Singing Through The Instrument

As instrumentalists, it is easy and all to common to get lost and bogged down in the technicalities of our instrument. As valuable as our technique is, the difference between a good player and an outstanding musician is rarely technical. We all know what good, musical playing is, but how many of us actually practise the art of being musical?

I, along with many musicians, believe that trying to imitate the human voice is a worthy goal for instrumentalists. Singers are, by their very nature, intrinsically connected to their instrument. Nothing that a vocalist does is done without intention and commitment, and this is why listening to singers is so important. The flute has to be an extension of our own body, and we have to approach every note, line and phrase with all the commitment and heart that a singer does. Every note has to be completely connected to the previous and next note, and always with the intention of being part of the entire phrase.

A singer cannot sing a note without first hearing it in their head, but how often do we play notes on our instrument with little or no thought? It is not enough to simply rely on pressing the correct combination of keys and allowing the note to come, we must hear every note in our head before we play it. When we truly achieve this it is impossible to not play musically, because every note will be considered and linked to the note before it.

Musicality is a very difficult concept to understand as a student and to teach, but by really listening to those who do it best we can start to grasp what really great musicians sound like. Of course great musicians exist in all instrumental disciplines, but if one can truly learn to sing through the flute as a great singer does we will be in very good stead.