Before our flute choir concerts, I like to do a calming exercise with the group so they can play with more relaxed bodies and clearer mental focus. It is a simple breathing exercise that has had good results so far. I have them breathe in through their noses for a slow count of 4, thenContinue reading “Calming Pre-Concert Nerves”
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Chasing the Tone
When I haven’t been practicing regularly, one of the things I tend to do is something I beg and plead students not to do. Simply put, I chase the notes with the airstream. I shoot the air up at high notes and dive down to scoop the low notes, drawing the shape of the melodyContinue reading “Chasing the Tone”
Thoughts on Conducting a Flute Choir
I’m just recovering from the most recent performance of the flute choir that I conduct, (the Tampa Bay Flute Choir). It was a lovely performance in front of a large, enthusiastic audience. It could hardly have gone better! I have to admit that I was VERY, nervous going into the performance, almost unreasonably so. IContinue reading “Thoughts on Conducting a Flute Choir”
Greg Pattillo brings “Bach to the future”
Sorry for the terrible pun, but it fits! If you like what you hear in this video and want to try it yourself, Pattillo has transcribed this version of a Bach flute staple as one of 4 beat-box etudes. Who ever thought they would hear those two terms in the same sentence, beat-box and etudes?Continue reading “Greg Pattillo brings “Bach to the future””
Flute Practice Epiphany 1
I think one of the benefits of getting older is that I have had the opportunity to hear many different ideas and perspectives on flute practice. Every once in awhile one of these ideas will spark an epiphany, a little bolt of intellectual lightning that lights up my brain. The solution to a problem suddenlyContinue reading “Flute Practice Epiphany 1”