“With music in schools, students connect to each other better, greater camaraderie, fewer fights, less racism and reduced use of hurtful sarcasm.”

(Eric Jensen, Arts with the Brain in Mind, 2001)

Flute Lessons Perth runs three informal concerts every year, one at the end of terms one, two and three. These “students only” concerts allow the students to practice their performing skills in a relaxed atmosphere with an audience comprising of only fellow students. Based upon numbers these concerts may be run as junior, intermediate or senior concerts respectively. Each concert is always immediately followed by a fun student party where each student brings some food to share with the other students present at the concert.

The aim of these informal concerts is to help each student gain confidence playing their flute in front of others in a completely non-threatening environment. A secondary aim of these concerts is to provide students with an opportunity to build friendships with other students who share a common interest, namely playing the flute. This is considered to be an important opportunity especially for those students who don’t play flute in school ensembles and who may therefore, without these concerts, not come into contact with other students who play the flute.

At the end of term four every year Flute Lessons Perth holds a formal public concert for all students which is attended by parents, siblings, extended family and friends. In this setting the students have the opportunity and thus are encouraged to play their solo pieces with piano accompaniment. Pianists who have accompanied students at past concerts are well known Perth pianists such as Jacinta Jakovcevic and Helen Edmonds (hyperlink these). At these concerts Flute Lessons Perth ensemble groups also play.

At these concerts junior, intermediate and senior students all perform at the same concert in front of one another. Aside from offering younger students with the fantastic opportunity of hearing older, more advanced students playing their flutes, the opportunity of playing at these concerts builds upon those offered at the informal concerts. Students are again in a situation where they are given performance practice.

While such practice opportunities are good in helping students gain the confidence to play their flutes in public, the confidence achieved also generates to other areas of the students’ lives such as giving presentations at school. I have on many occasions been informed by happy parents who report that after a year or so of playing their flutes in front of others that their children’s confidence in talking in front of the class or at school assemblies etc. has improved markedly.

Importantly it should be noted that while students are strongly encouraged to play at these concerts, from time to time there are students who are disinclined to play due to the fact that they get very nervous when playing in front of others. In these cases such students are encouraged instead to play a duet with the teacher rather than playing solo by themselves. In the vast majority of cases such students are happy to perform with the teacher, as such being gently introduced to performance in a less threatening way. Once they have performed as such at a number of concerts these students are generally able to take on the task of playing solo. However it is important to note that students are never asked to play in any context against their will.

Outside of these regular performances, ensembles and individual students who are willing have the chance to play at extra events organised for them throughout the year. Such events organised in the past vary from small to large concerts at nursing homes, often homes where student’s grandparents may reside, playing for the MS society and other such organisations and playing at weddings, receptions and other similar functions.

For Flute Lessons Perth students studying at AMEB Associate and Licentiate levels (following Grade Eight) and those studying Music Teaching at UWA or Music Performance at WAAPA, opportunities are provided to gain experience teaching under the supervision of the music director. In such scenarios permission is sought from the parents of younger students to have a set number of lessons co-taught by the senior student with the music director present. This can provide an invaluable experience in teaching methods for the senior student.

Additionally from time to time UWA Music Teaching students, sit in on individual and ensemble lessons and take notes on such lessons as part of their course requirements. Flute Lessons Perth has always been great feedback on the rich content of the lessons.

In addition to school age students, Perth Flute Lessons also teaches mature age students. Ten mature age students have had flute and piccolo lessons from Perth Flute Lessons with ages ranging from their 30s up to their 70s.

“A study of 7,500 university students revealed that music majors scored the highest reading scores among all majors including English, biology, chemistry and math.”

(The Case for Music in the Schools, Phi Delta Kappa, 1994)