These pieces are intended to acquaint young flautists with contemporary language and with the new instrumental techniques which arise from it. They can be worked at very early on as they do not require any particularly agile fingerwork and they encourage a lot of work with the embouchure which is so important in classical technique.
No precise indications of tempo or rhythm are given. They are judged essentially by ear, as far as the different durations (the notation is graphic) and the precise pitches (in particular the micro-intervals) are concerned.
The pieces are deliberately short so that they may be fitted into the teaching programmes of music-schools without disturbing study of traditional techniques.
Even if at first the pieces appear too difficult by virtue of the indications they contain, their performance is always straightforward, the sounds having been chosen for facility of smooth play, thus allowing the pupil to concentrate on the new ways of playing as he learns to deal with a contemporary instrumental style.
