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How to Practice Fundamentals

Ah fundamentals. You either love ’em or you hate ’em. Scales, arpeggios, and long tones are a necessary part of practicing. Fundamentals include tone and technique, but how do you even practice fundamentals?

Your specific instrument will determine how you should practice fundamentals. Wind players and string players will not practice tone in the same way, for example.

Hannah B Flute | How to Practice Fundamentals

Before you start practicing fundamentals, you need to have a plan. A shorter, more focused practice session will always be better than a longer, mindless one. Continue reading “How to Practice Fundamentals”

How to Play Flute “Cold”

To play flute cold means to play without much (if any) time to warm up. There are many situations where you might need to play something cold. You might have a long rest during a concert, or maybe you are running late to a rehearsal.

Hannah B Flute | How to Play Flute "Cold"

Whatever the reason, every flutist should know how to play their instrument without much of a warm up. Continue reading “How to Play Flute “Cold””

Sight Reading Practice

Sight reading. You either love it or you hate it. Most classically trained musicians have had to sight read at some point. Sight reading practice can seem annoying, but it will help you advance in other areas of music.

Hannah B Flute | Sight Reading Practice

There are many instances where your sight reading skills will come into play. Some music groups do not hand out music before rehearsal, so you will need to sight read. Many college and professional auditions will ask you to read something you’ve never seen. Continue reading “Sight Reading Practice”

Avoiding Performance Injury

From tendinitis to carpal tunnel syndrome, overplaying and over practicing can have devastating consequences for musicians. I am lucky, because I have yet to have a performance injury. There are plenty of musicians who have had (or currently have) a repetitive stress injury (RSI).

Hannah B Flute | Avoiding Performance Injury

How can you avoid RSIs but still make enough progress on your instrument? The short answer is to listen to your body. The long answer is a little more complicated. Continue reading “Avoiding Performance Injury”

The Best Day Jobs for Musicians

While no musician wants to look for a day job, sometimes it is necessary to pay the bills. I have worked a day job for over a year now, and I believe there are some day jobs for musicians that are better than others.

Hannah B Flute | The Best Day Jobs for Musicians

Whether you find a job in music education or a field unrelated to music, there are some qualities that you want to look for in a day job. In this post, I am going to share what I looked for when finding a day job. I’m also going to include some specific examples of day jobs for musicians. Continue reading “The Best Day Jobs for Musicians”