Flute with Rachel S.

Hello, my name is Rachel. I have been playing the flute for 17 years, ever since I was nine years old. I played in a small beginner band for about three years, during which I was also in school flute competitions. My flute teacher had a strong emphasis on rhythm and counting, for which I'm grateful. That foundation has given me the ability to sight read well. Later, I went on to play in a community college band for the four years of my high school. This gave me experience playing with a larger group, and tuning with a lot of other flute players. I had to learn extremely high notes for this band, and all the fingering tricks to play those notes. There were a lot of pieces with very fast finger work. Needless to say, this was definitely a time of growth for me in my abilities. During this time and afterward, I played my flute almost every Sunday at church. In fact, I have now played for church for about 12 years. While playing hymns, I've learned to play up an octave while sight reading, since the low notes on a flute can be hard for a congregation to hear. There have been some Sundays when I played one song up and octave, and the next song as written (back down an octave). It has kept me on my toes for sure. In 2016, I was so happy to begin teaching flute. The experience I gained has helped me not only to understand the flute better in general, but I've learned good teaching practices. My favorite tips to give new students involve how to get their embouchure just right by imagining you are doing funny things, like blowing out a candle while smiling. The flute really is a fun instrument to learn. Some of my favorite pieces to play are mournful and enchanting Celtic tunes, but I also enjoy happy and joyful jigs. Currently I'm learning some Bach pieces. I hope I will be able to expand my student base. It would be rewarding to be able to share my love for the flute with others.