Inspiration…

The relationship between music teacher and student is complex, delicate, and at times magical.  I expressed this in my heartfelt tribute to my flute teacher, Alain Marion, published in the Flutist Quarterly following his death. It sheds light on the enormous impact he had on me, indeed all of his pupils.  My teaching and playing are influenced by my studies with Marion, Leone Buyse, Raymond Guiot, Keith Bryan, Jack Wellbaum, and Bradley Garner, some of the world’s most renowned players and pedagogues from the French and American schools.  Like those who taught me, I work to develop the artistry of my students through technical studies, stylistic immersion, and a passionate approach to score interpretation.  I strive to react to the individual student’s needs, building from strengths to correct weaknesses through positive reinforcement.  Forming a beautiful sound with a controlled vibrato is at the epicenter of my teaching.  The creation of music flows from there.

The core of my technical approach to teaching flute includes vibrato and tonguing exercises; Taffanel and Gaubert Daily Exercises; and of course standard scales and arpeggios.  Studies I use include Berbiguier, Kohler, Karg-Ehlert, Donjon, and Piazzolla.  Advanced students learn the 12 Telemann Fantasies as etudes. Solo repertoire is determined individually to give the student exposure to music of various styles and historical periods, but I do not teach to the repertoire.  Instead, I seek to make each student the best flutist and musician possible using the repertoire as one of many tools to achieve overall progress, so that the skills gained while studying one piece may be applied to other works.  My students regularly perform with piano accompaniment.

I believe in the methods and techniques I teach. I also believe that there is more than one way to play and teach flute. I encourage my students to attend masterclasses with other teachers, even when their techniques may be different from the ones I employ. I prefer a holistic approach to studying the flute.  EVERY time a student plays the flute is an opportunity to become a better flutist and musician.  Therefore, an articulation exercise is never just an articulation exercise, but is a tool by which one masters articulation, sound production, breathing, posture, rhythm, intonation, etc.   A scale assignment is never played with the single purpose of improving finger dexterity, but is an opportunity to improve sound, vibrato, breathing, articulation, phrasing, and so on.  Most importantly, all practicing, performing, jamming, woodshedding, sightreading, and rehearsing are part of the process of training and refining the student’s ear to accept an even higher standard.

On the most superficial level, the role of the teacher is to instruct, to provide the basic information the student needs to progress.  The one-hour-a week lesson is the time when this information is exchanged.  But it is not primarily during this one-hour session that the progress is actually made. The progress takes place in the practice room.  How does the student get to the practice room and stay in the practice room? Through motivation and inspiration.

I believe an equally, perhaps more, important role of the  flute teacher is to motivate and inspire their students to practice, a lot!  If this ability is lacking in the teacher than the quality of information is irrelevant.  So how does the teacher motivate a student? First, the teacher must be him/herself confident that the information he is transmitting is effective. The student must trust the teacher and the teacher’s methods in order to apply them whole-heartedly.  The student must also trust that if after sincere effort the method has not given suitable results, the teacher will continue to explore to find an eventual solution.  Trust is key to motivation.

I also believe that confidence is contagious and the greatest gift a teacher can give a student is the gift of confidence.  Confidence, not arrogance. I work to build up a student’s confidence first of all because it makes her a better player. The student needs confidence to trust her own ear so that she can progress in the practice room. If the student is filled with self-doubt, she won’t be self-assured enough to say, I’ve got it! When she finally hears a note of progress in the practice room.  And we all know how important confidence is in performing. As a student’s confidence grows, he makes less errors in performance and can allow his preparation and genuine expression to be heard.

When Alain Marion died it was not his instruction in finger placement or embouchure position I mourned, it was his contagious passion for music that is still alive in me to this day. That is the kind of teacher I aspire to be. That is how I want to be remembered.

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