Jean-Louis Tripoli (1786-1865), a highly influential flute player and teacher, first published his Methode de Flute in 1835. It was adopted by the Paris Conservatoire as its official method during the period c.1842-1856, while Tulou was Professor of Flute.

Tulou was a lifelong advocate of the conical wooden flute, referred to today as "pre-Boehm," which he believed possessed the proper tone for the instrument. He believed that tone and expression were more important than technical display, and felt that the performer's goal should be the audience response of "How charming!" rather than "How astonishing!" In 1839 Tulou successfully delayed the acceptance of the new Boehm flute at the Conservatoire.

Tulou's method for Playing the pre-Boehm multi-keyed flute is readily used by presentday flutists. The difficulty in playing this instrument, which was standard in the early nineteenth century, is its myriad of fingering possibilities. The great value of Tulou tutor lies in his instructions for choosing fingerings that facilitate exprcssion or make the technique flow. His detailed advice on playing notes sensibles (leading tones and returning tones) is an important source of nineteenth-century French performance practice.

This translation by Janice Dockendorff Boland and Martha F. Cannon reproduces the original drawings and fingering
charts from Tulou's Méthode de Flûte as well as numerous small musical examples, scale studies for each of the
twelve major keys, and more than 120 pages of etudes.

JANICE DOCKENDORFF BOLAND is an adjunct faculty member at Cornell College and Coe College. As a concert
artist, she specializes in the performance of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music on period flutes.

MARTHA F. CANNON is Professor Emerita of French at Coe College. She has played cello in a string quartet, in a chamber orchestra, and with the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra.