“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” (Tao Te Ching). As any parent of a young, motivated flutist knows, it also takes a dash of research and a pinch of communication to find just the right flute teacher. When my seventh-grade band director saw my dedication and promise 30 years ago, he recommended that my parents investigate private flute lessons. This was before the time of the internet, when word of mouth and landline phone calls was key. While it was relatively easy for the band director to help lead us to the right flute teacher back then, today’s flute parents can find a vast directory of available flute teachers even easier using a simple keyword search. The challenge now, however, is narrowing down these options to the teacher that will work best for the student and their unique learning style and flute-playing goals. Today’s blog is for the parents! Are you ready to invest in private flute lessons for a young flutist but don’t really know where to start or what to look for? We will examine at a few techniques to help you narrow down your search.
Think about your needs and wants before beginning your search. How does your student learn best? Are they motivated by online learning from the privacy of their own home? Do they excel under the pressure of competition? Knowing this will help you determine what type of teaching style may fit the bill for the student’s specific learning needs. Next, determine availability and budget. Is there room in your family’s schedule to book weekly private lessons? How much time would you have available? Would you like to start out with 30-minute lessons once a week or would you like 60 minutes once every two weeks?
Start by chatting up your local band director. A great place to start is by contacting the band director at your middle school or high school. We private teachers often inundate band directors at the beginning of a school year with lesson flyers and studio information for any open slots available in our private studios. There is a good chance that your school’s band director will have a few local contacts to suggest. They may have hired local flute teachers as sectional coaches to work with their band students. They may also have flute students in their programs already working with local flute teachers. Ask for a few recommendations.
Reach out to other band directors in the local area, particularly at schools with notoriously successful music programs. While your local middle school might work directly with a teacher whose studio is located near the school, there may be even stronger flute teachers available if you expand your search area. Remember to keep this area within a reasonable commute distance (although, a case can be made that a commute is totally worth it for the right teacher!). Do a simple Google search for band directors within a 10–20-mile radius. Reach out to see if they have any recommendations from their own programs.
Visit your local instrument shop. Instrument shops often have a staff of studio teachers who offer private lessons at the shop’s location. Here at Carolyn's, we have a directory of trusted local private teachers. Taking lessons from a music shop instructor has its plusses and minuses. A major plus is that if something happens to the flute during the lesson (a leaky pad, a broken spring, or a misaligned rod), you may take it directly to the shop to quickly address the issue. Also, if there are new books or pieces the teacher assigns, it is easy to make a pit stop at the shop after the lesson to pick up your new repertoire. The downside is that instrument shops can only employ a certain number of teachers based on studio space availability, so you are limited to the style and expertise of the teachers listed on staff.
Does your area have a flute club or flute society? Flute clubs often have a listing of members who are available for flute lessons. You can even reach out to the members of a flute club for recommendations. A flute club will often have the best of the best local flute teachers on their membership roster. That is a lot of flute knowledge in one place! And we are always happy to share that knowledge with the community.
Check out online music teacher communities (particularly if you are interested in signing up for online lessons). Online flute lessons are great! There is no commute, no set-up time, and sharing digital music files on a shared screen is easy peasy. Of course, online flute lessons work best if you know that your student can be successful with just a computer and a quiet room free of distractions. You will also need to have a reliable internet connection. A couple of great places to start is with Outschool and MusicLessons.com (not sponsored, but Dr. G. does have listings on both sites).
Do a simple internet search for “flute teachers” in your local area. Word of warning – This is kind of like playing Roulette for flute teachers. The search results will populate with teachers who have the right internet presence and know a little something about SEO (search engine optimization). The best flute teacher may not have these things quite under their belt yet. But an internet search is a good start. This will direct you to websites for local teachers. Which leads me to..
Explore flute teacher’s websites for information about the teacher, their experience, their teaching philosophy, and possibly their rates. Spend some time researching flute teachers before contacting them directly to really narrow down who may be the right fit for your student. Does the teacher have an instructional blog? Grab a cup of coffee and read some of their postings. Do they have a teaching philosophy listed? (Sometimes called their “Why.”) Read over their story and what they hope to achieve in their studio. Is there a link to a CV or a biography listed? Do they have studio policies listed on their website? Peruse these. Are there any deal-breakers? Is the teacher flexible with schedules? Finally, if you love what you are reading and are ready to book, flip open the contact page and reach out.
Many private flute teachers offer trial lessons – Use these to determine whether the teacher is a fit for the student. You’ve done your research! You’ve found a teacher! But what if just doesn’t work out? Perhaps the teacher’s teaching style does not fit naturally with the student’s learning style. Not to worry. Trial lessons are free introductory lessons to see if the flute teacher and flute student jive with one another. If it doesn’t work out, it is totally okay. There are numerous flute teachers out there that offer flute lessons in different formats using vastly different teaching styles. Test out another teacher. The right teacher will be there to fit your wants, needs, and to help drive your flute student towards success.
How did you find your flute teacher? Do you prefer online lessons to in-person lessons? What techniques do you recommend to find a flute teacher?
Happy fluting!
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About the Author, Rachel Taylor Geier:
Rachel Taylor Geier holds a DMA in Flute Performance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, an MM in Flute Performance from San Francisco State University, and a BM in Music Performance from DePauw University. Former applied instructors include Immanuel Davis, Linda Lukas, Anne Reynolds, and Rhonda Bradetich. Dr. Geier currently teaches and freelances in Davis, California and hosts a popular Flute Friday Blog Series.
