I have been teaching flute for over 40 years, to beginners and advanced players, children and adults. For children the recommended starting age is around ten.
Although practice matters with any instrument, I believe that for people who genuinely enjoy their instrument, practice outside lessons becomes a natural progression rather than a chore.
We need people who memorise all their exercises so that they can play scales with some sort of charm and virtuosity, later transferring this inner meaning to the music they are playing.
Sir James Galway
What you will work on
- Tone, breath control and embouchure
- Technique and scales — with charm, not just accuracy
- Reading, phrasing and interpretation
- Classical foundations, and jazz and improvisation if you want them
- Exam and audition preparation where that is the goal
Training
Elise trained on flute from the age of eleven and studied classical flute at the Newcastle Conservatorium, later studying jazz at the Sydney Conservatorium and with the Sydney Jazz Action Society. She plays both treble and alto flute in performance.