Lily A  
Instruments: Flute, Piccolo
Styles: Classical, Musical Theater, Marching Band

I began teaching as a music education major in college. I took a course titled The Art of Instrumental Techniques, in which I learned about how to lead instrumental rehearsals for large ensembles and individual lessons. I taught two flute students through this course, and that provided me with a solid assessment method that I use today. Later on, I student taught at an elementary school district. There, I taught countless instrumental lessons of all instrument families to small groups of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. This was a brand new experience for me, and I loved every second of it! I learned how to format lessons, differentiate for beginner players, second year players, and third year players, how to fix lots of technical problems for all instruments, and how to assign and assess weekly performance goals. I had a lot of fun with my students, and I absolutely loved those moments when they would get excited because they accomplished something new! As a teacher, my goal is always to have my students become excited about their instrument. Instilling this lifelong love of music in people is why I love teaching, and why I am always willing to teach new students of all ages!

For young beginner students, I start teaching with Book 1 of Accent on Achievement, by John O'Reilly and Mark Williams. As we advance, we will move on to Book 2. I have selected this book because I believe it introduces musical concepts in an easy to understand way, and it uses a fundamental selection of traditional and classical pieces. For my students who can play at an intermediate level, I will use the Trevor Wye Practice Books for the Flute, Omnibus edition. I find that this book covers all essential factors of flute playing, including tone, range, tonguing, and posture. I also have a varied collection of etude books that I like to select from, as a good source of technical and expressive exercises. For adults who are beginners, I might refer to the Accent on Achievement books, but only as much as we need. I believe the traditional and classical pieces are very practical for learning flute technique, for students of all ages. I also might bring in a mixture of exercises from the Trevor Wye book and my etude books, depending on the level of advancement. In addition to the methods books and etude books, I will work with my students to select a piece of solo repertoire that is within their playing ability. I believe that solo repertoire is, more or less, the ultimate goal of all the technical and expressive exercises. It provides my students with an opportunity to display everything they're practicing, and it helps develop their personal performing style.