Dr. Jessica Quiñones, flute player
International flautist & flute teacher in Cornwall, UK, near Truro - Dr. Jessica Quiñones
At the end of 2019 I was starting to morph into a ragged shell of a human after a packed-out flutey year. Exhaustion was definitely nipping at my ankles, begging me to take a little break. You see, in 2019 I gave 8 public recitals, ran 4 Boho Flute Retreats here in Cornwall, released […]
As I’ve eased back into my teaching again after my maternity leave, you’ve caught me at a really nostalgic place. Now in my 20th year of giving flute lessons, I’ve been reminiscing about the hundreds and hundreds of students I’ve taught over these past two decades–it must be thousands of flute lessons that I’ve given […]
Lately, I‘ve been pondering the thought what’s in store for my new baby boy over the next century and all the ‘what ifs’ that come with it. I know I’ve written about it in past blog posts before, but world events happen that bring me tears of deep frustration because I just don’t know what […]
“What am I doing wrong here?” said Geoff, a 70-year-old learner of the flute. Clutching a well-worn copy of Trevor Wye’s famous ‘Tone Practice Book’, he grumbled with frustration: “It seems like no matter how many long tones I do, I really don’t hear much improvement in my sound!” It was our first lesson together […]
In her recent lesson with me, Alice, a flautist in her late 40’s, with much frustration in her voice, complained I feel as if I am having to start all over again this week in my playing. It’s driving me insane! You see, recently we had slightly moved her embouchure so that she was able […]
Quick Question: What are your top 10 personal ‘cure-alls’? Below are my little ‘go to’ for pockets of pleasure: 1. The aroma of yellow buttery dahl from a Bombay café 2. Wearing turquoise anything 3. A cumbia bass-line that beckons a groove 4. Roger Federer in all-white 5. A quirky foxglove 6. Speeding around the Cornish coast […]
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 […]
I’m leading a second Boho Flute Retreat this year in Cornwall… and you’re invited! This retreat is called The Flowing Flautist and is taking place on the 16th-18th of September, 2016. Achieving a state of ‘flow’ is about being ‘in the zone’ and finding the magic in your playing so that you can tap into […]
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 […]