why did u start playing the flute......

datguy594 · Post by **datguy594** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:16 am

um...... im bored so i am asking why did u start playing the flute...... i started playing the flute because i could try make music for like a christmas carol...... and try to do that hobbits song from lord of the rings the fellowship of the ring..... ^_*

flutepicc06 · Post by **flutepicc06** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:40 am

I started because my dad used to play.

cflutist · Post by **cflutist** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:56 am

Had taken piano in 2nd - 6th grade. When I got to 7th grade, we had to take either an art or music class. A friend of mine was taking flute (because her mother had one) and I thought I'd join her. I had played on plastic toy flutes as a child and didn't realize that getting a nice tone out of a "real" flute was so difficult. Well that was 38 years ago.

flutytooty91 · Post by **flutytooty91** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:35 am

In the sixth ground I had originally planned on playing the trumpet or saxaphone since my dad used to play both. My friends were trying the flute so I figured I would give it a try. I got a sound out within my first few tries and was very excited about it. So, I was hooked from the start and I have been playing in my middle school and high school band from 6th grade till not in 10th grade.

remnantpark · Post by **remnantpark** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 11:30 am

I just thought that flutes are cool and they have a pretty sound. So in 4th grade, everybody had to pick an instrument. But before that, one must try out and see which instrument they play best. The best for me was really violin and viola. but my sister already plays the violin wicked good...Next was the clarinet, but my mom said that it sounds like a 'duck'/ (personally, in my opinion, it does not)...So the flute was the next choice and I picked it!

Band_Geek · Post by **Band_Geek** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 2:21 pm

I really wanted to play the piccolo, but learning the flute was the only obstacle in my way so I learned the flute and graduated to the picc.

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 5:44 pm

With me it was a compulsion. I saw a picture of a flute when I was about 6, and heard one on a CD and absolutely HAD to play one. I drove my parents absolutely crazy for about 3 years until they decided that I really should have a flute because it mattered so much to me. But, I guess this fits me.... I am a very compulsive person. If I want to do something... I have to do it ASAP.

sherbert789 · Post by **sherbert789** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:52 pm

I went to see the fireworks with a very close friend of mine on the 4th of July a couple of years ago. I went to her house to sleep over afterward, and she decided she felt like practicing flute. Not wanting to make me sit and be bored, she let me try her old closed-hole, silver-plated Gemeinhardt flute. She taught me how to make a sound and a couple easy notes (A, Bb, C, etc.). I loved it so much I asked to bring home the flute and the books, then signed up for band class at school. I wanted to learn more, so after about a year I started taking private lessons. Now I'm getting ready to take undergrad. flute performance auditions. Odd how things work out, huh?

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 9:39 am

Good luck on your auditions! I was in your shoes about a year ago [flute performance major too], and all of my preparation really paid off. So, this school year make sure you practice as much as you possibly can. It really pay$ off.

sherbert789 · Post by **sherbert789** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 2:01 pm

Don't worry about me and preparation! I've been working on my program for auditions (Martin Ballade, Duvernoy Concertino, Bach b Minor Sonata, Mozart D, and excerpts) since the summer (hours a day!). Thanks for your positive wishes!!

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 11:10 pm

Good for you! I wasnt so lucky. I didnt start taking lessons until December of my senior year, and my auditions were in February...... Luckily I had an amazing teacher, and i had already taught myself a lot more than my band director could have ever taught me. So, with a lot of work, I still got a full tuition scholarship to the best music school around [at least in my opinion]. Now, I shock my self regularly when I compare my current playing ability to the way I played a year ago. A year ago, I was still good, but not quite performance major material. Now, I am one of the leading players in my studio [even though it is a small studio, I still beat a senior for 2nd chair orchestra]

suckmykiss · Post by **suckmykiss** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 6:47 am

Didn't learn a lot of skills when I was younger so I was practically talentless.. I saw an orchestra concert once and I literally fell in love with the flute. Joined band in high school and I have been in a love-hate relationship with it ever since.. =)

sherbert789 · Post by **sherbert789** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 8:42 am

We all have such wonderful stories!

Fluteguy18, wow. Was it a financial situation or travel distance that stopped you from taking lessons for so long? Anyways, congrats for your accomplishments!! Where do you study now?

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:48 am

It was a lot of things. I was told by the previous flute professor at the university I currently attend ( this professor retired about 4 years ago), that when I was 11 I needed a professional tutor because my band director couldnt teach me any more material. I had already progressed beyond the skills of my band director's teaching ability (flute proficiency, and general music related material [key signatures, time signatures, rythms, and etc...].

Well, I told my parents, and they were very surprised. I pushed for a private tutor for a while, but became discouraged after their lack of action. So, I fell away from music for a while. I was still in the high school marching band [ I was invited to join the high school marching band at the end of my 6th grade year, and I was a better player than the first chair player as it was]. But, I still did basic things, like concert/ symphonic band, and marching band [became section leader my freshman year], and did solo and ensemble festivals, and won straight distinguished ratings every year.

Time passed, and I picked up other instruments [like the harp for example] and my parents got me lessons for that [harp]. I liked it a lot, and progressed very quickly. My junior year rolled around, and I picked up Bach's Flute Partita in A minor, and played the first movement in another competition, and won yet another distinguished rating. However, this time around, the judge told me that she had just played that piece in a professional recital.

This lit a fire under my seat, and made me realize exactly how much I loved playing my flute, and that I couldn't imagine myself not playing my flute after high school. So, I asked around, and found the best flute teacher in my area. She taught applied flute at two very good schools, and played in the best orchestra around. So, I gave up harp lessons, and used the money to pay for flute lessons. I took the lessons, and practiced about 3 hours a day. My lessons were on friday mornings at 7am because that was the only time she could squeeze me in. I got up early, and drove the 1/2 hour to school so I could have that 45 minute lesson before school.

I dont regret it at all. So, basically, because of various expieriances I was discouraged from taking lessons [ from lack of action on my parents part, and certain personal medical situations that have been taken care of by surgery] and progressing properly. I did however push onward without realizing it, and achieved several musical awards [numerous distinguished ratings, the john phillip sousa award from the marines etc. etc.].

I now study at Eastern Kentucky University on a full music scholarship. It was a long journey to find out exactly what I wanted to be, but now that I have, I am racing down this path.

squints · Post by **squints** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 12:02 am

I am a jethro tull wanna be. If you wan't to be specific Ian Anderson wanna be but thats how I wish to play.