We’ve just had ours done – here’s why you should, too. As musicians, it goes without saying that hearing is the sense that we rely on the most. Most of us will go to the optician for regular check-ups and sight tests: is it time that we treated our ears as well as we treat our eyes? We recently asked the lovely people at Auris Ear Care to give us all hearing tests. Auris is a travelling service, who will travel to you or your place of work and give your ears a thorough check over. The results were quite surprising! Fortunately, most of us were in great aural shape. A few of us needed wax remov ..read more

If you would like to play something slightly different in your flute choir’s Christmas Concert, these hidden gems will work brilliantly! This blog was originally posted in 2011 and has been updated for 2022 arranged Ann Cameron Pearce: Wexford Carol for Flute Choir The Wexford Carol is beautiful and this sensitive arrangement highlights its qualities. The ensemble shares the tune, accompaniment and descant evenly between the parts and uses the lower instruments to great effect. The result is a less familiar but great addition to any flute choir concert. Buy Now arranged Kelly Via: Fren ..read more

This blog was first written in September 2018 and has been updated for September 2022 September is such an exciting time for flute teachers with new young beginners raring to go. Here are our top picks to help them on their way. Kathryn Blocki: Flute Zoo Book 1 The Flute Zoo series of beginners books is aimed at very young players who will absolutely love the fun presentation style. The pages are different colours, there are pictures galore, activities, plenty of headjoint work and rhythm teaching using lego. All the tunes are about animals both cuddly and scary which is very engaging and the ..read more

Play-along albums are great fun and these five fantastic books feature excellent arrangements and stunning backing tracks Otto M Schwarz: Playing with the Orchestra Volume 1. This great book will take you to the heart of the large orchestral whirlwind sound of film music. There’s a fantastic list of pieces and a full orchestral track, each one counted in so you know when to start. Turn up the volume, have your technique at the ready and be prepared to have a ball! Buy Now Compilation: World of Warcraft Instrumental Solos for Flute Enter the world of video game music with this compilation fr ..read more

In need of a summer project? Try something completely new with our pick of the books. Rogier de Pijper: Flute Colors This is the definitive book on getting started with contemporary techniques. With something this exciting, it’s great to have a book that sets everything out in logical and easy to follow steps. This series of progressive exercises means that, even if you are not completely at home with this type of music, your flute playing will still improve. Buy Now Tilmann Dehnhard: The New Flute In this adventurous book, Tilmann Dehnhard takes a comprehensive trip around all the contempo ..read more

Enjoy these five astonishingly good pieces and expand your horizons. Stephane Vande Ginste: Sonata This Sonata is worth the cover price for the second movement alone which is a beautiful mix of enigmatic melody and jazz-like harmonies. The outer movements are good too, with an opening scherzando full of syncopated energy and angular phrases, and a closing Tarantella. This is something different certainly. Difficulty Guide: 7-8 Buy Now Ken Benshoof: BitterSweet This atmospheric piece really holds your interest. Each section is a voyage of discovery leading you onto the next which is just aro ..read more

Inspire your flute choir with these gorgeous arrangements designed to capture the essence of Summer. Whether you are looking for last minute concert ideas, organising an event, running a flute course or just planning ahead for next year these pieces are all fantastic. Take a look and bring on the sun. Mendelssohn arr Gudrun Hinze: A Midsummer Night’s Dream [Flute Quintet] Gudrun Hinze is a great arranger and so this five flute version of Mendelssohn’s classic really works. You might choose  to make the whole suite the centrepiece of a concert, or select just one or two movements. Pairing ..read more

Playing a musical instrument is amazing. It develops so many skills, and not just musical ones: it can build confidence, patience and self-reliance and can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning and literacy skills. It goes without saying that we want the best for our children, and certainly the experience of playing an instrument is an opportunity that many parents will want to give. It seems to be a growing trend to start children on the flute at a younger and younger age. It isn’t uncommon for a parent to want to start a 5 or 6 year old. But is this wise? Are there any advantages? What ar ..read more

If you’re looking for something just that little bit different try these amazing pieces. Stunners all! Nikolai Kapustin: Trio Op 86 for Flute, Cello and Piano This is an unusual work for this very classical combination. The opening is striking and improvisational-style, adding zest to the writing. The second movement is more conventional in style but the full-on jazz drive returns in the third movement. This would shake up an audience for sure! Difficulty Guide 9 Buy Now Blaž Pucihar: Full Moon Trio for Flute, Cello and Piano Blaž Pucihar has come up with a beautiful piece for flute, cello ..read more

In our annual post we celebrate great flute music by wonderful female composers (the arrangers are good too)! Cecile Chaminade arranged Dana Joras: Three Pieces for Flute and Piano If you love the music of Chaminade try these three delightful arrangements. Dano Joras is a flute player herself which means that the melodic lines are crafted to show the flute at it’s most expressive. Each one would stand alone but all three are so lovely it would be a treat to hear them all. After all, you can never have too much Chaminade. Buy Now Hilary Taggart: Pictures for Solo Flute Each of these fifteen ..read more