Should I leave my flute out or put it away back in its case? This is an easy one. #1 answer: Put it away. It’s so sad to see the shiny go away. Our flutes gets so tarnished when they are left out for long periods of time. It’s so sad to see the shiny go away. And it will if left out too many times over night. If you like your shiny silver […]
Leave It Out or Put It Away? Read More »
I always feel bad for the piano students who have their teacher come at them with the fingernail clippers nipping them to the buds. Yikes. We don’t need to get that radical as flute players. Everyone of us have fingernails. Because we play the flute with the “pads” of our fingers, we are just fine having some nail. The only time I have ever had an issue is when my pinky nail on my right
Have Fingernails? Me Too! Read More »
The title of this article is kind of funny, I know. But, I’m so surprised to see how many don’t know how to achieve a good feeling back and body while sitting and playing the flute. This article will describe how to do it easily. There are more descriptions, videos, and pictures within LearnFluteOnline. Don’t worry. Sitting for flutists…I remember always asking my stand partner (in band/orchestra) if I could please sit on the right
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Ah, the age-old question. Should I sit or stand when I practice my flute? The flute only weighs about .97 lbs. My #1 answer: Stand. (Sitting instructions will be given in a different article) If your back or neck or arms are getting crampy or tired when you stand you need to know that you may be holding your flute in a not-so-great way. Unlike most of the cartoon drawings you see, your flute
Sit or Stand? for flutists Read More »
The older I get the more thankful I am that I chose the flute as an instrument I wanted to excel at. It is the most perfect instrument for worship services. I have been able to use my talent literally hundreds (maybe pushing thousands) of times! I feel a responsibility to help bring the spirit into the meetings and feel honored to be able to be a part of it. I am very careful when
Have you ever stopped to look at your right hand pinky? Try it right now. Is it short, long, curvy, straight? What kind of a pinky do you have? I think the poor little guy is often over-looked. Our flute pinky is a very important part of playing our flute. But, I think the poor little guy is often over-looked. When positioning our right hand on the flute, our right hand has a special
Ah, the age old question. How long should I practice? Well, my answer is always: It depends. Questions to be answered first: 1. How old are you? 2. How advanced are you?’ 3. What are your goals? 4. What are you preparing for? A beginner should start with about 10 – 20 minutes. This of course, depends on how old you are. Very young children should begin with less than 5 minutes (twice daily).
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Have you ever been learning a certain piece and had it almost all completed and polished except the practice spot? I have. And I know my students have as well. I spend large portions of my teaching time helping students make it through these elusive trouble spots. Some students even ask me if they can play the whole piece except that part. (funny, but no) Take your repetition number all the way to 100 Here
Every year beginning on January 1st I ask my studio to begin a 100 day contest. During this contest students must remember to practice each and every day without missing a single one. Hard? For some. But, you’d be surprised at the number of winners I have each year. The first year was a test to see who could actually do it, and of the 30 students I challenged I had 2 winners. I gave
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I was involved in a 4 hour master class yesterday at a University here in Utah. During the master class on 2 different occasions, students had troubles with the entrance into their performance pieces. The first time, the student just continued on after all the blurping at the beginning, and continued to blurp the whole song long. (blurp = messing up) The second student however, blurped (on the 3rd note and not able to