The flute is part of the instrumental family called woodwinds! They once received their name by once being made entirely out of wood! Today, they are made of wood, metal, plastic or some combination but the name still holds. This family of instruments includes (from the highest sounding instruments to the lowest) the flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, and bassoon. They are all basically narrow cylinders or pipes, with holes, an opening at the bottom end and a mouthpiece at the top. You play them by blowing air through the mouthpiece and opening or closing the holes with your fingers to change the pitch. Metal caps called keys cover the holes of most woodwind instruments. The mouthpieces for some woodwinds, including the clarinet, oboe and bassoon, use a thin piece of wood called a reed, which vibrates when you blow across it. Just as with the stringed instruments, the smaller woodwinds play higher pitches while the longer and larger instruments play the lower notes.

What to Expect in Lessons:

The flute in particular is one of our most popular instrumental lessons and most of our students found it highly beneficial to pair with their school band. It is always valuable to play an instrument in a group/school setting and learn how to make music with others, however, due to the large number of children in these classes and only one teacher, many students do not receive adequate attention to really propel them forward in their playing! This can be especially frustrating for young students who take a keen interest in the instrument and feel that they are being held back simply by lack of instruction. It is also unfortunate that most band teachers are familiar with all band instruments but are typically only specialized in one or two instruments. This makes it so they are able to give each student an overview of the instruments to get them playing, but unable to delve into the nitty gritty that is necessary to really excel on an instrument. Individual lessons allow the one-on-one attention required to develop a student’s technique and solo playing which will then begin to show in a group setting!

Our experienced teachers are here to provide fun and structured lessons for the beginners, intermediates, and advanced. The beginners will learn the foundational aspects such as good posture, embouchure, breathing, intonation, tone production, note-reading, rhythm, theory, and more. The intermediates and advanced students will learn how to play more challenging music and fine tune and polish their playing by mastering more advanced technique.