Talking Flutes

"Life is what you make it.  It's never ever too late to start but it's so important that you never compare yourself to other musicians.  You're unique...always remember that!"   In this 'Talking Flutes Extra' podcast, Jean-Paul speaks with principal flute player of the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra Elisabet Franch about her life, starting the flute later in life and missing the beautiful Spanish spar...

Have you noticed we are practicing and performing, that we sometimes find our mind wandering beyond what what we are doing at that very moment? With a very different start to this podcast using specially composed music by Emmy winning musician José Valentino,  Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London and Jean-Paul Wright - Managing Director of the Trevor James flute company this...

"He's the best person in the world at what he does" - NY Times.  He has over 100 million YouTube views, he's been the principal flute player of the Guangzhou Symphony orchestra in China, street musician in San Francisco and worked in a grocery store in NY.  Now Greg Pattillo is wooing audiences around the world with his flute not only as a soloist, but also with the highly acclaimed Project Trio w...

Work out, lacking musical motivation and need a break? In this weeks 'Talking Flutes' podcast, Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London Clare Southworth talks with Jean-Paul Wright - Managing Director of the Trevor James Flute Company about how to feel o.k about taking a break from your flute and practice regime and how to strategise any rest days or weeks to maximise the benefit...

"Yes I do keep my flute by the side of my bed!"   The F** Word 2.0 as EMMY Award winning and multiple Latin-Grammy nominee Dr José Valentino is woken up at 4 am by Jean-Paul with an unplanned Skype call.  When he has finally realises that he was on air, whilst still in bed José speaks about the process of finding your own musical niche and how to drive your music forward with positivity, enjoyment...

How to choose, survive and make the most out of your summer flute course! In this podcast, Clare Southworth, Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London speaks about the benefits and joys of attending a flute course.  She also covers the importance of doing your research before choosing which one you'll be going on.  "The joys of playing and learning in your summer holidays is immen...

How to circular breathe, what it's like to be nominated and attend the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, using nervousness as a fuel for your performance, and having to Google your own name to find your social media accounts! In this weeks 'Talking Flutes Extra' and following requests from some of our listeners to get him back on, Jean-Paul dials in to New York to speak to the fabulously talented musici...

Tonal, articulation, sequence and other flute tutor books! In this week's 'Talking Flutes' pod, Clare answers some of the questions which have been sent in including 'What are the best tutor books and which ones should I buy" and "who are your favourite historical and modern day flute players?" For more information about Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London Clare Southworth a...

"You can annihilate every note on the page however your Granny will always think it’s the best she’s ever heard!" This week in 'Talking Flutes Extra' Jean-Paul speaks with proud Scotsman Stephen Clark who seems to be constantly circumnavigating the globe with his flute.  During the chat in specialist London Flute Shop All Flutes Plus and then later over lunch, Stephen talks about the "Competitive...

Two movements, the 'Rondeau' and the 'Aria' from the beautiful and haunting flute piece Suite Antique by John Rutter is this week looked at by Clare Southworth in her 'Talking Flutes' podcast Composed in 1979, this concertante work by John Rutter  is written for harpsichord, flute and string orchestra. Rutter composed the piece, in six movements, for a concert at which Bach's fifth Brandenburg con...

"I've been doing a lot of handstands!"...in this 'Talking Flutes Extra' podcast Swedish born flutist who lives in NY Elsa Nilsson talks about her new method book for working on your rhythm called 'Between the beats'.  Elsa is the current holder of the NFA Jazz award which she won at the flute Convention in Orlando in August 2018. For more information and links to Elsa's music, CD and her new 'Betw...

"I'm often surprised at the lack of knowledge about the history of the flute when I ask new flute students at Music College what they know" comments Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music Clare Southworth in her 'Talking Flutes' podcast this week.  This week, Clare takes a quick look at the flute history over the years and ends the podcast with a question on what the flute will look like...

"Run towards your fears and not away from them" and "Stop caring what other people think about you!" Praveen 'The Flute Guy' talks this week to Jean-Paul about his family pressures to NOT be a flute player, and also why he's so inspired to talk about the subject of 'Mental Health' on his popular social media channels.  A science graduate from Oxford University straight to NASA should be the dream...

Finding your musical niche and then understanding that you're not only a musician, but you're also a business.  Being open to new paths and musical directions by understanding your own unique points and being able to communicate these to an audience and potential employers. In this 'Talking Flutes' podcast, Clare and Jean-Paul carry on from where they left off last week by exploring the need for t...

How do you build your brand.  You the musician and you the artist? What have you got that makes you really stand out? How do you want people to view you? Do you know what you do best....and what you don't do best? In this episode of 'Talking Flutes', Clare is in dialogue with Jean-Paul discussing how a musician and should build their own brand and how flute making companies should only build their...

"One of the most important things about improvisation on stage is that it brings everything about you in to the 'now'...in to that very moment...nothing else matters apart from the  musical textures and freedom..." In this 'Talking Flutes Extra' podcast, Jean-Paul meets top London flute and sax player Theo Travis in his local Italian Cafe for scrambled eggs and coffee to discuss improvisation and...

Tonguing and articulation is such a large and fundamental subject to flute playing that 'Talking Flutes' host and Professor of flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London Clare Southworth was originally unwilling to record a podcast on such a complex area.  With so many variables depending on the piece, what the performer is wanting to emphasise, speed vs clarity, notational length etc Clare's r...

" I have a 24hr social media rule" - L.A based flute player and social media influencer Gina Luciani speaks to Jean-Paul at the NAMM show in Anaheim C.A about her new project 'Glow With Music'.  Gina also talks about what she does when people are negative to others on her social media account and also her orchestral work in Hollywood and also her recent invitation to perform with Kanye West. Talki...

Psychiatrist Dr Roelof Joe Stammeijer has a coffee and a chat with his mum, Flute professor, soloist, author and rather fine golfer Clare Southworth-Stammeijer on the subject of stress and mental health for the musician.  As the surname suggests, Dr Stammeijer is Clare's son, and also was a flute player himself so is fully aware of the day-to-day inner struggles that musicians face. As Clare says...

Putting the fun back in to the fundamentals, being adventurous with your imagination, the creative use of the vocal chords to make percussive, string and trombone sounds, knowing your audience and so much more in this latest 'Talking Flutes Extra' podcast with Emmy Award winners and multi Latin-Grammy Award nominees José Valentino on flute and Gualo on guitar.   Next week, Clare Southworth returns...

Multiple Latin Grammy nominated musicians and new 'Emmy Award' winners, the wonderfully creative José Valentino (flute) and Gualo (Guitar) visit Jean-Paul in his Los Angeles hotel room for a coffee and a catch-up.  In the first or a two part podcast, they talk about the power of your imagination, how the "space between the notes is just as important...if not more that the actual notes..", how they...

How silent practice can improve your musical performance, funny flute moments, B foot or C foot flute and many more of your questions answered. In this 'Talking Flutes' podcast, Clare and Jean-Paul are in dialogue to answer some of the flute questions which have been sent in from our listeners. We love getting your questions and thoughts for future podcast topics, so keep them coming via flutepodc...

Romantic flute pieces for Valentine's day chosen by Clare. Clare Southworth is the Professor of Flute at the Royal Academy of Music in London.  She is also an author, soloist, teacher, mum and outside the flute world, she has a love for golf. Next week, 'Talking Flutes Extra' looks as more questions that have been sent in by you, the listeners. We love to hear from you, so please send in your ques...

The importance of creating a practice and performance plan, what to do when you hit a performance plateau and what music, book, food and luxury item would you want if you were stranded on a desert island.  Just a few of the questions which you, the listeners have sent in to us at Talking Flutes.  In this episode, Jean-Paul is in dialogue with Clare Southworth to discuss the answers. Next week, and...

California sun, palm trees and music everywhere.  A little peak at the world's biggest music trade show NAMM 2019, held each year at the Anaheim Convention Centre, adjacent to the world famous Disneyland.    In this week's 'Talking Flutes Extra' podcast, Jean-Paul has a walk around the trade show and enjoys a few giggles (as always) with musicians he meets along the way.  Noisy but fun, the four d...