For a series of concerts, I decided to compose a fun, accessible piece which would give the audience an idea of the many sounds the flute can make. The extended flute techniques displayed in Flute Vibes include singing and humming while playing; producing more than one note at a time (multiphonics); and percussive effects such as key clicks with open and closed mouthpiece. Various sorts of tonguing are also used, including flutter tonguing, slap tongue or “tongue pizzicato” and tongue stops. At one stage the head joint is played on its own, and then the body of the flute is played without the head joint (trumpet sound). Aeolian sounds, jet whistles, pitch bends, glissandi, harmonics, buzz pitches, microtonality, quarter-tone scales, head vibrato…the list goes on!
