Welcome to the wonderful world of flute! Flute: Basics 1 lays a solid foundation for the beginning flutist.  Breathing, sound development, embouchure, posture, instrument assembly, and note reading are the first topics covered.  Throughout the course, you will be presented with progressive lessons that will gradually build your knowledge of the flute and music in general.

There are several parts to each lesson.  In addition to fundamental playing skills, you will complete listening, history, and writing assignments to apply the concepts learned from playing the flute to broader subjects.  You will learn about the history of the flute, listen to a variety of genres of flute music, and understand proper flute maintenance. Y our creativity will flow by completing several composition and improvisation exercises.  World flutes are also covered, and melodies from around the world are learned to further your understanding of the instrument.

In Flute: Basics, we will begin by learning proper posture and breath control and the basics of sound production.  Instead of starting with the entire instrument, we will begin by producing a sound on the headjoint alone to build a necessary foundation for playing the flute. We will then assemble the entire flute and learn note by note and apply this knowledge by learning melodies and exercises along the way.

This course continues addressing topics covered in Basics 1. Embouchure development and breath control topics are further expanded as well as basic note and rhythm reading skills. New topics such as the introduction of famous and influential flutists, an introduction to the members of the flute family, and topics in world music are covered. Students work towards learning all major scales and arpeggios in one to two octaves as well increasing articulation variation. Expressivity through dynamics is also introduced. Trill and mordent ornaments are explored to deepen expressive options and further your technical skills.

Listening assignments complement topics and reinforce real world aspects of each lesson. You will also complete composition assignments that lay the foundation of your composition creativity. You will leave this course with a better understanding of how to play the flute and more insight into the wonderful world of music!