NAF Playing Tip #18: Butterfly Exercise

This is the third exercise in the series of duet exercises, designed to provide you with some new ideas when playing with another flute player. This is an easy exercise.

Description

Similar to “Follow the leader” (last weeks exercise); this exercise has a different premise in that the lead plays (improvizes) a phrase of any length. The follower then plays (improvizes) a phrase of any length, ending with the same note that the lead finished on. A variation of this is to trade the lead every other phrase.

Lead Role

The lead plays a phrase of any length and holds the last note. When the follower gets to the note that the lead was holding, the lead then plays another phrase, again holding the last note. This is the cue to the follower to play a new phrase but ending again on the same note as the lead. Repeat and breathe as necessary.

Follower Role

The follower takes notice of the final note played by the lead, and then plays a different phrase, but finishes on and holds the same note being held by the lead. When the follower gets to the note that the lead was holding, the lead then plays another phrase, again holding the last note. The follower holds the last note while the lead plays another phrase. Repeat and breathe as necessary.

Note: This exercise is called "Butterfly" because it's designed like two butterlys floating around between a field of flowers, where one butterfly follows another butterfly to a flower, buts takes a different path to get there. This exercise, again it's important for each player to hold the last note of the phrase while the other player plays. This not only builds your lung capacity but is the the next step in learning to do something on the flute (i.e. play a note) while listening and then improvising something which harmonizes with the phrase just played by the leader. Have fun with this one...



This Playing Tip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.