Musical interpretation is first and foremost a question of shaping a melody or the melodic line of a setting. Music, like any language, follows its own set of rules and a sufficient knowledge and familiarity with musical'grammar 'is therefore an essential prerequisite of any convincing interpretation. The internationally renowned performer and teacher Peter -Lukas Graf explains in great detail the parameters that have to be taken into account for asuccessful interpretation: rhythm, metre, agogics, articulation, phrasing, ornamentation and implied polyphony, etc. Numerous examples from the flute repertoire of the 17th -20th century serve as models from which he derives the 'rules' appropriate for an interpretation in keeping with each period. ■ These rules are not intended to be dogmatic but instead should stimulate the players to form their own opinion. About 'rules' ■ Preface ■ Golden rules forthe interpreter ■ The structure and analysis of melody ■ Notes on the execution of ornamenta tion in the 17th and 18th centuries ■ Ornamentation in the 19th and 20th centuries ■ Phrasing ■ Rhythm ■ Accents ■ Dynamics ■ Tempo ■Metre ■ Flexibility of rhythm/rubato ■ Shaping the musical phrase ■ Conclusion ■ Bibliography ■ Index ■ Musical examples