This is a little delayed, perhaps, but it’s time for a bit of perspective on the events of last year. As I went back and read through my summary of 2011, I can’t help but be reminded of how incredibly, insanely different this January is compared to last January. Last January, I wrote my end-of-year …
As a college professor, one thing that can be difficult for me to assess at the end of the semester is how much progress my students have made in the preceding 14-or-so weeks. When grades are tied to assessing this progress, it makes things even dicier. Feelings, scholarships, and progress towards their degree completion makes …
So I entered the realm of beatboxing a while back and figured it was time to write about it. I can’t remember exactly when I started experimenting with it, but it couldn’t have been much earlier than this past spring. The name to know in flute beatboxing circles is Greg Pattillo, who is a performer …
I would be remiss if I didn’t write a blog post about my new gig. This semester, I began as an Assistant Professor of Music at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. If you told me a year ago (or even six months ago) that this is the direction my career would take …
The following was a result of a handout I put together for a workshop. More detailed information can be found about these topics in separate blog posts on this site. Establish a solid practice schedule: Actually block off time in your schedule designated specifically for practicing. Avoid using it for lunch, socializing, homework, errands, …
If you are interested in following along with Sir James Galway as he overhauls his technique, check out the following video. He has issued a “Practice Challenge,” where flutists from presumably around the world will all be working out of the same technique book. He will be using Marcel Moyse’s Daily Exercises book. I will …
It seems that, as young faculty members, the task of teaching non-music majors falls to us. My first college teaching gig wasn’t teaching applied flute (even though I have three degrees in the subject) – it was teaching music appreciation. It’s a real eye-opener to go from a graduate program, taking upper-level musicology seminars, to …
As the fall semester is very nearly here, it’s time for me to get my Flute Studio Syllabus together. My goal in creating my syllabus (besides appeasing the administration!) is to set expectations and establish a culture in flute studio for the year. Hopefully, by doing this at the very beginning, all of my students …
What do you do when you’ve practiced that one difficult section over and over and over again, and it still isn’t right? It’s not fast enough, or smooth enough, or loud enough, or … It can be really frustrating when you’re making an honest effort to improve but you aren’t seeing results. Next time you …
Often, when you have been doing a considerable amount of practice, you suddenly feel like you’re getting much WORSE instead of better. In my experience, this is actually a good thing. You aren’t getting worse. It’s just that your ears are now more acutely aware of the things about your playing that could be improved. …
