Dr. Jessica Quiñones, flute player
International flautist & flute teacher in Cornwall, UK, near Truro - Dr. Jessica Quiñones
Recently an email arrived in my inbox from a British flute teacher: Hi Jessica, after many years in the profession I have decided to focus on setting up my own studio. I have recently shared some pop covers which have been well received on social media. I would be very grateful to hear any tips […]
Have you ever considered… Why you play your classical music the way that you do? (And who decides these ‘style rules’ anyway?) Why one type of playing is valued over another in the music conservatory (by the way, who decides what is ‘proper’?) Why there are so many recordings of musicians performing the same pieces […]
Recently a letter appeared in my email from a flautist I’ll call ‘Victor’. — Dear Jessica, I studied flute in the school and this year I will graduate from the Romanian music university from Bucharest. I am not graduating from the university in flute performance, but in pedagogy. Currently I do not feel any passion […]
On the 2nd of January, 2017 I decided that my New Year was due a restart. I was in bed with Salmonella food poisoning –there was no way I was going to start the year like that. I’ve aligned my celebrations with the Chinese calendar instead. Happy New Year of the Rooster to you–and […]
Hello Lovely, As you could well be in the middle of gift hunting, snow globe shaking, or even tamale making at this very moment I won’t take any more of your precious time than absolutely necessary. Here is what I want to convey this holiday season: A big glorious thank you for your support in the […]
It’s a tumultuous world energy right now. News events are happening that have brought me tears and a deep frustration because I just don’t know what to do about it. I can feel small in that sense. I have learned that I have to check-in with myself in order to keep it all in perspective. I do this […]
Surely you’ve heard about the nightmare piano teacher? She’s the one who’d hit your knuckles with a ruler if you played a wrong note at the keyboard. Shudder. While it can’t be said that ruthless teaching practices are limited to purely musical subjects, I’ve heard far too many of my flute students relate their own horror […]
Podcast: How Digital Tools Have Built The Career of A Flute E-Diva Are you interested in offering online teaching as a musician? Listen to some tips in my latest interview with Phil Byrne of Positively Sparking, a weekly web-marketing and digital-life podcast. In this episode we chat about the digital tools that have helped me build […]
This step-by-step guide is designed to help you introduce basic improvisation in your lessons and offers a structured framework that can be easily modified for pupils of all levels. (This was originally written for and published on the Trinity College London Music Support Blog in Nov. 2015 here) There is often a core belief amongst students […]
There’s tons of advice written for how to ‘make the most’ of your practice sessions, but how about getting motivated to pull out your instrument in the first place? Here I share 25+ years of what has worked for me a flautist (and what hasn’t) — Back in the 1990’s when I was an teenager […]