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Summer Successes

7/15/2018

First, I'd like to congratulate the above ladies for their recent audition successes! Leonie S. (on the left) will be attending the Fine Arts Center at Wade Hampton High this fall as a 9th grader. The FAC offers music-intensive courses for half a day (theory, ensemble work, etc.) while students attend regular studies for the other half of the day. FAC students receive superior instruction and opportunities, and are prepared in college-prep music work.

CariAnn N., on the right, auditioned for and won a spot in the Carolina Youth Symphony for this fall. She is a rising 10th grader at Mauldin High. The CYS offers students an opportunity to stretch their skills in a structured setting by playing much more advanced repertoire than they encounter in band. CYS rehearses one evening per week, and is a fantastic fit for those who are serious about pursuing their musical skills. Only the best flutists are chosen for CYS, since fewer flutists are needed in proportion to string instruments, so this is quite an honor for CariAnn!

On another front, most of Julie's Flute Studio students are participating in the Summer Practice Contest. Students set weekly practice goals back in June; if they meet their goals for six out of the eight weeks of the program, they are invited to an ice cream party at Musical Innovations on Saturday, August 11 at 5:30pm. Can't wait!

Many students are also preparing for their next milestone: a Musical Innovations recital for all instruments at Mauldin First Baptist Church on Saturday, August 11 at 4pm. This will be a casual, luau-themed recital where students are actually encouraged to wear flowered Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts. This will be a fun event to celebrate all that can be accomplished in the few short weeks of summer!

WINNERS! All-County, Here We Come!

1/16/2018

Congratulations to Emma K. and Leonie S., both of Mauldin Middle School, who WON their auditions into All-County Band on Tuesday, January 9! Way to go!

"Show and Tell" Group Lesson

11/15/2017

Saturday, December 2, 11am, Musical Innovations at 150G Tanner Road, Greenville, SC

This semester, our student make-up day will be wrapped into Show and Tell, a group lesson experience in which students share with each other what they are learning. During our lesson time, each student is preparing a piece he/she is working on, and a story to go with it. Students will share challenges of the piece, or a bit of history surrounding the life of the composer or interesting facts about the piece.

Musical Innovations has graciously agreed to host our event on Saturday morning, December 2, at 11am. The event will last one hour.

All students have something valuable to share, and each of us can learn from one another. My goals are to:

foster a team spirit among flute students
allow younger students to appreciate the advanced music of older students
allow older students to appreciate the learning stage of younger students
give all students an opportunity for a low-pressure public presentation experience
promote learning across all stages of musical development.

Students Win Top Chairs in Wind Band

10/12/2017

Emma K. and Leonie S., students of Mauldin Middle School, recently auditioned and won top chairs in their school's elite Wind Band! Emma and Leonie prepared all summer to play the SC All-State Flute Solo for this audition. Their hard work paid off! They are now 3rd and 1st chairs, respectively. Both of these students work diligently and purposefully. Congratulations to you both!

Listening Exercise for Students

3/5/2016

Below is a link to a 3.25 minute piece played by Emmanuel Pahud, one of the foremost flute performers of our time. I would like for each student to view this at least once before our next lesson, with these observations in mind:

1. What is the setting? (orchestral solo)
2. Describe Mr. Pahud's flute
3. Would you describe the piece as lyrical or technical?
4. Make note of Mr. Pahud's embouchure and hand position
5. Listen carefully to his tone. How would you describe it?
6. What other instruments do you see, and what are they doing?

For bonus work, students may research Emmanuel Pahud, listen to more videos of his playing, or listen to more of the Carmen opera. Students may use part of their practice time to complete this assignment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eChLCFAGyx0

Studio Newsletter

3/1/2016

My students do a great job with their music, but they also excel in other areas of their lives as well! Here are a few highlights:
Sandra, Emma, and Roshni successfully performed solos in the All-State auditions. Emma and Roshni advanced to All-County Band, and Roshni also advanced to Region band. Good job, girls!
Hanna, Chloe, and Gabrielle all participated in their school talent shows recently. Hanna performed a flute solo, and Chloe and Gabrielle danced. This is such good performance experience!
Maureen's poem was published in last week's edition of Greenville Online, a weekly news publication. Her poem was about fingers, and included how her fingers play flute :)

Upcoming Flutes-Only Recital is scheduled for 2pm on Saturday, May 21 at Musical Innovations (150-G Tanner Road, Greenville). It will last about an hour, and will include flute solos, duets, and group flute ensemble pieces. There is no recital fee, but there is a $10 accompanist fee for students needing an accompanist. This fee includes a rehearsal and the performance. Commitment forms will go out in April, at which time the non-refundable accompanist fee will be due. During lessons, all students will be studying pieces that can be used in recital, whether they participate or not.

Summer Lessons: Yes! I teach through the summer :) Summer lessons benefit students in many ways:
*they have more time to focus on musical progress because they don't have academic homework, thereby accomplishing greater milestones, faster
*they don't regress in their skill. It normally takes at least 6 weeks of remedial work in the fall for students who don't study in the summer to catch up
*the student's lesson spot is reserved for the fall (my studio is full and still growing!)
*the student's tuition typically stays the same. New and returning students pay a higher tuition rate which increases in August.
Summer lessons are flexible and pro-rated in June, July, and August due to family vacations and summer activities.

I'm proud of my students and their accomplishments, and I like to post student photos and videos on my website and studio Facebook page. When I do, only the student's first name and last initial are mentioned, for safety's sake. Many parents have already given their consent, but if for any reason you do not want your student's photo on the internet, contact me and I will respect your wishes. :)

I encourage all my students to share your music! We learn these skills to benefit not only ourselves, but others as well. Take opportunities to bring pleasure to others and build performance experience by playing for your family, at nursing homes, in church, or any place you can find to share. :)

Musical Milestones

6/8/2015

Many flute students participated in one of two spring recitals on May 16 and 26 at First Baptist Church of Mauldin. I received many, many compliments about how well my students played, and particularly about how good their tone is! I was so pleased to know that our hard work has payed off. Beautiful tone is what sets apart great flutists from mediocre ones.

My students also exhibited exquisite stage deportment--they each introduced their pieces, connected with the audience, had stable performances, and showed excellent performance etiquette. Pictured below are some of the recitalists:

Pictured clockwise from left:

Gabrielle P.
Lindsey N.
Back row: Lexie Ensley, Roshni S., Julianne Ensley
Front row: Aravind L., Madisyn M.

Attending Concerts: an indispensable learning tool

4/15/2015

Most students participate in band, which means that the performers they listen to most often are their peers. While band is helpful in many ways, all students need a bigger vision for what they themselves can accomplish with music.

Attending concerts is tantamount to the well-rounded musical experience. Concerts give students a chance to hear many types of instruments working together to create a variety of sounds, textures, and emotions. Students need the exposure to the timber (peculiar voice) of instruments other than their own to discern how many sounds blend together for different effects.

Concerts generally include musical works from different time periods and composers, offering listeners an opportunity to compare and contrast the various forms and expressions used. Classical works, for example, differ greatly from music that was composed in the Romantic, Impressionistic, Modern and Post-Modern periods. Students often choose favorites and learn how the music performed compares to the pieces they are currently studying.

The concert experience opens the student's mind to a new cultural setting. Though the degree of formality may differ depending on the performance, the general expectation of a concert is that it is a cultural event, so students learn to dress appropriately as an audience member, to be courteous listeners, to applaud at appropriate times (at the end of a complete work instead of between movements of a work or items in a series), and to pay close attention visually and aurally.

I encourage my students to attend as many professional performances as possible; in fact, I update parents regularly on upcoming opportunities, many of which are free. Here is one that would be well worth your attendance:

The BJU Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, April 25, 7:00pm
Rodeheaver Auditorium
1700 Wade Hampton Blvd.
Greenville, SC 29614

for a complete list of upcoming concerts and a campus map, click here:

http://www.bju.edu/events/fine-arts/concerts.php

Recital Time!

1/21/2015

I can think of very few activities that build confidence and stretch students' abilities as musical recitals do. Friday night, January 16, five of my students participated in a recital at Musical Innovations. For many of them, this was their first opportunity to share their music publicly! I was very pleased with their poise and performances. Each student first introduced himself/herself and the selected piece, played well, then took a bow and acknowledged the accompanist (Alexandria Ensley). They showed professionalism, even though some are still in elementary school!

For Ryan M., this performance opportunity was a trial run before he auditions for scholarships at 3 different colleges over the next 8 weeks. He played the Bach Partita in A Minor Sarabande, a solo work for flute.

Ryan has studied with me since August 2013. He attends the Fine Arts Center in Greenville and is involved in such organizations as the Fountain Inn Symphony Orchestra and the Greenville Youth Symphony. He also freelances as a musician.

Several people asked me about Aravind's flute, which is short and has a curved head joint. This flute is sometimes called an Eb flute because that is the lowest note it plays (instead of a low C which is common on a student flute). The head joint is curved to allow his arms to reach the keys with ease. It won't be long until Aravind grows big enough for a regular C flute, but for now, he is making outstanding progress on a flute that is just his size without undue strain, tension, and the development of detrimental habits. Aravind has studied with me since last fall.

Playing "Air Flute"

1/14/2015

Well, why not? People play "air guitar"; why not "air flute"?

Recently, my student Chloe had oral surgery which will keep her from actually playing her flute for about 6 weeks. Her mother wisely decided to keep her in flute lessons during her recovery time, so I was pleased to have the opportunity to help Chloe learn how to practice "away" from her flute.

Sometimes it is even more helpful to practice without an instrument than with it because it reduces distractions and helps us to focus on specific concepts we are trying to learn. It is easy to fill a 30-60 minute or more practice session developing rhythm, breathing, theory, and even technical passages. In Chloe's lessons, we work from a rhythm book for the first segment anyway, so we check the written counts and then clap out rhythms. If the tempo is inconsistent, we use a metronome. To change things up, I might even use a percussion instrument to perform the rhythm exercises.

Chloe doesn't want to get behind in learning her music, either, so we use her flute to finger the music and "air play". If we listen carefully, we hear the pitches that are voiced when the flute keys are depressed because the flute tube resonates quietly. That way, we do know if she's hitting the right notes. She gets used to the note combinations without having to blow! This exercise is one I commonly use in other students' lessons as well: we call out the note names (in rhythm, of course) while synchronizing the key fingerings. The brain makes a strong connection when so many kinesthetic tools are used: feeling the fingering, saying a note name, hearing oneself call out the note name, etc.

While playing "air flute", it would be easy to forget to breathe in appropriate places because air is not used in the same way. Therefore, it is important to consciously inhale at the breath marks just as one would do while playing. Building this habit is quicker than trying to learn many things at once, as when one is sight reading or learning a piece in the beginning stages.

When Chloe is able to resume regular flute playing, I fully expect that she will not have lost any ground. In fact, some habits may be stronger, and others may have improved! Practicing "away from the flute" is handy for all students, whether they are in a place where they are not allowed to make much noise, such as while waiting in band class, or if they want to learn a concept quickly by building one habit at a time.