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Hello, it’s your neighborhood workaholic here… to provide some updates.

First and foremost, I’VE GRADUATED WITH MY MASTERS!!!

That is supposed to feel exciting, but I am finding that I have more stressed out with what that means for the future. A lot of major life changes have been snowballing since April 2021 so let’s recap.

April 2021

In the month of April, I started by preparing for my final Masters’ recital which was a major undertaking and thankfully all went to plan 🙂

However, shortly after that performance my childhood cat’s health was rapidly declining. She had just entered the Senior cat life state, and already had some pre-existing issues from earlier in the year. So with the high of the final Masters’ recital came the low of having to say goodbye to my best friend.

Then, only several days after that began the treacherous journey I am now with housing.

May 2021

Halfway through my undergrad, my family moved into the house I have been staying in up to present. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, there tensions prompted some drastic life changes that bring us to present day.

I’ll be the only family member remaining in state – obviously I have new and old friends, colleagues, and support systems here – but it means that I have been navigating finding housing alone.

Which may not seem like a huge deal to most people – understandably so – in my case however, I have had to face what weakness I am bringing into rental applications as a recent graduate student, with minimal job experience, pending job, and I’m under 25. I think it is important to share this experience because I hear a lot of people say to me “just ask your parents” or “get a financial advisor” but this is with the assumption that I was in the privileged financial spot to begin with. Thus being the one that has to advocate for myself is a tough transition that I am currently navigating as I continue to search for a new home.

So basically…

I have been working really hard to advocate for myself. I’ve been teaching, securing summer work, applying to job positions for the new school year, practicing when the stress isn’t debilitating, and if I’m lucky remembering to have fun or engage in self-care.

I hope to hear positive news in regards to housing and getting a full-time job for next school year would also be fantastic.

For now, I am just continuing the grind. For weeks I have been hearing people say “oh once you’re an adult things never settle, there will never be a good time so just keep… blah blah blah”. I am tired. They say that moving is the most stressful thing in a person’s adult life; however, the type of person I am is excited, but the hard part is just securing a place with the unfortunate position I am in. Things will settle, the work isn’t the challenge for me it is the instability of not knowing where I will be in 2 weeks or a month’s time.

Once I have gotten that stability as I know (or at least hope) they will I will be back to regular posting.

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Whether a student has a formal IEP or 504 or not: there is not just one cookie cutter student. And as teachers we have varied ideas of how lead specific teaching points; just as our students will respond differently to various teaching strategies.

Here are some ideas of reaching students with mixed visual, auditory, logical/analytical, and kinesthetic strengths…

Visual

  • Pictures

Performers – Referencing Posture/Embouchure

Games – Aiming air at a specific target (great for younger students)

  • Diagrams

Inside of mouth or torso to help visualize tongue placement, lung expansion, and posture/support.

  • Videos

Encouraging the student to record themselves to be able to assess and compare what they are doing.

Videos of performers for students to visualize an end goal.

  • Mirror

Same as video recording themselves; the mirror is great for more nuanced assessment such as the apperture/ambouchure.

  • Using the space

Combined with kinesthetic: having pictures or even tangible spots in the room to aim the air (high v. low) is great for both visual and kinesthetic learners.

  • Colors

For early music readers, associating a note with a color can be a great way to reinforce and develop music literacy.

Combined with logical/analytical: colors can be a good tool for comparing similar and different – such as loud and soft.

  • Size:

Similar to colors, using size to contrast and comparing more nuanced musical ideas.

Also for learners that are part of the blind community, having the contrast and enlarged print makes music reading more accessible.

  • Shapes

Useful for both younger and older students; the shapes can be used to reinforce dynamics (such as hairpins). The shape and body of notes (ie. quiet entrance, loud sustain and release OR loud attack with a quick decay)/

Auditory

  • Modeling and Imitation

Review and repetition is great for all students; and the I Do then You Do concept is ideal for auditory learners because they will mimic what the hear.

  • Singing

Being able to connect their voice to their playing will allow the student to internalize the music and begin to audiate (or hear before they play).

This can also be paired with modeling or call and response on both the voice and the instrument to help the student bridge the connection between their voice and their instrument playing.

  • Recordings – Playlists

Having a reference recordings of professional flute players will help students internalize the music they are learning. The Suzuki method especially is based on this reinforcement of listening to tracks and playing from memory.

  • Memorization

Playing for memory can be a difficult thing to do if you already are ingrained in visual intaking music. However, every musician can benefit from taking a bite size piece of music and memorizing it (using the Listen and Response technique as well as having Recordings to listen to). Memorizing music takes away visual input and allows the player to focus on two things (1) the sound and (2) their body. Therefore, auditory and kinesthetic learners will have the most luck with memorizing, but for the rest of us it worthwhile to pursue.

  • Recordings – Listen back and assess

You don’t need to stop at just listening to professional recordings; encouraging the student to record themselves and listen back.

  • Duets/Chamber music

Chamber music (more so playing with other people) are engaging for auditory learners because they get to rely on their ears to match and respond to other musicians. Including duets in lessons are a fantastic way to engage students and have fun making music.

Logical/Analytical

  • Patterns

Both auditory and visual learners can engage in identifying patterns (whether that be by listening or looking at the music); giving the student a specific goal to listen for “the same” or “different” will help reinforce that there is structure in music.

  • Comparing (Same v. Similar)

In that same vein, comparing things that start the same and end differently is more nuanced. By using leading questions – where you are guiding students to a specific answer – the student is able to differentiate things that are slightly varied.

  • Connections

Review and repetition; students will have experience with scales and arpeggios. Referencing a single note (the tonic) and asking the student to make a game out of it:

  1. Finding all the (ie. A) notes in a piece OR
  2. Omitting one specific note from a piece to hear what that might sound like
  • Student-Led Discussion – Observation

Logical and analytic students tend to be adept at finding these patterns in music; therefore, giving them a safe space to led a discussion “what do you notice” or “what do you think” to gauge how they are internalizing the piece.

Kinesthetic

  • Movement for rhythm/time

Having designated time in the lesson for students to use their body is important for kinesthetic learners. Particularly for rhythm and timing based activities such as using scarves or balls to keep time and internalize the pulse.

  • Different spaces in room

Combined with logical and analytical, having the student move to a different spot in the room when they hear a different section (ie. same and different) or when they are playing different sections.

  • Move around chair (each repetition)

The chair circle – good for repetition – each time a student plays a different repetition correctly they can move to the next face of the chair. Repeat until they have come full circle.

  • Clapping – Body Percussion

Making use of the body to respond and create music through clapping the steady beat, syncopations. even combining auditory learning by singing and clapping at the same time.

  • Connect body to register

Singers often use hand sings or even high/low hand gestures to indicate pitch – this is great for kinesthetic learners. And either using the head to toes; or physical moving the arms up to the sky and ground helps reinforce music as having shape and contour.

These were just a few ideas to differentiate teaching points,

share your own ideas in the comments below!

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Have you ever thought of why the flute is included in the woodwind family? Of course, there is a history of flutes made partially with wood. The real answer though is much more interesting: the woodwind family is actually classed by the way sound is produced an excerpt from WWBW “the way they produce their sound which is by splitting the player’s air stream on a sharp edge, such as a reed”. When looking at flute specs – especially for younger students – often you are dealing with a cheaper silver – usually nickel. Here is a comprehensive list of both flute specs and flutes for students:

SPECS

There are so many variables with it comes to manufacturing a flute, this is no way a fully complete list (since there are a vast amount of custom variables), I have divided these specs into 6 common
categories:

Choices

New v.

C foot v.

Open holed v.

Inline G key v.

Preowned

B foot

Close holed

Offset G key

Extra Keys/Attachments
  • Gizmo key (foot)
  • Bb side key (body)
  • C# trill (body)
  • Split E (body)
  • C# roller (foot)
  • D# roller (foot)
  • Brossa F# (body)
Materials/Metals
  • Nickel silver – sometimes with silver plating on the exterior
  • Coin silver OR Sterling silver
  • Gold – How many karats?
  • Wood (uncommon)
  • Combination of metals
    • ie. a sterling silver body with gold keys; OR a coin silver body with gold interior wall.
Risers

The riser is part of the embouchure hole and can be any metal (ie. silver, gold).

Wall

Standard v.

Heavy

The wall thickness can impact the color of the tone (and the weight of the instrument).

Also as mentioned, the inner wall of the flute can be made of a different metal than the outer
wall.

Tubing

The thickness of the tube is important because flute players will often upgrade their headjoint
(since it is less expensive than buying a whole flute) and the diameter of the tubing MUST
match the body of the flute.

FLUTES – General Names to be aware of

Beginning Brands (can also be used for outdoor playing/marching band)
  • Yamaha
  • Gemeinhardt
  • Selmer
  • Jupiter
Intermediate Brands
  • Trevor James
  • Yamaha
  • Pearl
  • Jupiter
Conservatory Brands (get through Undergrad)
  • Muramatsu
  • Yamaha
  • Azumi (by Altus)
  • Powell Sonare
  • Amadeus (by Haynes)
  • Di Zhao
  • Miyazawa

More specific – general specs and pricing

Beginner (Grades 4-6)

Close holed

~$300-500

  • Selmer – FL711 Prelude
  • Gemeinhardt – 2SP
Intermediate (Grades 6-12)

Close holed

~$600-1200

  • Pearl – PF 500
  • Yamaha – YFL 222

Open holed

~$800-1700

  • Pearl – PF 505 RBE
  • Yamaha – YFL 262
Conservatory (Grade 10 upwards)

Open holed

~$1800-4500

  • Yamaha – YFL 577(H)
  • Powell Sonare – PS 601
  • Muramatsu – EX
  • Azumi – AZ series (1, 2, or 3)
  • Trevor James – Cantabile OR Virtuoso Voce

What are your favorite student flutes and specs? Let me know in the comments below!

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An earlier post I wrote discussed storing flutes year round – like all woodwinds flutes are quiet sensitive to temperature changes. Once the flutes are out of your hands and into the students you have little control of whether or not these instruments get stored in sweltering/freezing vehicles or garages. The best you can do is inform the students that is part of the reason I like loaner instrument contracts because at the very least the student’s can’t feign ignorance for fairly common issues that can do some serious damage.

Cleaning Contract Temp

The Basics

In my template cleaning contract I cover some of the more common ways flutes can get damaged. There are two common fatalities that can make a flute unplayable (1) denting or tubing damage and (2) dilapidated pads.

  • Running with the instrument
  • Leaving it unattended (no matter how long)
  • Unstable surfaces
  • Treating the instrument like a toy, baton, play equipment
  • Sharing it (especially now with a pandemic)
  • Playing after eating without brushing teeth/washing out their mouth
  • Not cleaning after playing – allowing moisture to sit inside the flute

Most of these are common sense, let’s approach each situation hypothetically…

Pre-pandemic times, you may have a group lesson of fifth grade flute players. Someone forgot to come to lessons, and is running to get there fashionably late. As they are running down the hall their flute case unlatches and the contents spill out into the hall. What happens next?

Stop and assess the damage. Sometimes students have dumb luck resulting in no major damage, and other times it is a blood bath. This is a great opportunity to review why no one should be running with their instrument (even when the flute is in it’s case – especially the student latch cases) and that absolute fear that they may have damaged school property may be enough to cement that lesson and prevent it from happening again in subsequent weeks.

Music stands, they hold music so well who’s not to say they can’t hold flutes just as well? Until… someone needs to squeeze by in a hurry and the stand flips over causing the flute to fall down. What happens next?

Music stands do not equal flute stands. Band directors are just as guilty as flute students for this DO NOT MODEL THIS BEHAVIOR. Again, you’ll need to access the damage, and if possible avoid those double tray music stands which only encourage budding flute players to rest not only their flutes, but their piccolos on the spare tray.

You have a fantastic freshman flutist, they are always in the band room – practicing after lunch, in all sorts of ensembles during school, and in after school rehearsals. One day a bunch of notes on their flute stop working or it takes a lot of effort to get the sound out, why?

There are two things that need to be address here. Is the student cleaning out their flute after every use? Is the student playing with a clean mouth? One or the combination of both of these will cause leaks and subsequent tears in the pads that make the sound muffled, delayed or inaudible. Students who play a lot need to stay on top of this since the flute is a lot like a car the closer you get to those 3000 miles it’ll need service.

Preventative Measures

Discussions are the best way to help prevent expensive repairs. Here is a studio basics on flute care PDF.

In this document I address common questions:

  • What should be cleaned and how often?
  • What do we need [to clean the flute]?
  • Good websites or references [for cleaning tips and supplies]?
  • In-person vendors? *LOCATION SPECIFIC, ask your local flutists*
  • Repairs when (how much time between services)? How to know what type of repair to ask for?

This is much better suited for more serious flute players, middle school and high school students who are taking on more personal responsibilities than beginning flute players at the elementary level. Patience is they key with the younger students; and keeping an open line of communication with the parents to make sure they know what the expectations are rather than relying on the student to relay that knowledge to their parents.

Do you have any flute damage horror stories? What did you do? And how do you prevent damages going forward? Let me know in the comments.

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In this post we’ll be looking at exercises that can be used for the individual flute student – particularly useful during remote/hybrid instruction. The levels of student have been split into 3 sub sections; since this is directed towards students enrolled in traditional band programs there is a standard of Western musical literacy that is expected:

  • Beginning: Minimal musical literacy and/or minimal or developing flute sound production and technique.
  • Intermediate: Basic musical literacy (limited range, clefs, note names, etc) and/or developing flute tone, musicianship, and technique.
  • Advanced: Established musical literacy (full range, all basic music reading, articulations, dynamics, etc.) and/or developing flute tone, vibrato, musicianship, technique, etc.

These are just generalized levels – not necessary for students in a specific grade level; supplementing materials for material to be more age appropriate such as having a beginning high school student may be necessary…

Beginning

  • Drone – Matching just ONE pitch. Whether that be a B (Bb) A or G.

There are apps (ie. Tonal energy), physical drone/tuners (ie. KORG), or downloads that keep it interesting.. that students can use to match pitch.

Provide directed questions to optimize student achievement: Is that note higher or lower than the drone? [Reset] Play your note in 3 different spots in your room/house, which would sounded the best?

  • Listening/Rhythm – Depending on the level of musical literacy of the student there may be more set up on your end for them to be successful.

Either create or find rhythm cells [isolated patterns] for whichever level the student is at; one example is this Talking Rhythm: Counting 101. If the student is developing musical literacy you could provide them with a sample of the rhythm to read alongside the recording.

If the student is young or struggling to grasp certain patterns; varying instruction such as providing words for rhythms/telling stories with a set of familiar rhythms; or making a game out of rhythm call and response could successful.

  • Air/Breathing – Air direction is just as important as breathing well, especially for beginners.

A very “Suzuki Flute” concept is spitting rice this is invaluable because it achieves many skills: routine, tongue position, air direction, and air volume/force. Likewise it requires less explaining and more letting the student figure out how to do, definitely worth looking into for long term success.

A simple game you could have beginning flute student’s do is have them figure out “how old they are in flute years”. This can be done on the head joint or on any one pitch; basically, the student will time (either count or have someone count for them) how long they can hold a pitch and see if they can match/exceed their current age.

Intermediate

  • Drone – Depending on the student you could have them match anywhere from a Perfect 5th or a full octave (you could also break this up into several weeks on the first tetrachord and second tetrachord).

You can use the same directed questions from the Beginner drone warmup. You could also ask which notes against the drone sounded better/worse; if any of the intervals reminded them of songs they know. Try to engage them in active listening, extending to connecting music they know to the music they play.

  • Listening – Building student’s ear training you can provide them short excerpts (2-4 measures) to learn by ear.

There are books (ie. Funky Flute series) that include CDs that has a limited range that would be suitable for chunking, combined with range and simple rhythms for beginning-intermediate students. [Optionally, you could record a short excerpt on a keyboard for all instrument groups to work on by ear].

  • Rhythm/Musical Literacy – Both without and with the flute – it’s important for the students to be able to reproduce the rhythms/read away from the instrument so they can have an easier time transferring knowledge that is most likely very foreign to them.

Building upon common rhythm patterns; adding in rests would be the next step. Again recording rhythm cells/using words to represent rhythms/movements to go along with rhythms students can engage with music in a multiple ways.

  • Air/Breathing – Reviewing and maintaining solid breathing is the foundation to air support and developing a good tone.

You can continue to build on the beginning flute warmups such as the “How Old Are You In Flute Years?”. While also encouraging a more refined, focused tone. Listening should be incorporated in tone production – by presenting the students with a clear model to emulate they are less likely to get that airy/wide sound.

For fast passages – or passages that require a lot of articulation – your first spot to check may be the fingers. HOWEVER having the students turn their head joint upside down (still in playing position) so that the student’s air gets caught in the lip plate and creates a snake/hissing sound; when students are having issues with their air they can actually HEAR the difference between achieving or not achieving the hissing sound.

Advanced

  • Drone – Expanding the intermediate warmup, you can have the students practice scales or pieces with a drone of the tonic.

The important thing is active engagement/listening. Having the students close their eyes – taking away one of their senses to focus on listening – can be useful early on as a way to get student feedback. The students can play a scale against the drone and have them only move to the next note after getting the one before it in tune with the drone.

Advanced students can also work on vibrato width against a drone. John Wion‘s website is fantastic because it has examples of famous flute player’s vibrato in notable works at tempo as well as slowed down.

  • Listening – Some advanced students will continue to struggle with ear training so keeping them on the chunked excerpts from intermediate warmups is not doing a disservice to them.

However, for students with a more keen ear you can provide extensions for them with either longer excerpts – even better if it’s a piece they have interest in learning on their own. You can have them compile a list of performers/recordings to reference and work on learning the piece by ear.

  • Rhythm/Musical Literacy – Again, it is still important to build this skill with and without the flute.

More advanced students can develop their literacy in music theory. Reviewing the Circle of Fifths and looking at chords and their functions.

The rhythm cells can still be useful for advanced students for reviewing learned rhythms as well as learning more complex ones as well as polyrhythms.

  • Air/Breathing – Reviewing and maintaining solid breathing is the foundation to air support and developing a good tone.

You can continue that fast and/or articulated passage practice strategy with the flipped head joint.

Also, at this point the students will be developing their independence in self assessment/student direction so standard flute tone exercises such as the famous Marcel Moyse long tone exercise from De La Sonorite can be used routinely.

What type of warmups have you been utilizing with your flute students? Do you use any of these? Anything I missed? Let me know in the comments!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! I thought I would start off with the first post of 2021 being an instrument comparison since this [in a non-pandemic world] is the time region band meets again, at least in NJ. I have found that non-flutists rarely think of the flute and piccolo as different instruments. Of course, the other woodwind instruments have doubles (ie bassoon v. contra, all the saxophones, Bb clarinet v. bass v. alto…why are there so many clarinets). However, I have found in my own experiences that the doubling from flute to piccolo is expected to be this easily transferable skill when for many it is not.

Have some sympathy for your brand new piccolo players, and let’s get into what you need to know to help them transition easier from flute to piccolo:

What’s the same? What’s different?

At a glance, the piccolo may just be a “small flute” in fact some scores DO list the piccolo as such; one example being Grainger’s Shepard’s Hey (not exactly sure on the edition, but when I was handed the part I had a good laugh). This “small flute” label is misleading because the way you get a sound on the piccolo is VERY different than flute, and rather than giving piccolo to your first or second chair you should assess who may be best suited to play piccolo.

YES the fingerings are generally the same. However it is important to note that some flute fingerings DO NOT work (intonation wise, coordination wise) on the piccolo.

Good flute players are NOT always good piccolo players, this applies to both in high school and college. Just because a student is responsible and organized does not mean this is always a good fit for them!

The embouchure is a vital difference between the flute and piccolo. Of course, this needs to be generalized because embouchures vary greatly (even on flute alone) because of the differences of people’s mouth cavities, lips, and physical capabilities/limitations. For this generalization I will be referring to Nancy Toff’s “The Flute Book”:

Nancy Toff “The Flute Book” p. 94-95

YES the body needs to be relaxed, with minimal obstructions that will impact the air stream.

YES both the flute and piccolo should rest on the chin (that space right underneath the bottom lip) rather than ON the bottom lip itself. (Offset embouchures are okay on both instruments, if your primary instrument isn’t flute DON’T meddle too much with this let their flute instructor handle it).

Here’s where the similarities end. The lip formation/apperture as Toff discusses varies just on flute ALONE, add piccolo into the mix and things get confusing (especially for non flutists):

The flute has 3 general registers, each where the lip formation adjusts slightly to accommodate. One GREAT exercise that is rarely used for flute players in public schools is harmonics. While your brass players are doing their fundamentals let the flute players join in. Why? Because discovering the ratio of the top/bottom lips, apperture size, hole coverage is all highlighted when the students can only change the pitch that way (not changing their fingers at all).

The low register (B3/C4-B4): This is the most relaxed, the jaw is slightly lower (more space in the mouth cavity), the bottom lip needs to be wide (touching the lip plate) rather than turned up, to maximize tone quality.

The middle register (C5-B5): A more neutral set up, typically the upper lip is just slightly in front of the lower lip (think of the air hitting the lower lip and going down into the flute), the corners of the lips are still turned down; the space in the mouth is slightly less than before this can be achieved by a neutral jaw or widening the tongue.

The high register (C6-beyond): Rarely would you tell a student to pinch, or squeeze the sound; however things are getting smaller for this top register. The space between the top and bottom lips is the smallest – the lips are still able to let the air pass through, the cheeks are still relaxed, and the corners of the lips are still turned down; the space in the mouth is less which can be done by lifting/widening the tongue which also requires speeding up the air (like blowing out a candle rather than filling up a balloon).

The piccolo is a transposing instrument, it reads the same as flute, but sounds an octave higher. One MAJOR MISCONCEPTION that beginning piccolo players make is taking the embouchure from the middle and high registers on flute and applying it to piccolo. NO NO NO!

Beware, just because the sounding pitch is in that range as flute does not mean the embouchure stays the same. This is precisely why flute to piccolo is this ‘hidden challenge’ in comparison to the other woodwinds because with something actually inside the mouth – reed, mouth piece – the main challenge is size. However switching from flute to piccolo requires a completely NEW embouchure!

Generally, the most common mistakes new piccolo players make is squeezing or forming a too tight embouchure because they are trying to match the mid/higher embouchure from the flute. It is actually the OPPOSITE, maintaining a loose embouchure where the lips can still vibrate, and the cheeks are relaxed is ideal.

Obviously the piccolo is smaller and requires different air than the wider, longer bore of the flute. Also the materials are completely different (especially at the more advanced level).

While flutes are made of metals, piccolos are made of plastic/resin, wood, a combination of these. Piccolo players have to adjust to all of these factors. To summarize:

  • Piccolo size is much shorter and thinner than the flute.
  • Piccolo material varies much more than flute.
  • Piccolo range – transposes up an octave.
  • Piccolo embouchure – despite it’s range the lips and apperture are NOT the same as flute. Stay relaxed, loose on piccolo.
  • Intonation on certain fingerings from flute do NOT work on piccolo.

I have compiled some resources that can be useful for these students transitioning on flute to piccolo:

What are your tips on switching from flute to piccolo? What do you want band directors know before starting new piccolo students? Share you thoughts below!

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This fall I completed the first book in the Suzuki flute method, as a classically trained flutist I had some tools in my belt prior to taking this course. After taking the course, I recognized some of the limitations in engaging young students, such as the younger siblings (anywhere from 3+) of students in beginning band (generally ages 9-10) . In this post I will be sharing a combination of methods that can be used to support new flute students of any age.

Spitting Rice

Starting with a Suzuki method technique…

This is a relatively inexpensive tool since one bag of rice can go a long way. The largest benefit of this method is that the student is directing the instruction: you don’t need to lecture them or walk them through the hows and whys. Simply modeling and having them copy you is enough to get them started.

Furthermore, this tool can be build on for the students as the advance: making a game out of spitting rice at a target/picture will inadvertently teach the students how to direct their air without a long explanation. Plus, the students get to navigate what works for them with minimal exposition from the teacher,

Mimicking Sounds (“mm” “pah” “poo”)

Sounds that engage the lips particularly using fricatives which are a hard constant sound (for example, a common choir warmup is singing with a “ffffff” or “zzzz” or “vvvvvv” sound).

You can find a variety of online content that reference about their preferred sounds; some work better depending on the individual – generally the “mmm” like M&M, “pah” with an emphasis on the pop ‘h’ at the end of the sound, and “poo” with an emphasis on the ‘ew’ ending sound are successful for forming the flute embouchure shape.

Breathing; Organizing Air

For early wind students learning how to organize and control their air is most likely a completely new concept. Isolating this skill before introducing the instrument can help avoid headaches and bad habits later on when the students have to worry about assembling and holding their instrument, forming the embouchure, and having enough air to play.

The system used for teaching breathing really depend on the student’s level – regardless of age. Some students are ready for an exposition on understanding inhaling and exhaling, while other students would just rather observe and copy, another group work better in a natural, less pressured environment, etc.

The most important take away is that you isolate the skill of breathing before adding the flute; and then you can play games to build on that foundation.

For young students using bubble wands or balloons, to see how long they can exhale, what they notice about needed to in take more air, and how that results in forming a bigger a bubble or balloon.

Visual Tools

Not all students have the same learning style, some students benefit from seeing what they need to do and building on that some of these students prefer to teach themselves.

Two tools you can provide these students to enable their learning style are coffee straws and a mirror. The coffee straw can be placed between the top/bottom lip, no more than 1 centimeter in the mouth, at a diagonal where the higher point is pointed towards the roof of the mouth. This tool allows the students to see how large the aperture (or the shape between the top and bottom lip) should be. The mirror allows for self-assessment, with or without a coffee straw, the student can see their own lips and observe what they are doing with guided questions to help them notice what to look for.

Eliminating Variables/Distractions

Rarely would you teach a young student to do several things at once. As a general rule, you would want to establish small foundational steps that you continue to build on as they develop. While it is important to hold students to a high standard, allowing them the space to succeed with realistic goals and expectations is paramount.

When introducing the producing first sounds on head joint (after successfully forming the embouchure and exploring air organization), bringing the head joint to the student and asking them to just focus on breathing and forming the sound/articulation will provide the least distractions and eliminate any potential bad habits. By bringing the head joint to the student, they don’t need to adjust their body, move their head, etc – remind the student to let the flute come to them. Early on this could be a game in group lessons where the students “deliver” the flute to another student.

What do you do for getting the first sound on the flute? Have you seen any Suzuki flute teaching incorporated into the classroom before?

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Hi Everyone, I am happy to report that I survived my graduate comp essays. I passed the history portion, and just waiting to get my theory results back.

Other updates:

I finished teacher training for Suzuki Flute Book 1 so I can now teach that!!

I got my own ukulele – since my Teacher Popular Music course is coming to an end, I’ll have to return the school’s instrument so I wanted to have my own to continue learning – right now I can really only play the opening to “The Moon and Me” from the Addams family music and the melody to the Animal Crossing New Horizons intro song.

I thought I also might be useful to share some holiday gift recommendations for flute players since this is being posted on Black Friday, and most online retailers will continue sales through the weekend.

Originally, I posted this list on my OG tumblr (x):

Warm up/Technique books:

1. Paula Robinson Warmup Book

2. Taffanel and Gaubert – This is on IMSLP

3. Reichert – Also on IMSLP

4. Trevor Wye Omnibus Edition

5. The Flute Scale Book

6. Moyse … he has so much I like his 24 little pieces in particular

Solo (ie etudes,flute and piano or orchestral/band excerpt)/Technique

1. Flute 101 and 102

2. Baxstresser Orchestral Excerpts for Flute

3. The Orchestral Flute Practice Book – Trevor Wye and Patricia Morris

4. Andersen op. 33 (etudes)

5. Berbigiuer (etudes) – This may also be on IMSLP

6. Karg-Elert Caprices (etudes)

Solo (ie solo flute or flute and accompaniment) music*

*as a general rule, Barenreiter or UrText collections (such as Bach or Handel collections) are great if you’re looking for a specific piece and also want some other material to read through

Also, many parts published by the “International Music Company” are littered with errors (I have had several pianists go on and on about this so just a heads up to be cautious).

Flute-centric books/reading

1. The Flute Book (Nancy Toff)

2. Flute Secrets (Trevor Wye)

3. Quantz’s How To Play the Flute

Some good flute specific online shops:

The Flute Center of NY has an online sheet music shop: Rose Music and the prices have been very fair in my experiences with them – and they usually have sales going on soo definitely worth checking out.

Flute World also has a ton of music on their website, but it can sometimes be more expensive or take awhile to get to you because they do not have the item in their facilities and have to order it for you.

Or the Flutistry of Boston also tends to have a wide array of flute goodies!

How was your November? Do you have any holiday gift recommendations – flute-centric or otherwise?

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Hello all!

This month is usually a hectic one for a lot of music students.

This November I am taking my Comp Exams (Graduate Exams in both Theory and History) to graduate. They are research based, running all month. If I was just taking my comps (if only) I might be able to keep on top of posting this month, but I also have to balance projects for my Teaching Popular Music course, Suzuki teacher training and observations, 20th Century Music History War and Peace seminar, teaching, and just my general sanity!

I may add some posts this month as updates to this process, but I will not be posting regular content (at least that’s the plan) again until December once things simmer down.

Good luck to all with a crazy month ahead of them.

Emma

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7 months into this ever evolving pandemic teachers continue to search for stability and familiarity in their classrooms. Both veteran and new teachers alike are on a new – unfamiliar – playing field where there are far more questions than answers. Outside of the public school teaching scene, being an instrumental studio teacher is just as uncertain. There is a lot that gets lost without being able to be in the same room with students. Many families and even teachers have tried to make accommodations to replicate in-person lessons, but these past months have been completely new terrain as everyone has different levels of comfort and concerns when it comes to their healthy and safety.

The purpose of this article will be ideas regarding instruction methods, ways to keep students present, and foster positive classroom relationships with students and studios.

1. Encourage time away from screens.

  • Students are spending the majority of their days in front of computers – whether or not they are physically attending schools. In their free time they may be adding to their screen time; therefore, it is important to reinforce activities that either don’t involve technology or are low tech.
  • If there is a way to have the student listen to you (rather than be sat in front of a computer) and be physically doing something or exploring the space around them.
    • For example, you could send your student colored construction paper to represent musical notes and have them practice improvising songs by assigning notes to colors. Rearrange the order of the color papers and see what types of combinations you both come up with.
  • If you are comfortable meeting somewhat in person, drive up/outside duets or chamber music, are nice change of pace in these isolating times.

2. Spend more time on establishing that safe classroom environment than forcing them to work.

  • Let the students lead the discussions. Prompt them with questions that will get them talking; if you have to start with a game to ease them into the lesson.
    • Some games I have seen are “This or That” similar to “Would You Rather” or you can ask them to pick an object/toy in the room that represents them or they find interesting.

3. Encourage activities or listening that can occur away from the instrument.

  • Recently, I have been taking Suzuki courses where daily activities are used to relate to instrument playing. Mental practice for older students – having them do simple analysis (noticing what the accompaniment is doing or outlining the dynamic arch) or for younger students, doing a coloring exercise while listening to music can be another way to get students away from screens and engaging with the lesson materials.

4. Be a cheerleader for the student.

  • Reinforce what the student does well, even if it is a small step.
  • You may never know exactly what is going on that can impact a student’s work or motivation; maintaining a safe and positive classroom environment can help with this. However, sometimes students still won’t feel comfortable sharing and that’s okay, you don’t need to have your student be an open book. Observe when the student starts to close off, and note their limits to start working within their comfort zone.

5. Be mindful of how you phrase criticism

  • While constructive criticism is completely necessary for improvement – ask yourself if there is a better way to communicate what you want the student to do:
    • For example, instead of saying “Don’t rush”… Have the student play it slow (half tempo), and ask them what they notice compared to how they played it before.
      • This can be effective because you are walking them through good practice techniques: slowing down muddy passages (and you can direct the student to gradually bump up the tempo). Then, prompting the student to lead the discussion with their own observations.

6. Don’t be upset if you get off track or you don’t accomplish as much as you planned.

  • The saying “it’s not the destination, but the journey” applies here – during these times you will most likely not see the progress you were expecting for a number of reasons. That’s okay.

How are you engaging your online students? Let me know in the comments below.