Side Notes Archives - Page 5 of 5

What Instruments Should Accompany the Flute?

What instruments should accompany the flute? There are so many instruments that sound great with the flute. My favorites are the guitar, piano, harpsicord, harp, organ, and many percussion instruments. I have even played an entire polka accompanied solely by a tuba! All of those instruments lend themselves well to the rhythm section. And depending on the piece, many more instruments back up a flutist as well. I especially like when a flutist can play […]

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The Best Age for Learning the Flute

For Parents, Side Notes / By Rebecca Fuller

The best age for learning the flute is: (drum roll…..) Almost any age! I began my middle son when he was only 2 years old. He cried and begged every day for me to “poot” with him. (poot meant flute) He was jealous of the time I was spending with his 5 year old brother while practicing. So, I did it. I purchased a plastic baroque recorder and we began lessons right away.

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Song Choice for Flute

Performing, Side Notes / By Rebecca Fuller

“Song Choice”. For some reason I feel like American Idol is coining this phrase. But, I’ve been using it for years. When choosing a piece to practice or perform, where should we turn? Well, it depends on if the choice is ours or our teacher’s. For the sake of this article, the choice will be ours only. I have students who consistently bring Disney Music books to the lesson after Christmas Holiday. They are

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A Very Motivating Practice

For Parents, Performing, Side Notes / By Rebecca Fuller

As a musician, flute teacher, and mother of professional musicians I have learned a thing or two about motivating others to get their practicing done effectively. My family and I (excluding my husband) perform a lot. My boys actually have been paid to perform since they were six years old. (true!) Sometimes several times a week. This has gone in waves over the years, but I tried to count the performances we were involved in a

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Can a 9 year old practice the flute alone?

For Parents, Side Notes / By Rebecca Fuller

Can a 9 year old practice the flute alone? Yes. And no. Children are so darn smart! I have had 24 years of experience teaching children under the age of 10 (and over, but that’s not the subject here). Children are so darn smart! I know they can do many, many things, but one thing I know is that they are really good at shortcuts. Especially boys. 🙂 In my experience, when a child

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Great sounds…

Side Notes / By Rebecca Fuller

There are great sounds in my home tonight. I have one child practicing in his room. He just turned 10 and is working on the Serenade a Pierrette by Szulc. I love it. He’s having troubles remembering the slur in a certain measure, so I get to hear that measure a lot tonight. I have another working on the Flight of the Bumblebee down in the studio. He’s 14 and really, really good. I love

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Why the flute? (part 1)

Side Notes / By Rebecca Fuller

Why the flute instead of another instrument? Why did I choose to play the flute myself? Well… I have a pretty fun story. It all began waaaay back in about 1982 when my family was cleaning out my grandpa’s old root cellar.He was moving to another town, so we had to get everything out of the house. I was only about ten years old and had fun looking for all the treasures you can find

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