Catherine Hicks Music Tuition
Catherine Hicks Music Tuition
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Offering quality piano, flute and theory tuition ... for exams or just for fun.
Flute
Stand
BAND WOODWIND
Saxophone and Clarinet
I also offer tuition at a beginner level for Clarinet and Saxophone, up to approximately 3rd Grade AMEB level.
Most students will have hired an instrument from their school and be attending group lessons with the Instrumental Music Teacher once per week.
If the student wishes to progress at a quicker rate, private lessons are very beneficial. All you need is your instrument and the tutor book from which you are learning during your school lessons
FLUTE
It is very important for students to have the best quality flute they can afford.
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I personally recommend Armstrong Flutes for beginners as they are strong and sturdy and it's quite easy to get a sound out of them at the very first lesson. They produce a good tone, usually have very good quality pads and a tough mechanism.
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Yamaha make very good quality flutes, as do Jupiter/DiMedici or Azumi.
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I would recommend keeping away from the cheaper brands Gemeinhardt​, Emerson, Buffet, Artley, Selmer, Bundy, Vito, Winston, Lark, or obscure brand names.
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Please do not buy flutes from Aldi or ebay as these are often very poorly made and may have metal defects, soft, bendable mechanism and have pad leaks within the first week. These flutes are often hard to play and/or produce a very poor tone and can make the learning process more frustrating that it needs to be.
Which Flute?
Naturally each student will need a flute in order to learn how to play. You have the choice of purchasing your own instrument, or you may be able to pay to borrow an instrument from your school or local music store. Some Music shops have plans where you can borrow and buy, kind of like a take-home layby.
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​As well as your flute you will need a music stand, a cleaning cloth and rod, and a polishing cloth is also recommended to keep your flute nice and shiny.
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As with the flute itself, there will be many different kinds of music stands on sale. Once again, choose something strong and sturdy which folds easily for transport. (Note: you do not need to bring your own music stand to your flute lesson, but there will be times you will want to take it to school or to a concert.)
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The cleaning cloth should be a simple square of cotton or another absorbent, natural fibre. A dad-sized cotton hanky is a good way to start. Make sure you clean your flute after every practise session. You don't want your instrument getting smelly!
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You can purchase a flute polishing cloth at most music stores but, again, you could improvise with a soft fabric, close-weave cloth from home. An old baby blanket will work, but please don't use terrycloth (like tea-towels or bath towels) as the little loops may get caught in the rods and springs of your flute and cause damage.
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Another very useful piece of equipment is a flute stand. (picture to the left). Beginner flutists often make the mistake of leaving their flute on their chair or bed and then someone sits on it, leaving the poor flute looking rather banana shaped. It is possible to have the instrument straightened, but it is much cheaper to buy a flute stand so the flute can happily sit upright in the corner of the room, out of harm's way, until next practise session!
Equipment
I have been successfully using the "A Tune A Day" series of books with my beginner flutes for over 20 years. As students steadily work their way through Book 1 I will supplement their repertoire with other music appropriate to their level.
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Once students have reached the end of Book 1 they are usually ready to begin working at the AMEB Grade 1 Technical Work and can then choose to prepare for exams.
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Those students who do not want to do AMEB exams will go on to Book 2 of the 'A Tune A Day" series and may wish to start looking for popular flute music - there is a wide choice of excellent albums available in music stores. I will continue to supplement their repetoire with level-appropriate classical music too.
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All students, whether beginners, intermediate, advanced, doing AMEB exams or not, be set daily technical studies (scales, apreggios, technique-builders etc) as this is the only way to continue to improve in ability and tone quality. I will continue to supplement their repetoire with level-appropriate classical music too.
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Music