas that you can directly use to start preluding yourself.
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Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674–1763) Jacques-Martin Hotteterre (1674–1763), known as “le Romain,” was the leading French traverso player of the early eighteenth century—virtuoso, composer, teacher, and pillar of the Hotteterre family of wind players and makers. Active in Paris and at the French court, he helped define the refined rhetoric of the French style: supple line, nuanced articulation, and expressive agréments. His landmark treatise, Principes de la flûte traversière, ou flûte d’Allemagne, et autres instruments à vent (Paris, 1707), codifies embouchure, fingerings, tonguing, ornament practice, and character, influencing players across Europe. In his suites and chamber music he balances elegance with invention, favoring cantabile expression over empty display. Through his performing and teaching he shaped generations of flutists, leaving a repertoire and pedagogy that still guide how traverso players tune, phrase, and convey affect today. |
What’s Inside L’Art de Préluder Hotteterre opens with a clear guide to the octave’s degrees—how to begin and end on the right tones—then lays out the “elements of the prelude” with practical variants you can recombine at the instrument. He follows with model preludes in every key and a companion set of traits—short, capricious studies in all keys—to warm up fingers, breath, and style. To move from study to invention he adds canevas, concise harmonic outlines across the keys, supported by exercises and rules for modulation, a practical guide to cadences, and a method for transposition so ideas can travel. A brief dissertation links time signatures, affects, and tempi, showing why certain meters fit certain characters. The treatise culminates in two extended composed preludes—one in the major mode and one in the minor—whose phrases cadence on every degree of the octave (with an optional bass), elegantly demonstrating everything taught. |
ON PRELUDES
In eighteenth-century practice, a prelude is a short, flexible opening—often improvised—that lets the player settle the instrument, confirm the key, and announce the intended affect. Rather than a fixed movement, it’s a poised exploration that touches the harmony of the mode and finds the right color before the main piece begins.
Here are a couple of historical definitions:
In eighteenth-century practice, a prelude is a short, flexible opening—often improvised—that lets the player settle the instrument, confirm the key, and announce the intended affect. Rather than a fixed movement, it’s a poised exploration that touches the harmony of the mode and finds the right color before the main piece begins.
Here are a couple of historical definitions:
- Académie française (1718): “An irregular piece to check tuning and get into the flow.”
- Rousseau, Dictionnaire de musique (1768): “A short, irregular idea touching the essential chords of the key.”
- Composed prelude: notated as the opening of a suite, sonata, cantata, or opera, preparing the ear for what follows.
- Improvised prelude: the truest form—spontaneous and personal, crafted on the spot to establish key and character, and the focus of this Pill. (“Although I have classified most of these preludes, one should not be too strict about keeping strict time when playing them from memory.” — Hotteterre, Ch. III)
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The improvised preludes can be mesuré or non-mesuré:
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An interesting historical note from lutenists: lutenists almost always improvised a prelude, both in private and public settings. Typical features included: no bar-lines, flowing rhythm; arpeggios, dissonances, ornamented chords; and sudden modulations leading into the next piece. Silvius Leopold Weiss often began suites with preludes. Erhard Gottlieb Grahl and others describe them explicitly, and C.P.E. Bach later wrote that it was “good practice” to play a free prelude before a piece. |
ELEMENTS OF A PRELUDE
In the second chapter of his book, Hotteterre writes about the elements of the prelude with several variations. These elements are essential when attempting to improvise a prelude in Hotteterre’s style.
The basic building blocks include the following:
In the second chapter of his book, Hotteterre writes about the elements of the prelude with several variations. These elements are essential when attempting to improvise a prelude in Hotteterre’s style.
The basic building blocks include the following:
PRIMARY AFFECTION
Choose from Gravement, Lentement, Tendrement, Gay, Animé, etc.
OPENING CHORD TONES
Outline the key’s harmony (e.g. G–B–D for G major; can also be used in minor or transposed to any key):
MOTIVIC PATTERNS
Hotteterre offers a few main patterns, like scales, leaps, triplets, sequences. Practice these in major and minor, and transpose them to other keys.
Listen to the example in G, g, e ...
Listen to another example in G (major)...
And the same in g (minor)...
TRAITS
Short capricious fragments in all keys—warm-ups that double as prelude material.
CANEVAS
Literally “frameworks” or “sketches.” These are schematic outlines of harmonic progressions that show how to move from one key area to another. They act like blueprints for improvisation, allowing the player to fill in details with scales, ornaments, or personal inventions while staying grounded in Hotteterre’s harmonic language.
CLOSING CADENCE
Clear punctuation at the end; Hotteterre gives many examples (notice those marked in red):
and also cadenzas in other keys:
Use the rules of modulation in Chapter VII to extend your preludes freely.
Below, I tried to give a couple of examples of free improvisation based on Hotteterre’s guidelines:
The main chord tones of a key are a kind of “outline” or “framework” that underlies the preludes. With the following variations or “patterns,” Hotteterre describes how these main chord tones can be connected with melodic and varied “movements.” These include, for example, simple scales, leaps of a third, or triplet figures in sequence. It is also entirely possible to use freely invented or personal patterns; his are given only as examples. Yet stylistically it is advisable to use the ones he suggests, in order to remain as close as possible to Hotteterre’s “musical language.”
In the fourth chapter of his book, Hotteterre writes about traits in all keys. These are short fragments, in the style of caprices or very brief études. They serve the player as a way to “play around” on the instrument, to feel comfortable—warming up the body (breath, fingers, lips, embouchure) and practicing certain challenging passages (e.g. large leaps, etc.) outside the context of complete pieces. These can also be useful for one’s own improvisations: becoming familiar with different rhythms, meters, keys, movements, and affects in the style of the time.
In the fourth chapter of his book, Hotteterre writes about traits in all keys. These are short fragments, in the style of caprices or very brief études. They serve the player as a way to “play around” on the instrument, to feel comfortable—warming up the body (breath, fingers, lips, embouchure) and practicing certain challenging passages (e.g. large leaps, etc.) outside the context of complete pieces. These can also be useful for one’s own improvisations: becoming familiar with different rhythms, meters, keys, movements, and affects in the style of the time.
I also created the following tool to compare meter, affect, and typical figurations within a prelude and across all of Hotteterre’s existing preludes. It clearly shows that Hotteterre chose the non-mesuré preludes for sustained, rather slow tempi, and the mesuré preludes for cheerful, lively tempi.
For improvising one’s own prelude, this tool can be a helpful tool in identifying a desired affect, relating it to a specific meter, and perhaps using figurations similar to those of Hotteterre. This increases the likelihood of achieving an authentic improvisation in line with Hotteterre’s musical language and expression.
For improvising one’s own prelude, this tool can be a helpful tool in identifying a desired affect, relating it to a specific meter, and perhaps using figurations similar to those of Hotteterre. This increases the likelihood of achieving an authentic improvisation in line with Hotteterre’s musical language and expression.
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See the Typical Figuration based on Time Signature and Affect
(click on the boxes to navigate) Time Signature ↓ Affect ↓ Figuration |
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A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO IMPROVISE YOUR PRELUDE
Think of this as a step-by-step practice build:
1. Pick a key – perhaps the same of a piece you’re working on, one you’re comfortable with, or one you wish to master
2. Select a prélude from Chapter III in that key (e.g. G major). There are four different examples (with and without bar-lines). Play them several times—listen to recordings if possible—to internalize Hotteterre’s musical “language.” Then it becomes easier to improvise your own, exploring different metres, tempi and affections.
Think of this as a step-by-step practice build:
1. Pick a key – perhaps the same of a piece you’re working on, one you’re comfortable with, or one you wish to master
2. Select a prélude from Chapter III in that key (e.g. G major). There are four different examples (with and without bar-lines). Play them several times—listen to recordings if possible—to internalize Hotteterre’s musical “language.” Then it becomes easier to improvise your own, exploring different metres, tempi and affections.
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3. Experiment with canevas – try out Hotteterre’s harmonic frameworks, filling them with your own melodic ideas.
4. Modulate – wander to nearby keys, then return.
5. End with a cadence – strong punctuation, just as Hotteterre shows.
4. Modulate – wander to nearby keys, then return.
5. End with a cadence – strong punctuation, just as Hotteterre shows.
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Then, you can venture into less familiar keys (e.g. E major, as in the video here) to develop intonation, cross-fingerings, soft dynamics and unique timbres.
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As a further aid to your practice, I have recorded two of my own improvised preludes.
Here are the examples:
Here are the examples:
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Key: g minor
Affect: Gay Meter: 2/4 |
Key: g minor
Affect: Animé Meter: 4/4 |
🎧 NOW IT'S YOUR TURN
Now its time to start your own fascinating journey, practice the improvisation of preludes more systematically... and have fun.
So why don't you play the randomizer game?
Now its time to start your own fascinating journey, practice the improvisation of preludes more systematically... and have fun.
So why don't you play the randomizer game?
🎲 Hotteterre Prelude Randomizer 🎲
Get a practice prompt: key + affect + meter + surface pattern + canevas (harmonic route).
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After trying to compose your preludes, share your result on our social pages!
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Hello, my name is Anna.
I am a professional Baroque flutist and passionate teacher from Germany. Twenty years ago, I studied the modern flute at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Annette von Stackelberg with my final diploma. I took masterclasses with András Adorján, Laurence Dean and Christoph Huntgeburth. During my studies, I had three children, who are now grown up. This gave me the opportunity to specialize in historical performance practice. I have been studying with renowned artists such as Benedek Csalog, Marc Hantai, and Barthold Kuijken. I give concerts and work with different chamber music groups as a freelance musician, and I have been enthusiastically teaching musicians of all ages from around the world for 23 years. My specialty is Baroque music from the 17th and 18th centuries, which is my greatest passion and something I am eager to share. Anna's website Learning traverso online with Anna |
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