I am asking for suggestions for my flute student for solo and ensemble competition. Here are some details on my student.

1. 10th grade
2. Seriously needs to work on musicality
3. She prefers to only play fast pieces... GRRRR, however she is very good from a technical stand point.
4. She "claims" she wants to be the best student in her school, yet I find she is not dedicated to practicing.

So...What do you think I should lean towards for her? I was thinking about Bach Sonata IV movements 1 and 2, as it has a slower musical section, and a technical section. It is also something that will challenge her, yet not so insanely difficult for her that if she slacks off on practicing again (Grrrr again!!!)she should still be able to perform it well.

Also, does anyone have any tips on teaching musicality? I have tried making her write out stories for pieces, playing in different styles for her,recommending different emotional pieces, basically everything I can think of to get her to play on a somewhat emotional level, and it is still not clicking for her.

Anyway, if you have any other recommendations, please let me know and I will check in to the various pieces. Thanks in advance!

I really like the second movement of "La flute de pan" by Mouquet it has some technical stuff but most of it I think is great for working on playing with emotion/expression.

if you pay more attention to what you are doing then you would notice that you are good no matter what type of music you play.I think that playing the flute can help you accomplish your goals

Before I read what you were considering for your student, my first thought was the Bach Eb, either movements 1 and 2 or 2 and 3 - lol! She must be at a Bach stage...The 2nd movement isn`t too long and has some great opportunities for teaching phrasing and ornamentation.

As for teaching musicality, some people just never "get it". Try having her play various tone studies (I love the Trevor Wye Tone book - page 17 or Moyse Tone Development Through Interpretation) and mark in phrasing. Mark crescendos, diminuendos, high points of phrases - really make it mechanical at first. After that, have her play an exercise again - but she has to change the phrase. Make a different note the high point, etc. Eventually, she will get a better understanding of how to structure a phrase even if she can`t musically understand it yet.

Keep recommending recordings for her to listen to - that certainly can`t hurt. Good luck!

I think its best to have her listen to some music to zero in on what she likes, then pick something to challenge her, if she doens`t practice then she will realize what happens when you don`t, if she succeeds she will understand what it takes to excel

I am a freelance flutist and flute teacher and I think to improve hear musicality. I would consider Marcel Moyse:
"Tone Development Through Interpretation for the Flute and Other Wind Instrument: the study of expression, vibrato, color suppleness, and applications to different styles."

For tone development in all registers: Marcel Moyse:De la sonorite: art et technique it great for your student express her musicality. It`s nice to know notes, but without expression, the music get a little lost.

Thanks guys for some of the suggestions. I think I might work on trying out a few of the musicality tips.

Abbledy,

Thanks for the specific recommendation on a piece. I will dig through my sonatas and see if I have that one.

Patrick,

The only problem with letting her find something she likes, and then choosing from that is she will only pick really fast pieces. While technical exercises are always something she will still need to work on, I need something balanced to force her to stretch her abilities.

If she has no talent and doesn`t practice, then why not just drop her as a student?

I would think that the Poulenc Sonata mvts. 1&2 or 2&3 would be great....one technical and faster, and one very slow...very musical...and lyrically quite technical (with a little High B action also). She might be on a kick to be the best, but maybe she "thinks" that the lyrical pieces are not going to impress anyone. I hate to say it, but I started playing better lyrically when I started listening to flutists other than Sir James Galway. I love him to death, but he plays everything perfectly, and quite technically with additional notes some times. Recordings of whatever you choose would definitely be helpful, and also let her know that it takes a very special flutist to play slower music well.

(Me)
If she has no talent and doesn`t practice, then why not just drop her as a student?

I don`t recall saying anywhere in my original post that my student has no talent. I said she doesn`t practice and listed off specific things she is good at and specific things she needs to work on.

Flute lessons are not an audition. The student comes to you to work on playing. If you are not there to assess her strenghths and weaknesses, you are not helping her play, you are just listening to her and accepting payments from her parents. That is not what I feel makes a good private instructor.

When asking for help from other teachers, I will specifically list of things my students need to work on for improvement. If I don`t say she is good/bad at X thing the other instructors may waste their time trying to narrow down pieces, whereas if I say she needs to work on X and X, perhaps they will think "I had a student with the same issues and she played piece "blah blah" and it helped her.

Teaching flute to student can be fun and inspiring or a major pain in the rear. When it comes down to it, it`s a job, and not every day at work is perfect. You suck it up and keep going though because you need/want/have to.

I had a student that was just horrible in the beginning and almost quit because of a nasty band director. She is now one of my best students and has come a long way.

Debussy`s Syrinx is a really good piece to have her try. It would give her something difficult to work on and help her work on her musicality. It has a lot of musical freedom, so she could spend time experimenting with how dynamics and other elements help to shape a phrase. I`m a tenth grader myself (playing this piece for solo and ensemble of course) and have found that my own musicality has improved by playing this piece.

Debussy`s Syrinx is a really good piece to have her try.

Do you know off of the top of your head what grade that is rated? I could check Flute World, but I think they are a little...skewed...

Syrinx is a five.

Well, I`m in eighth grade, so what I`m about to suggest may be a bit too easy for her, but I`m extremely dedicated (I try to get in two hours of daily practice, usually more on weekends...I don`t have a life), so maybe we`re at similar levels of playing. I don`t know. Telemann`s Suite in A minor is very nice. The first movement has a beautiful, though simple, slow section at the beginning so that she can work on her musicality, then goes into a fun, fast 6-8 with some different articulations (I use double tounging, but triple tounging might be better, seeing as it`s in 6-8) so that she can have her fast bit, and then returns to the slower, more lyrical section to end it. I really enjoy this piece, it`s quite pretty.

If she really likes fast pieces, then Chaminade`s Concertino for flute and piano is good, but very difficult.