Learning & Exploring the Baroque Era

 Hi everyone,

In this post I'm going to talk about learning and exploring music of the Baroque era. The Baroque era includes composers such as JS Bach, Handel & Mozart to name a few. This era of music also has a completely different method of both playing and learning how to play compared to the more classical style of playing, in which we are all familiar in playing.

It has taken me a good few years to find all of the relevant material that will benefit anyone whose interested in the how to learn to play and explore the Baroque era, as I had no idea on where to start a few years ago.

On Playing the Flute by Johann Joachim Quantz

This book covers everything from the history of the transverse flute, playing in allegro/ adagio, intervals; right the way through to explaining the importance of different instruments within the Baroque orchestra. I love how each section of this book is broken down into manageable sections with paragraphs tackling each area in detail. There's also plenty of examples for you try throughout this book to get you used to playing in the Baroque style of playing. This book is highly recommended for anyone who is learning to play an instrument, not just the flute. As it will provide you with a thorough understanding of the music from the Baroque era.

Baroque Flute Studies by Elizabeth Walker

This study book starts by explaining the different Baroque finger placements on the Baroque flute, and then explains about different style of technique that you will need to get the traditional Baroque sound with your flute. The studies that are within the book uses the 'circle of fifths' with relative major and minor scales to make it easier to understand. Within these exercises you will get scale exercises, exercises to familiarise yourself with the Baroque style of playing, trill exercises, relative minor exercises, and samples of pieces within the relevant key signatures that you have been learning. There's loads of advice throughout the book on what you need to do to get the best outcome for your Baroque flute learning journey.

Baroque Studies for the Modern Flute by Elizabeth Walker

This book follows on from the first book by Elizabeth Walker, and within this book it goes through tone, metre, articulation, Renaissance ornamentation, French ornamentation, Italian ornamentation, adding ornaments with confidence, and Baroque pieces that you can learn and explore at your own leisure. There's plenty to work through depending on what you fancy developing within your Baroque learning. 

Both of the books by Elizabeth Walker can be used on the modern flute. You just might need to adapt the exercises a little bit, depending on your flute; to get the best learning experience. These books have also been broken down into more manageable chunks to make it easier for learning and developing your own understanding. The detailed explanations on what you need to do to get the most of your technique will also help you to gain an understanding.