The Flute Book

Teachers and flutists at all levels have praised Nancy Toff's The Flute Book, a unique one-stop guide to the flute and its music. Organized into four main partsThe Instrument, Performance, The Music, and Repertoire Catalogthe 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 advancementslike new digital recording technology and recordings' more prevalent online availabilityover 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.

Nancy Toff is the author of The Development of the Modern Flute, Georges Barrère and the Flute in America, and Monarch of the Flute: The Life of Georges Barrère. Highly respected as a writer, researcher, and lecturer, she has been a consultant to the Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection in the Library of Congress and the Department of Musical Instruments of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was curator of an exhibition on Georges Barrère at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. She is a past president of the New York Flute Club.

- About the Companion Website
- Figures
- Plates
- Terminology used in this book
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 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 Choir
- PERFORMANCE
- 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