Flute Lessons in Denver
Colorado Honor Band offers flute lessons in Denver, Westminster, Thornton, Centennial, and Littleton. Our after school music program provides weekly one-on-one coaching and band classes, seasonal public performances, a yearly summer camp, and national and international travel opportunities.
Flute General Information
It has been said that playing the flute is the closest thing to using a human voice to sing. The flute is the only instrument that is very simply blown into. In fact, the tone hole is not fully covered by the lips, but is blown across, much like making a sound by blowing across the top of a bottle. It offers no resistance to the air that leaves our bodies to enter the instrument. There is no mouthpiece (brass), no reed (saxophone, clarinet, oboe etc), nothing is stricken (like percussion or piano), plucked or bowed (like strings).
Types of Flutes
The C Flute is the most common flute (and the one learned by Colorado Honor Band students) and it has a basic 3-octave range. It is called the “C Flute” because it is in the key of C. It’s little sister, the piccolo, plays an octave higher. The Bass Flute plays 1 octave lower than the C Flute. The Alto Flute is in the key of G, so plays slightly lower than the C Flute and slightly higher than the Bass. There is not too much repertoire available for these two instruments, but more is being written as more flautists play them!
Flute’s Role in Music
The flute is usually found playing the melodic lines in concert bands and orchestras, and it is usually joined in on the melody by the piccolo. Flute is a very versatile instrument and is comfortable in almost any musical setting, from Jazz to Rock/Pop to Classical.
Famous Flautists
There are many famous flautists who span all genres of music. Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) made the flute accessible to many people who may not otherwise relate to the instrument in “popular music.” Hubert Laws makes playing the flute in a jazz setting sound like magic!
Sir James Galway is probably the single most famous living flautist. Before him and, for a while along side him was Jean-Pierre Rampal, (1922-2000) a famous French flautist.
Some other very famous flautists include:
- Julius Baker
- Jean Baxtresser
- William Bennett
- Alexa Still
- Jan Gippo (piccolo)
- Amy Porter
- Chris Potter (low flute specialist who lives in Boulder, CO)
Flute Repertoire Pieces
- Flute Sonatas, by J. S. Bach
- Concerto in D Major, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Concertino, by Cecile Chaminade
- Fantasie, by Gabriel Faure
- Sonata in A minor, by C. P. E. Bach
- Concerto in G minor, by Johann Joachim Quantz
- 12 Fantasias, by Georg Philipp Telemann
- Cantabile et Presto, by George Enesco
- Meditation from Thais, by Jules Massenet
- Poem, by Charles Griffes
- Canzone, by Samuel Barber
- Selected Flute Solos, Amsco publication
- Concert and Contest Collection