A pandemic is a splendid time to discover the pleasures of a good exercise book!

 (Add that to the catalog of sentences I never thought I’d have to write.)

So many musical avenues are closed to us these days, but exercise books, with their siren song of self-betterment, still beckon.

And truth be told, I’ve always loved a good exercise book. They are straightforward, promising a direct path to improvement if only you put in the time. And after spending enough time scrabbling in the weeds of musical interpretation and performance practice, mere repetition can be a relief.

Of course, the best exercise books reward your effort not only with increased skill, but with loveliness. 

Here are three exercise books I’ve been enjoying lately. One is a longtime favorite and two are recent discoveries- but all of them are worth your time.

Hans-Martin Linde: Neuzeitliche Übungsstücke für die Altblockflöte.

I’ve owned and loved this exercise book for so long that my copy is quite literally disintegrating (see above- no cover!) But every time I return to it, I discover something new.  The 22 exercises, written in a modern idiom, are musically satisfying while, almost incidentally, making a bullseye of specific skill areas.  I have shared this book with many students over the years, and to my surprise, I have found that it can be polarizing- students either adore it, as I do, or try it and shy away.

At any rate, I believe it’s a classic every serious recorder student should own.  

Where to buy: There are innumerable places to buy music these days. But I tend to order from recorder specialty purveyors like Honeysuckle Music or Von Huene Workshop- both knowledgeably staffed and open for orders during the pandemic.

Alison Melville: Hors d’Oeuvres.

Hors d’Oeuvres, by the Canadian recorder player and teacher Alison Melville, has only been out for a few years, but it’s quickly becoming one of the exercise books I use most with my students.  Like the Linde, the exercises in Hors d’Oeuvres are musically satisfying- absolutely no hardship to repeat.  They are also somewhat easier technically than the exercises in the other books discussed here, so while the book has much to offer advanced players, it is more accessible to players in intermediate stages of their recorder journeys.  And finally, the exercises are neo-baroque in style, so if a student balks at Linde or other more “modern” exercise books, I’ll often direct them here.

Where to buy: You can pick up a copy at Alison’s website.  

Héloïse Degrugillier: Exercises for the Alto Recorder- Mostly

Boston-based recorder player and teacher Héloïse Degrugillier published this book in 2019, and I am really enjoying getting to know it during this pandemic!  What I particularly like about this book is the way in which every exercise takes on a specific recorder issue- and that these issues are not restricted to tricky fingerings.  There’s an exercise for syncopation, an exercise for low F and high F, and exercise for low chromatic passagework—even one for switching instruments.  I also enjoy that each exercise is accompanied by some short but sweet technical instruction.  This one is not for the faint of heart, but it is well worth the effort.

Where to buy: Contact Héloïse directly: heloise.degrugillier@gmail.com