polices

Tag Archives | teaching

“Jessica, fix my high notes!”[10 minute video inside]

Struggling with your upper register? Does just the thought of playing high notes make you feel tense? Secretly want to avoid them altogether? If so, this 10 minute video is for you. In this chat, I talk about a more holistic* approach to playing that moves away from solely ‘fixing’ the technical side of things. Why? Because your musicality is waaaay more […]

Continue Reading 0

How to fall head-over-heels in love with musicology (+ why it took me a while)

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 […]

Continue Reading 0

Everything I know about receiving support (artistic, or otherwise)

  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 […]

Continue Reading 8

“My teacher refused to teach me”. A chat with flautist Ruth Ballantyne about rising above the naysayers (+ her new flute book, too)

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 […]

Continue Reading 1

My up-close-and-personal conversation with flautist and interdisciplinary performer Zara Lawler

I’ll admit that I was skeptical (and intrigued) when I first read that New York city-based flautist, Zara Lawler combines dance, voice and text while she plays. But,  listen– that skepticism didn’t last long because after I watched her brilliant theatrics in action I was hooked. The fact that she quotes poetry by Rumi in the middle of her Andersen etudes (as one […]

Continue Reading 2

So, you want to (re)start taking flute lessons? (Congrats!) Here’s 9 essential questions to ask yourself first

Ready to start those lessons? Get clear about what you desire in your music-making with these 9 essential questions. Print them out. Daydream. Ponder. Fill them in. Take these to your new teacher. Discuss it. Cut to the chase. Get things rollin’ for your playing from Day 1. 1) Have you had any kind of music […]

Continue Reading 0