It’s exciting to be leaning into the world of teaching online (and in-person) flute lessons. Setting up a home on the internet has gotten me to thinking about what I’d like to share.
So, I thought I’d start with my why. Why music for me? I don’t remember where I got the idea, but I started asking my parents for music lessons in the second grade. The idea was something that I focused on, until finally one day my mom took me to a music store for a trial lesson.
My first flute teacher was my mom’s former band director who had worked at that store. The lessons were in the basement, and I can still remember the feeling of going down those stairs for the first time. The first thing he did was put his giant hand up against mine, to see if my hands were large enough to hold the flute at my age.
He had a couple of instruments in cases in the room. I think because of my size, it was either between the clarinet or the flute and now, having taught music for so long myself, I especially remember him saying that my fingers weren’t long enough to cover the holes of a clarinet. I think that was ok with me, because the flute was where my head (and heart) was at.
I still remember how shaky my fingers were the first time I opened up my flute case, and the smell of the polishing cloth (even though we don’t use those daily, it was a used flute that had recently been polished), and the awe and genuine wonder of what I might be able to do with that silvered piece of metal.
I still get that feeling often when I open that case. There’s always something to work on and something to learn, and the work is never done. For me, the influence of having great private teachers along the way to help me on my musical quests made all of the difference in how I saw music. One of the greatest parts about music is that it’s about sharing. I had the privilege of working with people who were way farther ahead of me in their music journey, until I was able to start sharing with others through teaching in the same way, what an honor it is to be able to participate in a long line of mentors and teachers.
More to come on this journey, welcome to the site!
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