Welcome to Band/Orchestra

By starting out making our instrument our friend and name our instrument. We often find that our sound is better and we take the instrument more seriously. One way you can learn how to make a beautiful sound on the instrument is by using it to softly make meditation music for yourself. 

DON'T THINK. DON'T JUDGE. JUST PLAY and see what happens. There are no wrong notes but it's important to remember to not overblow into the instrument you will get that loud, squeaky sound that no one wants to hear.

We will learn how to hold the instrument and position our hands and fingers to make the correct sounds. By learning how to properly place our lips and fingers on the instrument we will then transition into learning to play the instrument by making a song. By starting out learning the 5 note scale you will even be able to improvise melodies to backtrack beats provided during class time.

Tone quality is one of the first obstacles we will tackle on the instrument. It is important to not force too much air into the instrument or your tone quality will suffer. One way to learn the gentleness of the instrument is through long tone studies. Long tones also help us learn the notes in order a lot faster so you will be able to eventually move your fingers faster and faster.

As stated above, the flute is one of (if not the most) oldest instrument in the world. Many native cultures play the flute for peaceful meditations and through communication of emotions. This instrument is to be taken seriously because of the many ways it is utilized throughout the world. We will be watching and listening to various artists perform music on different types of flutes and instruments.

Many times the various types of instruments represent nature sounds and landscape images. We will explore how the flute/recorder can be used to depict a musical representation of our natural surroundings through imitating bird sounds, playing soundscapes, and mimicking the wind and water found naturally in nature.