In honor of the upcoming Indiana Music Educator’s Association annual convention this weekend, I wanted to post a few references that all of you non-flute playing music educators might find helpful for teaching beginning to intermediate flute players. As both a player and an educator, I know how frustrating it can be for beginning flute players, who may take quite a bit longer than their other wind counterparts to successfully get a sound out of their instrument, and some may be tempted to quit or switch instruments early on. This is normal, and encouragement and attempting to hone in on the problem early is very important.
One of the easiest problems to spot from your place on the podium or at the front of the classroom is hand position. Many young players have small hands and short arms that make the playing position of the flute a bit challenging. The easiest problem to spot–and fix early on–is the right hand and finger position. Many students flatten out their fingers over the keys instead of curving them. Spotting those problems early will help discourage bad habits later on. Having students visualize holding a soda can or a tennis ball helps to show the natural curvature of the right hand. A product that helps some students address this issue–and which is carried in the IFS–is the Thumbport. This small adaptive device attaches underneath the F key on the right hand and helps encourage a more natural curvature.
As I mentioned in the blog last week, one of the best books out there for any level of player is Flute for Dummies, written by Karen Evans Moratz, principal flute player of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. I would recommend this to any band director, especially those who feel that flute is not an instrument on which they feel particularly comfortable. Lastly, the Army Field Band has an excellent website on flute resources, complete with videos from their flute players. Check it out: http://www.armyfieldband.com/pages/education/flute.html
For those of you who will be at the IMEA convention this weekend, I will be at the Paige’s Music booth on Friday. Come say hello!
