The Romance by Camille Saint-Saëns is one of my absolute favourite pieces – full of warmth and charm and not without its challenges. I recently did a warm-up video for
Escaping the Exam Syllabus – Five Lovely Flute Albums to Explore Around Grade 5
Albums can be a fantastic way of exploring new pieces. Whether you choose the works of one composer or decide that a wider selection of styles is more appropriate, there’s
Let’s Hear it for the Women! Five Essential Flute Works by Female Composers
I wanted to write a blog post to celebrate the talents of five ladies who have written some wonderful flute music for us. Music to gladden the heart and lift
Autumnal Music for Flute
Embrace the changing seasons with these warm autumnal treasures. Autumn in Homeland for Solo Flute by Anže Rozman This piece was written for Slovenian flutist Matej Zupan, and was premiered,
Finding resonance on the flute
“How do I get a big sound?” is often a question students will ask. Indeed, developing one’s sound and dynamic range is part of a musician’s daily practice. So, apart
Fluting the Covid Way
Who in 2019 would have thought that 2020 would see the music profession having in-depth discussions about the risk levels of playing a wind instrument? Indeed, that there would be
Four Fresh Flute books for Back to School
Challenging times for everyone continue, but as the new school year gets underway here are some new books that might make the task of ‘getting back to the new normal’
British Success at the NFA Newly Published Music Competition 2020! (Part One)
As we all know 2020 has a strange year, but the NFA has still managed to award prizes for new music. The great news is that there was plenty of
Chris Hankin’s Mini Flute Workshops for Adults Repertoire List
This series of six mini workshops proved to be a great success. The following list highlights both the pieces I chose and the ideas put forward by the participants. This
How to Maintain Order when all Around is Chaos!
With the Great Global Lockdown due to continue for a while yet it’s probably time for a shake-up to our practice routine. Self-isolation is a very strange situation for a
What does “support” mean?
As a teacher, I like to ask questions to my students to get them to think about what they are doing, as awareness is key to improvement and inhibiting bad
Tips on ABRSM Grade 8 pieces: Poulenc Sonata 1st movement
My next few blog posts will be tips on some of my favourite pieces from the ABRSM Grade 8 repertoire lists. Even if you aren’t working towards your Grade 8,
A “pressing” issue
To press or not to press? That is the question for many flute players, especially in the early stages of learning, and there are a few different opinions on this
Powell Flute Serial Numbers
Below is a list of the serial numbers of handmade flutes produced by Verne Q Powell Flutes. Please note that this does not relate to ‘Commercial’ models. Serial Number(end of
CITES Regulations of Wooden Instruments – Update
On 28 August 2019, the CITES Convention voted to exclude the trade of musical instruments from the list of controlled items. This is welcome relief for both customers and retailers,
Memorisation
A blog on playing from memory! An excellent skill to develop with many benefits. Incentive Memorising a piece of music, a speech or poem is something that has obvious benefits,