Getting Back to Playing Flute

SingDanceRunLIFE · Post by **SingDanceRunLIFE** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:55 pm

Well I realize this,but I'm just saying that I do know what I'm doing,and can easily recover a lot that I lost.

c_otter · Post by **c_otter** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:31 pm

Congrats for picking up your flute again. For six years after college, I only picked up my flute occasionally too. For me, one of the key things was to play regularly. Even once or twice a week is much better than occasionally. Also, there are often other options to playing band in school. Many cities will have flute choirs or community bands. Often, these groups only meet once a week, so the time commitment is lower. The level of the playing and need for practice will vary with the group, but it is important to show up to rehearsals, because the other players depend on you.

In regards to flute playing and riding a bike (rambling here):
When I wasn't playing much, I could still pick up the flute and play. I didn't play nearly as well as when I played regularly, but I could hit all three octaves and play what I had previously considered to be easy. When I started to play regularly, it took much less effort to achieve my previous level of ability than it did the first time.

For both the flute and bike, one develops muscle memory, which helps make a sound on the flute or stay upright on the bike. A serious biker (road or mountain), will also suffer a noticeable loss of ability if they haven't ridden much recently. My fingers still remember the scales that I learned 20 years ago much better than my brain does.

arion · Post by **arion** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:16 pm

I'm convinced that the bike statement is a lie. After not having ridden a bike for the past five years, I had to during a production of the Wizard of Oz (I was Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch) and failed miserably. Like, swerving into the pit miserably.

Not that that has anything to do with flute...

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:57 pm

arion wrote:I'm convinced that the bike statement is a lie. After not having ridden a bike for the past five years, I had to during a production of the Wizard of Oz (I was Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch) and failed miserably. Like, swerving into the pit miserably.

Not that that has anything to do with flute...

LOL-

I was a theatre person in middle school and high school. That made me remember a lot of odd things I had to do. For example, when we did the Wizard of Oz, I was the scarecrow. The version that we did was an interactive play with the kids [ they had to stuff me when I came unstuffed, and they got to stand up and become parts of the scenery ***trees, rocks etc***]. Well I had to learn a few gymnastics things [ cartwheels, somersaults, flips etc.] and it was actually quite hard, but a lot of fun.

-again.... nothing to do with the flute....

arion · Post by **arion** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:49 pm

LOL. We theatre people flock together, because no one else can understand the incredible insanity that unites us.

Right now I'm Cassandra in Euripedes' Trojan Women, and I must say, standing center stage and screaming at the people inside my head (in a manner of speaking) is quite a lot of fun.

That sounds like a fabulous idea...the interactive show, I mean.

I really must stop talking about theatre on a flute board...sigh.