THE RULES

As promised, here are the rules for the flute games mentioned in the Snow Day Survival Guide.  The idea with these games is to have fun and improve flute technique at the same time.  The rules are flexible and can be adjusted for any level of player.

NAIL THAT SCALE

At Flute Pro Shop, we use a wheel of fortune, pictured here.

This is dry-erase board material.  We write in the scales du jour, and spin the wheel for each contestant.  Depending on the age and experience of the players, each one gets one, two, or three chances to Nail That Scale as indicated by the wheel of fortune.  If a player cannot perform the scale in the agreed-upon chances, then they sit out the rest of the game.  A player can re-enter the game if they can perform a scale that another participant is unable to nail. To increase the degree of difficulty, use a metronome, and increase the tempo each round.  Generally 5 rounds (each person spinning and playing 5 times each) will result in every one having plenty of chances and getting a good flute work out.  If you don't have a wheel of fortune, it works out very well to write the scale names on little pieces of paper and draw them from a basket.  If you, too, would like a "Spin to Win," send us an email and we will be happy to sell you one!  I use this to jazz up swim practices for my adult swimmers...

LAST FLUTIST STANDING

 This game is great fun for all flutists.  The degree of difficulty is governed by the piece.
Everyone stands in a circle, with a metronome in the center, preferably one with a very loud click.  The group starts the piece, playing it all the way through, to the tempo on the metronome.  The metronome speed is increased by one notch and the piece is repeated.  This process is repeated until no one can play the piece at the tempo! 

Repertoire suggestions: Advanced J. S. Bach: Allegro from C Major Flute Sonata; Paganini: No. 5 from the 24 Caprices, Op. 1, the middle section known as perpetual motion; J. S. Bach: Badinerie, from the Suite in b-minor;the flute solo from the scherzo of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream.  Intermediate Rondeau from J. S. Bach's Suite in b-minor; first movement of the Pergolaisi Concerto in G Major; Allegretto from the Godard Suite, Gossec's Tambourin.

SCALE ROULETTE

This game works best with a large number of flutists.


Stand in a circle.  Starting with the leader of the group, the person on their right to play a scale.  That person gets 3 tries to play the scale perfectly.  If they can't play the scale, they sit down.  The game continues around the circle, until it gets back to the leader.  At this point, the scale requests are reversed, with everyone asking the person to their left to play a particular scale.  The game continues until only one person is standing.

Some interesting points: because the direction is reversed, if you have been nasty and asked the person on your right something like g# melodic minor, that person can "return the favor" on the next round, and ask you something like Eb melodic minor....

This game can be simplified to include only a small number of scales, such as 3-b's and 3-#'s.  Or, it can be made more difficult by including all Major, minor, chromatic, and whole tone scales.  To add yet another degree of difficulty, do the scales to the extreme ranges of the flute, going past tonic to the highest and lowest notes, and finally resolving to tonic.  Implementation of a metronome is another way to make it extra challenging.  Use your imagination!

Have fun with these, and please be in touch with any ideas you have to make these games more entertaining!!

 

 

Chili Recipe!

Chili Recipe!

Now, before I start, you should know that I am not a very organized cook.  I have been known to start a recipe and then make sure I have the ingredients...so this can be a free-form type recipe.  Fortunately I play the flute better than I cook.


CHILI
2 large onions, diced
2-4 large garlic cloves
2 lbs ground beef or turkey (my friend Donna uses lentils)
2 32-oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 15 ox can chili beans (optional in our house)
1 tbs oregano
 1 tsp basil
2 tsp Tabasco Sauce
2 tbs Chili powder (or more as desired)
Dash or two of cinnamon
Dash of Coca

Saute the onions and garlic until translucent.  Add the ground beef and brown.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.  Add beans and spices.  Simmer for as long as you like, probably at least 2 hours.  The longer it simmers the better it tastes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over noodles or rice.  Top with sour cream and/or shredded cheese. 

Enjoy!

Flute Pro Shop's Snow Day Survival Guide

Hello all you fans of snow, ice and days off!  But then there are times when we all have had enough.  Enter Flute Pro Shop with our exclusive Snow Day Survival Guide.  A sure fire cure for a dose of cabin fever.

Circuit Training

Start this early in the A.M. and you’ll feel saintly by the end of the day.  Comfortable clothes are recommended.

PowerLung®
 1 set of 10 reps at your most comfortable setting.
*
1-mile brisk walk on the treadmill (or ‘dreadmill’ as my friend calls it.) No treadmill?
Walk up and down a flight of stairs 20 times.
•
30-minute flute practice:
Long tones and chromatic scales/an etude/a new piece for you!
•
Upper body stretches
•
15-minute flute practice:
Any etude that is a challenge, or orchestral excerpts/standard repertoire that may have become rusty for you.
•
Repeat an additional 2x.

Guaranteed to make you exempt from shoveling! (At least that’s how it works at  Flute Pro Shop.)

No snow in your region of the country? No problem! Choose a location that gets lots of snow—like Buffalo, NY or better yet for this year, Alaska—and ‘adopt’ it. When they get snow, you do too—virtually, of course.

Celebrate the Snow!

My neighbor invites us over for Brandy Alexanders the evening of the first real snowfall (it being Delaware, we haven't had one yet: snowfall or Brandy Alexander...) and it has become one of my most-cherished traditions. Take this opportunity to meet or get reacquainted with your neighbors.

Comfort Foods

I always keep the ingredients for chili and cornbread on hand for the above occasion. Check out the next blog for a copy of my favorite chili recipe, and by all means, use it to create your own tradition!

Advice from the Animals

There is nothing more enjoyable than watching dogs frolic in the snow. My two Labradors love it!
Watch your pets and try not to smile. Better yet, throw a bumper for them and give them a piece of puppy heaven.  Take a Nap. Enough said!

Power Outage?

What a mess.
Once the generator is running and you have a little light, read that travel book you’ve had on the coffee table since 2006 and enjoy pictures of the Caribbean!

Learn New Music

Prepare for the inevitable with the purchase of some exciting music.

Here are some of my favorites to get started:

Joseph Jongen: Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 77 Fabulous, and your technique will improve from the practice of this fine piece.

Boosey & Hawkens: Anthology of Flute Music (Composers include Harty, Lees, Gorecki, Del Tredici, Alwyn & Butterworth.) Some wonderful works that are not always in the standard repertoire.

Pizzolla: Histoire du Tango for Flute and Piano, Guitar, or Harp.  Wonderful, evocative works that will make you think of warmer climates.

Khachaturian: Concerto for Flute and Piano. Originally for violin; fabulous for low-register articulation.

Geisiking:Sonata for Flute and Piano, editied by Trudy Kane.  A real gift to the repertoire and destined to be a standard.

Gaubert: 3rd Sonata for Flute and Piano.  Not for the faint of heart!

All of this music is in stock at Flute Pro Shop.  Please email: info@fluteproshop.com to order!

Snow Day Flute Party — Woot! 

Invite your flute friends over and play fun games like
~Nail that Scale, 
~Scale Roulette, or
~ Last Flutist Standing!
Look for all the rules in the next Blog!

Here are Blitz and Maverick having a great time!  Last year.

Now that you are all set and prepared for your next snow day, share some of your snow survival stories with us.  Comment on this blog, or post them on the Flute Pro Shop Face Book Fan page.

New Photos for Joan

I have never been one that the camera likes.  You know how some people, well, the camera just loves them?  They look better, much better through the lens than in real life?  That is NOT me. 

The industry standard "head shot with instrument"  is a problem in itself.  How can you make a flute look interesting?  No curves, no real physical presence, and yet it must always accompany you in publicity photos.  Let's face it, how many interesting flute-holding angles are there??

I've had photos that make me look like I haven't slept in days, or much older than I really am (a total travesty.)  I remember once, early on, when we still had black and white photos taken, I came home from the shoot, my kids took one look at me, and ran screaming from the room.  For b/w photos, your face was made up in reverse, and the colors were shades of brick red.  Wicked Witch of the West must have been their impression.

Then there was the make up artist/hair stylist that used so much hair spray I had to shampoo my head 3 times to get it out!

Photos with the harp were fun, too.  Getting both flute, harp, and 2 musicians in a photo made for hours of contortions sitting on a stool, shouldering the harp, getting just the right hand angle on the flute.  Not fun.

Then December 29 happened, and I had FUN in a photo shoot.

Make up Artist extraordinaire, Kristen Lober, came to the shop, expertly applied make up that let me look my age (don't even go there!!) and at the same time polished and professional.  See for yourself:

And we had FUN!!  Lots of conversation about flutes and flutists, since  Kristen herself is a talented flutist.  But also chatted about make up, fashion, accessories, all that really fun stuff that makes me glad I am a girl.

But what was so wonderful about this session is that she listened to me, really understood what was important to me and my shop, and came up with photos that make me very happy.  Such a relief.  And my kids, now grown, recognize me.

Need a good photo?  Shoot me an email (pun intended) and I will give you Kristen's contact information.

The new Piper Piccolo!

On Friday, December 23, as I was closing up the shop at 5:30 PM (after a successful Christmas gift flute showing) and about to leave for the long Holiday weekend, there came a knock at the door, and there was our Fed Ex driver with a package for me.  I wondered if Santa had morphed into a Fed Ex guy?

The package, from Little Piper, carried the new Piper piccolo.

Indeed, an early gift from Santa.

I put down all my stuff, opened the package, and played the little darling.  Ahhh-quick response, lovely centered sound, ease in all the ranges, and articulation of great variety and clarity.  The scale was even and seemed to correct all the typical piccolo difficulties.

The paperwork that came with the piccolo informed that the piccolo is made from "Piperwood", a new, trademarked, special composite consisting of grenadilla wood and other exotic materials.  In the Piper piccolo we now have the sweetness of tone associated with more costly wooden piccolos, combined with the durability and dependability of resin: they will not crack or warp.

What will this piccolo set me back, you might ask?  I'll tell you: $1,450.00.  A very competitive price.

Come to Flute Pro Shop and audition this little beauty for yourself.  I know you will agree with me that this is a great instrument at a very reasonable price useful for a wide variety of atmospheric conditions!

Christmas music even I want to hear!!!

Christmas Music.  Sigh.  My students, family, and colleagues know that I have a very low tolerance for it.  I am happy, content, to hear "White Christmas" once a year.  I would be very glad to never again hear "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer."  Pllleeease.

And then, today, Anne Sullivan (she and I are the flute/harp duo SPARX) gave me her new solo harp CD of....Christmas Music....and I must retract my position on music of the season.

The 12 tracks are all music that she herself has arranged: itself a Herculean task.  Then there is the stunning execution of the project.  The playing is flawless, clear, a breath of fresh air in an over-populated genre.  The recording engineer, Dave Lock of Audio Visions in Wilmington, DE, has done his usual brilliant job of understanding how the performer hears the music, and sets it up so that the listener hears it in the same way.  The clarity of the sound, unprocessed, makes every note stand out in an atmosphere of warmth and clarity.

 (Above: Anne Sullivan tunes her harp in preparation for her series at the Shade Mountain Winery.)

My personal favorites are Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen (Praetorius) and Divinum Mysterium (XIII century Plainsong.)  If you are like my husband and want to hear Christmas music you can recognize-no worries!   Greensleeves, I Wonder as I Wander, In Dulci Jubilo, and Two Italian Carols, are all recognizable and give you that happy feeling of comfort and joy.

Look for "Break Forth: Music for Christmas and the Season of Light" on CD Baby, and soon on the Flute Pro Shop web site.  And treat yourself to music of light and clarity.  It will clear your mind and soul.

Above: Renae Bloch tunes her students prior to the Holiday concert.



Renae Bloch is a organizer par excellence, and she showed her talents fully yesterday as she coordinated her studio and the Greater Flute Society of Philadelphia representatives in a holiday concert for the residents of the Wiley Home in Evesham, NJ.  My student Miranda and I headed up 295 to Renae's studio to rehearse with a quartet from FSGP, have some lunch, meet with Renae's students, and then head over to the concert close by.  There, Renae set up stands, tuned flutists, organized seating, let us know our places, MC-ed, and conducted/played the whole concert.  Someone's metal stand started sinking, and there was Renae, manipulating the lock.  The alto flute curved head not in sight?  There she was, taking it out and using sanitizing spray on it..  Stand kicked over-she was there.  All with a calm and professional air.  I simply did what I was told.  We started with the quintet, then the high school students joined us, then the middle schooler's, and finally the little ones.  The long song list was in each folder, and Renae even had the words to the carols printed in big type so the residents could join in the carol sing-along.

The residents clapped along, sang, rocked, smiled, and generally enjoyed the music, the young vibrant performers (I was not in that category-I was the old and vibrant player...) and the joy that filled that room.  To me, this is what the holidays are about.  Sharing the joy of music with people that otherwise would not hear it.  I left moved and grateful to be part of such an event.  I will do it next year and bring more students.

So I wish you all a holiday season filled with moments of joy and sharing such as this, with gratitude for the Renae's around us that can put events like this in motion.