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flute
and chamber music
Meerenai Shim |
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FLUTE
INSTRUCTION
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frequently asked questions
Are you accepting new students? I am no longer accepting students for Summer 2008. Please contact me if you are interested in taking lessons starting in September, 2008. Why do you require auditions and interviews for new students? The audition and interview is important for both teacher and student since most private lesson teacher-student relationships last many years. During the interview process we can determine if I am the right teacher for you or your child. For children under 13 years old, the interview is more with the parents than with the child. What should I prepare for the audition?
Beginners who do not have a flute or can't play any songs on the flute yet do not have to prepare anything in particular. However, I may ask you to sing something with me. Where can I rent or buy a flute? A list of music stores in the Peninsula and South Bay can be found here. Student flute rental rates are generally between $20-25 per month. Many music stores also offer a rent-to-own or buy-back program. I do not recommend renting a flute from a store without an in-house repair facility and repair professional. Should I rent or buy a flute for my child or myself? Renting a student flute at first, until you are certain that you or your child will continue with the flute, is a good idea. I do not recommend buying a flute on your own. However, if you decide to purchase a flute, I'd be happy to give you some recommendations and/or go with you to a music store to help you select a good quality instrument. Why should I rent an instrument or buy one for $600 when I can buy a cheap one on eBay for $100? As the saying goes, "You get what you pay for." A rental flute from a music store is guaranteed to be in good working condition when you first rent the instrument. It is also covered under the rental agreement that the store will perform routine maintenance on the instrument while you're renting it. Even a new flute (especially if it is of poor quality) will need adjustment at a repair shop after you've purchased it. A good quality instrument should be taken to the repair shop once a year or so. A poor quality instrument will need more frequent adjustment...and you may find that a $100 flute may start costing you a lot more in repair fees. In fact, most instrument repair professionals will not work on poor quality instruments. This is because many of these repair shops guarantee their work on good instruments for a certain period of time. They cannot guarantee their work on an instrument which was built poorly. More importantly, the poor quality flute will cause frustration and hold back progress because the student has to work much harder to produce a decent sound. Also, the time lost while the flute is in the repair shop does not help. Please talk to your flute teacher before you buy a flute. Or ask a flute repair person for suggestions on good brands or models. How can my child or I get the most out of private flute lessons? In some ways, private instrumental lessons are like working with a personal trainer to further your physical fitness goals. You can also draw similarities from other sports such as tennis or even basketball. You meet with your private teacher typically once a week. The teacher/coach evaluates your current performance and suggests new exercises or suggests changes in your form and how you perform the exercises. You are then expected to perform the new exercises or try to apply the changes in your form while you perform the exercies on your own during the week. At the next lesson, your teacher/coach assesses your progress and suggests new exercises or changes so you that you will improve your form, technique and fitness. In short, you or your child is responsible for your own progress. Pay attention to the suggestions given to you at the lesson and apply them in your individual practice sessions. The improvement occurs between lessons, in your daily practice sessions, not at the lessons. For most people, this takes a lot of discipline. I will be your cheerleader and coach but I can't make you a better flutist if you don't put in the effort outside of the lesson. The amount of time you put in the gym for your physical fitness is similar to the amount of time you need to put into your flute practice. I am not a health expert but I've heard that you need to engage in exercise a few days a week, every week in order to maintain current weight or level of fitness. If you want to lose weight or improve your level of fitness, you are supposed to engage in exercise most days of the week, every week. I truly believe that this is also the case for flute study. If you want to improve as a flutist, you need to practice at least 5 days a week. If you want to maintain your current level of playing, just practice 3 days a week. I assume that you want to improve your flute playing if you take flute lesson with me. Therefore, I expect you to practice 5 days a week. If you are a student who plays flute in the school band 5 days a week, those band classes are not enough practice for someone taking private flute lessons. If you are taking private lessons, I assume that you want to be challenged beyond what is offered in your school music program. Again, (I love comparing music study to sports) if you really want to be a good basketball player, 5 days of P.E. class at school is not going to make you into a fantastic basketball player. You need to play a lot of basketball after school, perhaps join a league, and work with a good coach. For every day that you practice, you may need to practice 30 minutes to 1 hour or more. 30 minutes a day is quite manageable if you plan the practice time into your daily schedule and routine. I will work with you to suggest an appropriate duration of practice on an individual basis. I am a busy adult, how much do I really have to practice? If you are a beginner with little or no prior musical training, you will need to find a way practice 5 days a week. This is important for muscle memory and coordination since playing a musical instrument involves all your senses and your entire body. You can't depend only on your intellect or short term memory. You may need to keep up this level of practice for the first 6 months, depending on your progress. If you already play at an intermediate level, you can get away with less practice. Since you are an adult student, I'm happy to see you at lessons even if you are not completely prepared as long as you are making progress. Even as an adult student, you need to set a practice schedule and stick to it, even if it's only twice a week. How else can I help my child get the most out of their lessons and their musical experiences? First, I am not a Suzuki flute teacher but I recommend that all parents read Ability Development from Age Zero by Shinichi Suzuki. This book is great for expecting parents as well as parents with teenagers. Second, I've listed as few ways you can help your child below but I also highly recommend reading the 8-page article from Practicespot titled, "The Role of Parents" as well.
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