Teaching young musicians...

has become one of my favorite parts about music.  Within the Flute Studio of Amanda Barro, I foster an encouraging environment for all students to improve. 

Aside from weekly lessons, our studio members have a multitude of opportunities to perform for family, friends, and their community. Each year our students participate in a Fall Recital, Christmas Recital, Spring Recital, and a Wild Card Recital which changes themes each year. These performances encourage students to grow in confidence, share their passion, and challenge themselves with repertoire while building a sense of community amongst their peers. Students who show great dedication also have opportunities to become members of our two chamber ensembles: Flutiology and The Vivacissimos.

As a teacher, I believe it is important to understand each individual student by getting to know their interests, both musically and non-musically, as well as their personal goals.  This allows me to design our flute lessons to best fit their needs.  Every lesson is structured into four fundamental categories: Tone, Technique, Etudes, and Solos.  These four categories come together to create a complete flute player.  In Tone, we focus on the student’s sound on the flute. Technique is dedicated to developing our dexterity in the fingers. Etudes provide the student with short musical excerpts that pinpoint some of the most difficult aspects of flute playing.  Finally, solos incorporate music from the flute repertoire, as well as band music.  Within flute lessons, I focus on healthy fundamentals of flute playing in which the student will learn proper holding of the instrument, body position, breathing, sound production, and technique which is constantly assessed throughout all ages. 

By using a variety of teaching tools, students will be able to conceptualize the proper way to interpret the music in front of them based on their own learning style.  Students have the opportunity to become the teacher in their lessons demonstrating their growth and development of musical understanding and what areas need more attention. Students build these skills to take into their own practice routines.

Music also presents an exciting moment for students to apply their knowledge of different school subjects.  Rhythm can be explained through math while our musical works provide a historical and literary background.  We also discuss emotions and different styles when learning music.  As a teacher, it is very important to help a student’s world expand, and it is even more exciting to watch their growth and development in music and their daily lives.  It is very heartwarming to have a positive impact on a student’s life through music.