Jean-Pierre Rampal performs Mozart Flute Concerto in G Major, K 313

Greetings,

I hope you enjoy this performance of Mozart Concerto in G Major, K 313 performed by Jean-Pierre Rampal and The McGill Chamber Orchestra, Alexander Brott, conductor.

Catherine

Free 2012 TX All-State Etude Practice Hints

Greetings,

I just posted free last minute 2012 TX All-State Etude practice hints for all three etudes!

I hope you find them useful!

Catherine

Introducing MyFlutorials!

Greetings,

MyFlutorials is now live!

MyFlutorials is a growing library of flute teaching videos based on my 30 years of experience teaching flutists of all ages and levels.  Whether you are a beginner seeking guidance, a student seeking help for an audition or a contest, a teacher seeking inspiration and solutions, or you just don’t have time to take private lessons, MyFlutorials provides affordable, immediately available video lessons for you!

New Flutorials are created frequently and can be based on your requests.  Please make your requests by email or on the MyFlutorials Facebook page.  These are YOUR Flutorials!

Flutorials can be purchased separately for only $1.99 each or in themed bundles for $4.99.  For example, the “From the Start” Video series priced at $4.99 has been used with great success in Woodwinds Methods Courses and by aspiring beginning flutists around the world.

For those of you who want more, memberships are available at Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels.
All membership levels include access to all videos plus the bonus members-only blog, with hundreds of posts on flute related topics.

Check out the Free Sample Menu. See you soon!
–Catherine

"Horsing Around" with Trills

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Greetings,

This week a young student was playing an etude in her lesson which had lots of trills and nachschläge. She was having the usual difficulty with placing the nachschlag in graceful relationship to the resolution.

This student is a visual learner, and an image popped into my mind! I went to the computer and found a video to show her what I had thought of—a video of the famous Lipizzaner Stallions performing.

The ease of predicting when the hoof will reach the ground while the horse is in motion provided the perfect model for this student to understand the graceful placement of the nachschlag while her breath sustained the ending of the trill. Check out the clip at 3:00-3:07 and 4:52-4:54. Simply beautiful.

The results: natural, elegant musical gesture, delighted student, and joyful teacher. Smiles all around.

Hope you find this analogy helpful!

Best,

Catherine

How Quantz Articulated!

Greetings,

In his 8.11.2012 Masterclass on Articulation, master teacher Keith Underwood mentioned Quantz's Solfeggi for Flute, a flute primer filled with musical excerpts annotated by Quantz himself!

This public domain document is available free online.

I am very inspried seeing Quantz's own hand and trying out his suggested articulations! Hope it inspires you, too!

It is fabulous this is available online. Share this info with everyone!

Best,
Catherine

ALIVE INSIDE: A Story of Music & Memory

Greetings,

I am so so excited about this film!

In the 1990's I was involved in grant work to bring live music to Alzheimer's patients in TX. I saw first hand the power music can have on the mind. We heard from the daughter of one patient who attended one of our concerts with her mother that after the concert she had the first meaningful conversation with her mother in over 3 years.

I was shocked and delighted when I discovered the film is being made by Michael Rossato-Bennett, an old friend from the 80's!

Be on the lookout for this film's release.

Meanwhile, if you know someone with Alzheimers or some form of dementia, I encourage you to load an iPod with music meaningful to that person and to deliver the iPod and some headphones to them. I'm going to do this!

Best,
Catherine

Innate vs. developed musicality

Greetings,

In this fascinating CBS 60 Minutes report Lesley Stahl reported on Derek Paravicini, musical savant with an amazing musical memory plus the ability to play any piece in any key and any style on demand!  Derek was born extremely prematurely, at 25 weeks, suggesting that innate musicality is developed quite early or is even, perhaps, genetic.

All very interesting to consider, but what about most people--those not born as musical geniuses? How can we foster musicality and musical development in our students and in our children?

Check out this great blog post by Maya Liberman, Six Ways to Develop Musical Awareness in Your Child. In the post, she encourages parents to surround their children with quality music: car stereo, Internet radio channels, YouTube, and live performances. She also suggests engaging your children by discussing with the music with them:

What instruments do you hear?
How does the music makes you feel?

More suggestions by Maya to develop deeper connections to the music:

Listening to pieces with narration
Singing the familiar tunes
Looking up composers on the Internet
Listening to multiple performances of the same piece

When my students are learning new pieces, I first have them learn the pieces without listening to any recordings. Once they have mastered the notes and rhythms, I have them listen to multiple recordings of the works, comparing the performances to develop their aesthetic senses. I often suggest specific recordings for students to listen to for phrasing ideas--often performances by great singers of the past. Students are also encouraged to improvise, connecting their imaginations and emotions to their instruments.

How do you encourage the development of musicality?
Catherine