The Flute Book

Teachers and flutists at all levels have praised Nancy Toff'sThe Flute Book, a unique one-stop guide to the flute and its music. Organized into four main parts--The Instrument, Performance, The Music, and Repertoire Catalog--the 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 advancements--like new digital recording technology and recordings' more prevalent online availability--over 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. Toff is the 2012 winner of the National Flute Association's National Service Award.

About the Companion WebsiteFiguresPlatesTerminology used in this bookPrefaceAcknowledgments
THE INSTRUMENT1. The Flute TodayWhat Is a Flute? / Manufacturing: The State of the Art2. How to Choose an InstrumentTo Rent or To Buy / Setting Priorities / Materials / Open or Closed Holes / C or B Footjoint / Mechanical Options / Testing an Instrument3. Care and Maintenance of the FlutePreventive Maintenance: Assembling the Instrument / Daily Cleaning / Storage / Polishing / Replating / Lubrication / The Headjoint Cork / Mechanical Problems4. A Brief History of the FluteOld System Flutes / The Boehm Flute / Other Nineteenth Century Flutes / Minor Modifications to the Boehm System5. The Flute FamilyThe Piccolo / The Alto Flute / The Bass Flute / The Contr'alto, Contrabass, and Subcontrabass Flutes / The Flute Choir
PERFORMANCE6. BreathingPosture / Inhalation / Suspension / Exhalation / The Diaphragm / Exercises / Breathing and Phrasing / Circular Breathing7. ToneThe Acoustical Basis / Tone Production / Focus and Projection / Homogeneity of Sound / Interpretation through Tone Development / Intonation / National Styles of Flute Playing8. VibratoWhat is Vibrato? / The History of Vibrato / The Uses of Vibrato9. ArticulationThe Bowing Analogy / Single-Tonguing / Double-Tonguing / Triple-Tonguing / Flutter-Tonguing / Tongueless Attack / Legato / Note Endings / Practice10. TechniquePosition / Practice / Fingering / Harmonics / The B-flat Thumb Key / Three Fingering Tricks11. StyleVirtuosity and Interpretation / The Theoretical Background: Basic Musicianship / Analysis / Phrasing / Performance Practice / The Early Music Movement and Questions of Authenticity12. PerformanceOpportunities 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 / Encores13. RecordingsBuilding a Recording Collection / How to Listen / Playing Along / Making Your Own Recordings
THE MUSIC14. The Baroque EraFlute Versus Recorder / Musical Forms / France / Italy / England / Germany15. The Classic EraMusical Forms / Paris / Germany / Spain / England / Vienna16. The Romantic EraMusic by Nonflutists / Music by Flutists17. The Modern EraFrance / Great Britain / Elsewhere in Western Europe / Eastern Europe / The United States / The Avant-Garde / The Flute and Electronics
REPERTOIRE CATALOGIntroductionA. The Baroque EraB. The Classic EraC. The Romantic EraD. The Modern EraE. Study Materials
APPENDICESA. Fingering Chart for the Boehm FluteB. Flute ManufacturersC. Repair ShopsD. Sources for Instruments and AccessoriesE. Sources for Music and BooksF. Journals, Societies, and Service OrganizationsG. Flute Clubs and Societies
NotesSelected BibliographyIndex