Lisa's Flute Studio Blog

The final week before the Vermont All State audition is here – it’s getting close! Take a deep breath, enjoy your accomplishments so far, and check over all the details to make sure your final stretch sets you up to show the best of your abilities. As you go into the final stretch, savor the [...]

    Here are a few pictures from our recent students’ performance at Heaton Woods supervised living center on December 10, 2011. Students performing ranged from age 5 to 13, plus a couple of parents.     We started with trio arrangements of Offenbach’s Can Can, Saint Saens’ “Aquarium” from Carnival of the Animals, and [...]

You’re two weeks away from your Vermont All State Festival audition. Whew! If you’ve been following directions on these blog entries you’ve done a lot of work and are probably mostly pretty well prepared! Congratulations on your hard work! Now’s the time to 1) prepare yourself psychologically for the process, 2) go over all the [...]

I love this 19th century depiction of what a typical morning may have looked like in the Bach household. History tells us a tiny part of the story of Bach’s life, and perhaps we can imagine at least some of the rest! Listen to some of his most famous works to get an idea about [...]

You’re four weeks away. Still breathing? Good – keep it up – but only where you plan it! Now’s the time to make sure that ANYWHERE you think you might need a breath is marked in. Now Bach has a reputation regarding breathing among flutists. Make no mistake – Bach knew what he was doing [...]

“The aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else but the Glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit.” J.S. Bach. So you’ve learned the notes and rhythms of your audition piece (in the case of this year’s Vermont All State Festival Audition that’s Bach’s E flat Sonata, movements 1 & [...]

Perhaps you’re very confident in your intonation. Then again, perhaps you’re not. If you’re in the latter group, you’re not alone – in fact you’re in the majority. Rule number one: intonation counts. If you’re just playing without giving any thought to intonation, you’re almost certainly playing out of tune at least part of the [...]

Here are a few ideas for counting games for a fun and productive practice session with younger children. The basic idea is that the adult chooses a particular spot that needs work – normally as small and specific as possible (perhaps a single clear note on the head joint for a beginner, maybe A to [...]

Hopefully now your tone is pretty well developed and consistent, your posture, hand position, and other technical elements are pretty good, you’ve got your scales down, the notes and rhythms of your performance piece have been well-learned, and you’re gaining in comfort with sight reading. Right? If not, please read over entry number one in [...]

1) Take a deep breath. It’s normal to feel a little nervous when faced with music you’ve never seen before and yet have to play in front of people. But take a minute to remember that this is YOUR audition. Take your time. 2) Take note of the key signature. “Say” the names of the [...]