Yesterday I played my flute, which is not something I do very often in a non-teaching environment. I used to have major skills; I don’t anymore. It can be depressing to try and play a piece that I performed for a college recital, for example, and listen to myself make multiple mistakes I’d never have […]
perform
Honor Your Audience
Last week, I was preparing my flute students for the annual New York State solo festival, where they would be judged based on their performance in scales, a solo, and sight reading. Most of them expressed some degree of (understandable) nervousness. I talked to them about keeping the performance in perspective, remembering all the work […]
The Purpose of Practice
As a music teacher, I am regularly told that my subject is less important and more expendable than other “core” subjects such as reading, math and science. Why? Well, because most music students don’t grow up to have careers in music. I question the validity of this point (does that mean Biology and Algebra were […]