A book of studies is not normally the thing to inspire developing players so it's good to have one which tries a slightly different approach to solve this problem. All the basic technical needs are covered but the studies are short and look friendly on the page. The whacky titles such as The Thrill of Trills, The Third Degree and Duet for One Flute should help to give the player an incentive to practise. Two versions of a Bach Minuet, one in C sharp and the other in C flat major will exercise the brain too. These are certainly studies with a difference.
The Happy Flutist by Kenneth Godfrey was written for the flutist who has been studying and playing the instrument for a couple of years or more and is bored with the endless mileage of scales, dry studies, and so-called “arrangements” of tunes they already know. Important as is the technical work they have been doing, it is very important too that they should occasionally stray from this thorny path and, in plain words, “have a little fun with their flute.” The object of these little pieces, many of them written “with tongue in cheek,” is frankly to inject a little humor and imagination into an art which is, at best, a merciless taskmaster. At the same time, each piece of music illustrates a particular point of flute technique and will repay careful study.
