This is excellent advice. Ensemble playing is very challenging, but also very enjoyable. Members of ensembles have to play together with a precision that approaches the limit of human hearing and reaction times. This is the most difficult but most satisfying type of performance.

Before starting you need to tune carefully. But it is not enough to just pull out or push in your head joints, you must also adjust as you play. There is nothing more beautiful than flutes in tune, but there are few sadder sounds than an out-of-tune flute ensemble. If your group has problems, try matching pairs of instruments, particularly the highest against the lowest, and the middle against the lowest, at a slow tempo. Then put all the parts together again, listening and tuning carefully for beautiful intonation. Watch out particularly for octaves and unisons, for they are very noticeable when out of tune.

A group needs to play together in time as well as in pitch. Getting started exactly together can be difficult. Usually the first flute leads, but sometimes the music is written so that the other parts have to lead. Most ensemble music has everyone begin at the same time, but some pieces start on the "installment plan", when not every player begins at the same time. Theses are more difficult to perform. Every player must count, listen, and join in at exactly the right time. It is important for each player to count while playing, but even more important to count while resting.

There are other musical factors as well. Some are:

Articulation - Staccatos and legatos must match in length and character, or melodies will sound different when played by different people. Notes in one part may have to be held out until another part enters to avoid gaps in the music.

Phrasing - Players need to breathe together and phrase together. Most musical phrases are either going somewhere or coming from somewhere, and members of the group need to agree on phrasing.

Tone qualities should match, particularly in sustained chords.

Dynamics are very important. If you can't hear the melody when you are playing an accompaniment part, you are playing too loud. Don't be a perpetual mezzo-forte player - dynamics are exciting!

Balance - Low notes on the flute are easily covered, so if the melody is in the lowest part, the upper instruments may need to play softer than indicated for the sake of balance. Important moving parts also need to be heard, so those with sustained notes may need to play softer for the sake of musicality. It is very difficult to hear the balance on stage - it is best to check it from a distance.

Above all, you need to know the score! You should know what others are playing as well as your own part. You need to know when you are important and when you are not important. Ensemble playing is like a conversation among friends - it is less enjoyable if one person talks loudly all the time and never listens.

Remember the old saying,
"Trifles make perfection, but perfection is no trifle."