Flute Book (soft-bound)

The Flute Book, 3rd edition
by Nancy Toff
Published by Oxford
Softcover book; 538 pages

Teachers and flutists at all levels have praised Nancy Toff’sThe Flute Book, a unique one-stop guide to the flute and its music. Organized into four main parts-The Instrument, Performance, The Music, and Repertoire Catalog-the book begins with a description of the instrument and its making, offers information on choosing and caring for a flute, sketches a history of the flute, and discusses differences between members of the flute family. In the Performance section, readers learn about breathing, tone, vibrato, articulation, technique, style, performing, and recording. In the extensive analysis of flute literature that follows, Toff places individual pieces in historical context. The book ends with a comprehensive catalog of solo and chamber repertoire, and includes appendices with fingering charts as well as lists of current flute manufacturers, repair shops, sources for flute music and books, and flute clubs and related organizations worldwide. In this Third Edition, Toff has updated the book to reflect technology’s advancements-like new digital recording technology and recordings’ more prevalent online availability-over the last decade. She has also accounted for new scholarship on baroque literature; recent developments such as the contrabass flute, quarter-tone flute, and various manufacturing refinements and experiments; consumers’ purchase prices for flutes; and a thoroughly updated repertoire catalog and appendices.

Features

• This third edition has been updated to reflect new scholarship on baroque literature, advancements in technology, manufacturing refinements, and recent developments such as the contrabass flute and quarter-tone flute
• Features an extensive repertoire catalog of both solo and chamber works, thoroughly updated to include new repertoire and new editions
• Includes detailed information on all aspects of performance as well as a history of the flute and its literature

New to this Edition:

• Updated to reflect technology’s advancements
• Updated repertoire catalog
• Accounts for new scholarship on baroque flutes
• Addresses recent developments like those of the contrabass flute, quarter-tone flute
• Updated manufacturing refinements, experiments, purchase prices for flutes
• Table of Contents:
• THE INSTRUMENT
  1. The Flute Today
  What Is a Flute? / Manufacturing: The State of the Art
  2. How to Choose an Instrument
  To Rent or To Buy / Setting Priorities / Materials / Open or Closed Holes / C or B Footjoint / Mechanical Options / Testing an Instrument
  3. Care and Maintenance of the Flute
  Preventive Maintenance: Assembling the Instrument / Daily Cleaning / Storage / Polishing / Replating / Lubrication / The Headjoint Cork / Mechanical Problems
  4. A Brief History of the Flute
  Old System Flutes / The Boehm Flute / Other Nineteenth Century Flutes / Minor Modifications to the Boehm System
  5. The Flute Family
  The Piccolo / The Alto Flute / The Bass Flute / The Contr’alto, Contrabass, and Subcontrabass Flutes / The Flute ChoirPERFORMANCE
  6. Breathing
  Posture / Inhalation / Suspension / Exhalation / The Diaphragm / Exercises / Breathing and Phrasing / Circular Breathing
  7. Tone
  The Acoustical Basis / Tone Production / Focus and Projection / Homogeneity of Sound / Interpretation through Tone Development / Intonation / National Styles of Flute Playing
  8. Vibrato
  What is Vibrato? / The History of Vibrato / The Uses of Vibrato
  9. Articulation
  The Bowing Analogy / Single-Tonguing / Double-Tonguing / Triple-Tonguing / Flutter-Tonguing / Tongueless Attack / Legato / Note Endings / Practice
  10. Technique
  Position / Practice / Fingering / Harmonics / The B-flat Thumb Key / Three Fingering Tricks
  11. Style
  Virtuosity and Interpretation / The Theoretical Background: Basic Musicianship / Analysis / Phrasing / Performance Practice / The Early Music Movement and Questions of Authenticity
  12. Performance
  Opportunities for Performance / Planning a Recital Program / Accompanists and Assisting Artists / Choosing a Recital Hall / The Printed Program / Publicity / Preparation and Rehearsal / Stage Protocol / The Entrance / Playing the Program / Memorization / Breaks between Pieces / Encores
  13. Recordings
  Building a Recording Collection / How to Listen / Playing Along / Making Your Own Recordings

  THE MUSIC
  14. The Baroque Era
  Flute Versus Recorder / Musical Forms / France / Italy / England / Germany
  15. The Classic Era
  Musical Forms / Paris / Germany / Spain / England / Vienna
  16. The Romantic Era
  Music by Nonflutists / Music by Flutists
  17. The Modern Era
  France / Great Britain / Elsewhere in Western Europe / Eastern Europe / The United States / The Avant-Garde / The Flute and Electronics

  REPERTOIRE CATALOG
  Introduction
  A. The Baroque Era
  B. The Classic Era
  C. The Romantic Era
  D. The Modern Era
  E. Study Materials

  APPENDICES
  A. Fingering Chart for the Boehm Flute
  B. Flute Manufacturers
  C. Repair Shops
  D. Sources for Instruments and Accessories
  E. Sources for Music and Books
  F. Journals, Societies, and Service Organizations
  G. Flute Clubs and Societies

  Notes
  Selected Bibliography
  Index