What gives music its character and flavor?  There are of course, many possible answers to this question, but one has to start somewhere.  How about articulation? 

Remember your favorite teachers?   They had a gift with words, but also how they delivered those words.  They used good consonants, but not too edgy, unless they meant to wake you up or underscore an important word or phrase.  The vowels separated those consonants, but never were left by themselves.  To be articulate is to be well-spoken.  That's what we need to bring into everyday flute playing.

So, how to do?

1.  The KISS principle.  If articulation becomes obsessive, it overwhelms the music and becomes boffo or clownish.  Keep It Simple, Stupid.  Make similar articulations sound similar.  If there is a change, try to keep the quality of the articulation within the context of the piece.

2.  The air stream is much more important than the action of the tongue.  In fact, you can articulate quite nicely without using your tongue at all.  The tongue adds only an edge.  No accent, unless it is asked for.

3.  Which brings us to this point.  NEVER TONGUE HARD.  It is musically destructive.  The excessive gesture merely opens up your embouchure and creates an unfocused sound. 

4.  The articulation is part of the music.  It should add character and flavor to the musical line.

5.  If it doesn't add character or flavor to the musical line, it is wrong.  Even if the ink on the page asks for it.  Listen to a bunch of recordings while reading the score.  Again, the articulation should be within the character of the musical line.

6.  Articulation should not alter your intonation.

7.  Vibrato should not interfere with your articulation.  In general, do not vibrate or vibrate at a barely perceptible level during technical passages. 

As always, this information is given with the best of intentions.  It is by no means complete and exhaustive.  Its just a starting point.  If you want more, go read "Sound in Motion" by David McGill. 

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