Andrea R  
Instruments: Flute
Styles: Classical

I have just graduated from college and there are colleagues of mine who have been in the teaching feild longer than I have. However, I have learned and solidified a good teaching technique and energy, making the process individual to the student. Two of my students have done very well in their NYSSMA exams in the past year. I have been mostly teaching in other's homes, although I have a studio space of my own in my university which is useful for teaching private students. I expect regular practice form my students and make them keep a chart of their practice hours per week. This helps them to better cultivate their goals and help them advance faster. Also, smart practice... splitting the phrases of the music to make each section clean, etc. ... is a good way to get a student rwally thinking about how the music should sound, and thus increasing their curiosity and passion for their instrument. I also want to stress the variation of the type of music a student plays... learning different compositions in many styles, be it baroque, romantic, folk, or even just rock songs, helps a student to have more fun learning and also become more musically rounded and intuitive. I also always encourage my students to listen to the pieces they are playing! This gives them a better understanding of the piece as a whole. I cannot encourage going to live performances and concerts enough. It can be a concert of any type of music, so long that it inspires my student to be more passionate about music! I also encourage my students to participate in competitions and recitals, as this opens their world and expands their knowledge about the musical world. I may be the teacher, but I love nothing more than my students talking about their own thoughts, opinions, and ideas with me, be it about playing, concerts, what they want to do with music, etc. This lets me know that my job is being well done!

For beginning kids, I usually start with three or four major scales and a couple of other basic routines to improve their knowledge of the notes and their tone. One book I like to use is Carl Fischer's Flute 101: Mastering the Basics. Once the student seems to have made progress in these areas, I introduce them to one very simple melody from a well known song, such as O Christmas Tree or Fur Elise. For older beginners, I make sure I work on their scale patterns and so forth, but I play to this particular student's personal interests and what they prefer to do. As a student gets more mature musically, I show them etudes, official flute repertoire, and eventually introduce them to harder technique practices, such as 17 Grande Exercises for Flute by Taffanel and Gaubert. I expect each student to improve bit by bit with each lesson or so and focus on their progress, as this will improve their individual musicality and their interest in music!