Hello and welcome to Etude Encounters!
I’m Elizabeth and I’m a flutist, music teacher, and one half of the Jolly Jones Duo. I live in Washington with my husband and greyhound, and I like to spend my non-flute time playing with yarn, fabric, and nail polish.
So what’s this Etude Encounters project all about?
I’ve been a member of the Etude of the Week group on Facebook for some time now, and I love all the wonderful inspiration to be found there. However, I’ve been somewhat lax about my own contributions to the group and have only followed through with completing one book- Köhler’s 25 Romantic Etudes. In fact, that’s the only etude book I’ve completed in my entire flute playing life.
I’m writing this from the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and like many people have had more time to go through the stacks of music and maybe even get some more practicing done. After finding a giant stack of etude books I’ve barely touched, I’ve decided that now is the time to finally learn them for real, cover to cover.
I will be starting by working my way through 24 Petites Etudes Melodiques by Marcel Moyse. Since these etudes don’t present as many technical challenges as some of the other books in my pile, I’d like to try and learn at least a few each week and move through this book quickly. These lovely little studies include plenty of expressive non-finger challenges, which I’ll talk more about as I work through them.
I can’t wait for you to join me on my Etude Encounters!