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Smack Talk was commissioned by Beth Devlin and dedicated to her friend and flute teacher Nicholas Fitton. The two have enjoyed working in the “Etude of the Week” group on Facebook, especially the jazz etudes. In their lessons, they’ve been investigating phrasing through articulation. Things, however, have moved on to piccolo.
It takes a particular type of person to play piccolo. It takes bravery, grit, and a certain type of playfulness to go after those high notes. Beth and Nick have proven to possess all these traits given their challenges in 2020-2021. The piccolo, however, doesn’t care. It senses fear, and any fear results in cracked notes and shoddy intonation. What better way to ease the tension than with some playful smack talk between friends? Show that piccolo who’s boss.
