Traverso hand1/24/2024 ![]() A Minor, the key of Bach’s flute Partita, uses a host of cross-fingers G#, C natural, among others. ![]() Because that is the tone that is expected to be produced, and a more muffled timbre could evoke melancholy or mystery, it is likely that composers such as Bach composed with specific keys in mind. It makes sense because the air is less disrupted as it travels through the instrument, producing a fuller sound, as opposed to cross-fingerings that lose some of its momentum as the air filters through the open holes.Īfter reading The Traverso Project, a brilliant website dedicated to helping novices learn the fundamentals of the traverso, I discovered that often these tonal differences, similar to the tonality changes in modes of the baroque era, are deliberate choices made by the composer. Notes within the scale of DM, the natural scale of the traverso, sound bright and projected. One of the elements that stood out immediately while I was learning the cross-fingerings of the traverso was the noticeable color change between notes. With that being said, the earthy and mellow sound of the traverso is beautiful, and I would love to spend more time with it in the future. Similar to the feeling of going from a bass flute to a C flute, it was a relief to pick up my modern flute and feel more at ease. While I understand the baroque flute is pitched lower, the recordings sound low and flat throughout. The lack of complete covering the holes, and possibly the position of the headjoint, also made the tuning sound off. The distance between the keys also took time to adjust to, and even in my final recordings it was quite apparent when my right-hand ring finger was not reaching the last hole. This was especially challenging for chromatic notes, such as G# (which appears in abundance in the Allemande) that have a new fingering for the lower and upper octave. A natural, G natural, and F natural are some of the only fingerings that can be overblown. Although of course the modern flute has different fingers for E2 vs E3, and A2 vs A3, the baroque traverso has few notes that can simply be overblown. It was a new experience to have different fingerings for octave notes. It is a humbling experience to approach a piece that you have performed on flute, and then come to it with a different flute and feel as though you’re a total beginner! It adds a new appreciation for the students that I teach privately who, at times, are overwhelmed by the fingerings that have become second nature to me. In the short time I spent with the baroque flute, I have developed a fresh perspective on not only the baroque flute but on the learning curve that comes with a new instrument.
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