Flute Tuition
When coming to me as a beginner, we have a few lessons to get to know each other and I also work to get an understanding of what you want to gain from your lessons.
When I have new flute students as beginners, we start by learning how to blow a sound from the flute which can take some pupils longer than others. We do this by taking the head joint off the flute and making a variety of sounds. I encourage my students to try and produce the sound using all sorts of different techniques. Once they are able to produce a sound, we then put the flute back together and we work on learning the notes. The flute’s fingering is the same as the descant recorder so if you have spent time learning the recorder, you will find the transition to the flute a lot easier. I tend to use the Abracadabra series of books for learning the flute for all my students and some of the pieces from this book are part of the exam syllabus for the earlier grades.
I teach mostly in the Norwich area but I also cover Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft and my lessons vary in length from 30 minutes to an hour. For more information or to book a lesson with with me call 07967 023 568 or email [email protected].
Please Note: You will need to purchase a flute before having lessons as I do not lend flutes out for students to try.
Advice For Buying A Flute
When trying flutes out, I suggest going to a reputable music shop to try all the different instruments out as each and every flute is very different. I also advise my younger students who are keen to learn the flute to buy a flute with a curved head joint as this makes it easier to pick up and play and helps with the student’s posture when playing.
If just playing a standard flute with a straight head joint, this can sometimes make it more difficult for a younger student to play as they often find the instrument heavy to play and this will affect their posture, so I often suggest starting with a curved head joint.
Some of the beginner’s flutes come with a curved head joint and others come with both a straight and curved head joint. I often advise looking for a secondhand instrument to start with, so that we can gauge their interest in the flute.
More recently, plastic (Nuvo flutes) have come to the market which weigh just over 220g which is approximately half the weight of a metal flute which have all the same keywork as a traditional flute but of course the sound is not the same! The plastic flutes are obviously a lot easier to clean too.
If you're in the process of buying a flute and would like some further advice, feel free to give me a call on 07967 023 568
Ensemble Playing
As the flute is an orchestral instrument, I encourage all my younger students to take part in their school orchestras, concert bands or wind bands. My adult students are also encouraged to play as part of an ensemble too as there are a number of amateur windbands or orchestras in the Norfolk area that are looking for players.
My younger students are also encouraged to attend orchestral courses and the weekly Saturday ensemble rehearsals & workshops run by Norfolk County Music Hub.