Unsure if I'm where I'm supposed to be (going to college)

[wackiejackiexox]

In the fall I will be a Music Ed major. Even though I'm the best in my school, I know that there are so many other flute players at different schools who are better than me. I met some over the summer and heard many during my audition process. I feel like I have so many flaws with my flute playing, even though I've gotten into music schools already I feel like I'm just not good enough. My flute teacher was great and all but I still feel like I should have learned more. My double tonguing is unpredictable. Some days its good, some days its not. Although I've been trying to hard to learn I still can't flutter tongue. I don't have a consistent warm up schedule really, I do different things everyday, sometimes for 5 minutes or sometimes for 30.
I just don't know if I'm where I need to be. Any advice on where I should be? And how I can get there before college?

[Kshel]

If you were already a perfect flutist there would be no need to pursue a music degree.

Firstly, you are getting a Music Ed. degree and not a performance degree. You will take private lessons at college, and a new teacher (at a collegiate level, no less) will be able to offer you the instruction you need to perfect your techinical skills. You will not have as much pressure to play perfectly as you are not pursuing a performance degree, though you will need to be very comfortable with music theory, teaching, and learning how to play the basics on each band instrument (I'm assuming you want to teach band).

So don't worry so much! Better playing comes with challenging yourself. Try to play harder pieces than you are used to. Push your comfort zone boundaries further and further. A flute professor will really stretch your ability by breaking down the teeny tiniest details of your playing, so rest assured that if you aren't getting it now you will have no choice but to "get it" in college.

In the meantime, I would work very methodically on the basics. Do lots of double tonguing exercises at a pace that suits you. Speed up as you get more comfortable. Flute playing is a personal journey: you can't compare yourself to everyone else who plays because there will ALWAYS be someone better than you. Just accept it and move on by training and challenging yourself. You can do it!!

[fluteguy18]

Well said.

The standard of flute playing for a Performance-track career is absolutely ridiculous. Even individuals who win national or international competitions have trouble getting jobs. Seriously. I myself have pursued a performance track career because I loved performing. After a long process of a wide variety of experiences and decisions I realized what exactly I like about flute playing and performing (and what I don't). That end result has taken me away from the desire for a full time performance career.

As a music ed major (where you would honestly end up teaching band/chorus or general music/elementary music) the standard of musicianship I hate to say is much lower. You don't have to be flawless, but you do have to have a good ear, patience, an aptitude for teaching, and plenty of time. You have to learn all of the instruments and in most programs you also have to learn basic voice/vocal skills as well so you can teach chorus. Once many band directors get jobs, they rarely touch their instruments again except to demonstrate something perhaps or to perform in a local community ensemble (if they enjoy performing too).

So really, it's your decision. I know that I can be happy outside of music as a career. Can you? That's a question to answer. There is a common saying that 'if you can imagine yourself being happy doing something outside of music, get out. Get out of music.' It's not necessarily true for everyone, but I have found that it is true for me.

[cflutist]

So really, it's your decision. I know that I can be happy outside of music as a career. Can you? That's a question to answer. There is a common saying that 'if you can imagine yourself being happy doing something outside of music, get out. Get out of music.' It's not necessarily true for everyone, but I have found that it is true for me.

That is the path that I took. As a freshman in college, I studied with Paul Renzi, the then Prinicpal Flute of the San Francisco Symphony. And as a music major, I had 9 classes that semester (lots of classes with few units). I got a "B" in Flute Major from Mr. Renzi and "A"s in all other classes (including one in IT). That made me question if I could have ever had a flute career. So I switched my major to IT and got a BS in Business Information Systems. I just retired as a VP at a Fortune 50 company after 32 years in IT, but in the meantime have been playing principal flute in a Community College orchestra since 1989. I had played off and on for 15 years before I auditioned and joined that orchestra. Performing the Cimarosa Concerto next weekend with Alan (a retired CPA). So one can have a non-music career but yet still enjoy performing without the pressure of getting gigs to put food on the table.

p.s. later found out that Mr. Renzi mostly gave "C"s to freshmen flute majors, so I was actually doing above average ... LOL so much for the Dutilleux Sonatine that I started playing in high school huh?

[goldenflute]

When I entered college as a performance major (many years ago) I had many of the same thoughts as you. I allowed myself to be intimidated by other students who (I thought) played better than me. That was/is the worst thing to do. You spend more time worrying about other people instead of focusing on yourself and your education. Please don't let that happen to you. I was finally able to get beyond that, when I spoke to the department chairman who gave me the words I needed to hear. Everyone learns and grows at their own pace. And everyone comes in on a different level. One person's playing may be outstanding but their theory or ear training or "whatever" may be below your level. So, be confident that you are going in to improve where you're already at and prepare for what you want to become.

By the way, I graduated, not as a performance major, but as a music ed major, because I learned along the way that I really enjoyed sharing and teaching music with others more than performing for others. I still perform and play in a contemporary ensemble on a weekly basis. But part of the college experience is learning where you really want to be in life.

[wackiejackiexox]

Thank you all for your great advice. After reading all of your posts I've decided to take my practicing to another level and work on what I know I need help in and not worry about other flute players. I love music and I love playing the flute and I also love teaching and can't wait to start next year

[lianeandflute]

I was in the same position as you a couple of months ago. The best advice I can give is to set realistic goals, and doing different things every day (in a different order or switching what you do between days for example) is actually a good idea.

I started out with stupidly high expectations and goals which were simply unachievable. Like launching straight into the moyse daily exercises (not possible to do this without getting exhausted and wasting time without really learning all the stuff in there first) and suddenly jumping into 5 hours of practice without easing into it. So I ended up burning out and injuring myself.

I re evaluated what I was doing and set realistic goals, only then did I start improving. For example, doing one complete scale a day worked well for me. I went through the Moyse daily exercises book and picked out every single scale he wrote for the scale of the day (C for example) - including major & minor, and worked on them thoroughly (slow practice, metronome work, different articulations & rhythmic patterns etc). This took between 30 and 60 minutes. So each day I was doing a different scale, I also switched between doing all major & minor scales on one day to working on chromatics the next. This variation kept me interested and challenged. It was also good because I spent a good amount of time achieving good stuff without getting bored or burning out.

So plan, but plan realistically. Pick out the main flaws you want to fix and work on those (say, three).

If you want to do better technically, of course you have to start with the basics: majors, minors, arpeggios, thirds, inversions, dominant & diminished. You might want to try Moyse's Daily Exercises or Gammes et Arpeges (scales all over the range & lots of intervals, and exercises on the scales, respectively). Other people like Taffanel & Gaubert's 17 Daily Exercises.

If you want to work on tone you need to spend lots of time on long notes and do things like harmonics.

For double tonguing and flutter tonguing, I would practice this during working on scales. I do frequently with double/triple tonguing and also practicing single tonguing. I don't practice flutter tonguing really… my flutter tongue is pretty bad too. I use my throat if I have to do any flutter tonguing but I should really work on using my tongue because it creates a different sound. ANYWAY.

So yeah… decide 3 or so main things you want to have fixed before college starts and set realistic goals and challenges for yourself on a daily, weekly, monthly basis. You do need to be disciplined, but that's when you really see improvement.

Oh, and record yourself!! What better way to evaluate your self and monitor your progress?! Come back to recordings months later and see what has changed.

That's just my opinion. =]

[Angus]

First - best of luck to you! Hopefully you are near a point where you are choosing the college that you will attend in the fall.

My older daughter is in her third year as a music ed major and when she auditioned was accepted only to two schools for the music ed program due to auditions that went poorly at 5 others. She certainly was not at the top of the heap at the time at all with the competition, and honestly was barley ready to audition. My wife and I were pretty worried.

Her skills have improved so much during the last three years that our family is simply stunned at her growth and how well she performs now, so much so that she is requested to perform at weddings etc. to help pay the tuition bills. So I guess what I am trying to say is don't be too hard on yourself! With strong commitment & willpower you will go far and everything will work out!

I just never thought I'd be going through the process again with my younger daughter who intends on being a flute performance major.

Best Wishes

[StephenC]

In the fall I will be a Music Ed major. Even though I'm the best in my school, I know that there are so many other flute players at different schools who are better than me. I met some over the summer and heard many during my audition process. I feel like I have so many flaws with my flute playing, even though I've gotten into flute music schools already I feel like I'm just not good enough. My flute teacher was great and all but I still feel like I should have learned more. My double tonguing is unpredictable. Some days its good, some days its not. Although I've been trying to hard to learn I still can't flutter tongue. I don't have a consistent warm up schedule really, I do different things everyday, sometimes for 5 minutes or sometimes for 30.
I just don't know if I'm where I need to be. Any advice on where I should be? And how I can get there before college?

Let me just say that continue with such attitude. Don't ever think that your playing is at its peak of perfection but always think that you can still improve your playing for the better. Practice is all I can say if you feel that way with regards to your flute playing.