More about Difference Tones and the Flute, and about Wil Offermans at NFA

I was doing some research on difference tones, looking for more ways to use them in the flute choir and in my intonation studies, and Googled “difference tone duets.” I got one(!) exact result which led me to this webpage, www.forthecontemporaryflutist.com/etude/etude-03.html. It is from a website by one of my favorite flutists and teachers, Wil Offermans, whose class I just happened to have attended at this year’s NFA convention. The class was about how to go about learning to play Offerman’s composition for solo flute, Honami. I had purchased the piece at this year’s Florida Flute Fair and was hoping for some insights in how to approach it. I got that and much more!

It was a GREAT class, in which he took a group of players (myself included, you can’t up opportunities like this!) through the entire piece, demonstrating and instructing each of us in how to execute the techniques and gestures featured in each section of the piece. Even though the piece features some extended techniques and includes many interpretive choices, I left feeling confident I could go home knowing exactly how to go about learning the piece and some day perform it. Very cool!

Anyway, this article thoroughly explains what difference tones are and how they work, as well as giving a couple of experiments to try with a flute-playing friend. Offermans wants flutists to explore all the different sounds and tone qualities that are possible on the flute, and this is one of the avenues he suggests trying out. Or as I have said for years, “Explore your sonic resources!” Flutists like Offermans, Ghobriel, Pattillo, and others continue to push the boundaries of flute sound, giving us that much more to explore.

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