Fall is in the air and with it we welcome a brand new school year. This is a magical time full of possibilities. For young musicians, the season is marked with chair placement exams, identifying repertoire for upcoming school year recitals, prepping for honor band auditions, and setting new goals for the year ahead. For teachers, the new school year offers a fresh new opportunity to set students up for success on Day One. For parents, renewed support for the learning process, and everything that goes into it, is a top priority. In this blog, I offer some of my best kept tips to make this school year the most successful one yet. The new school year is the very best time to set new goals, establish practical routines, and plan for a successful season of growing, learning, and achieving.
Back to School Tips for Students
Make sure your flute is in tip-top shape. Schedule your flute for a COA (clean, oil, and adjust), if possible. Clean it. Shine it. Make it sparkle.
Upgrade your flute swag. The beginning of the school year is a great time to upgrade the little things - cleaning cloth, polishing cloth, flute bags, gig bags, etc.
Devise a list of goals for the upcoming school year. What recitals do you want to perform? What competitions will you enter? What masterclasses will you audition for? Plan it all out!
Get super organized. Put together a list of timelines for auditions, competitions, and add all concerts to your (and your family’s) master calendar. This will also help you identify any potential scheduling conflicts to work out ahead of time.
Placement auditions typically occur at the beginning of the school year. Be ready - But also be chill. What is the repertoire? Are you able to choose your own pieces? What can you play confidently that shows off both your technique and your sound? Keep it simple.
Be ready for sight reading at chair auditions. It may or may not happen but it is best to be on your game. A good way to prepare is to simply buy a new etude book and pull up a new page each day. Look for the basics (where is the music easy, where are the potholes, where are the challenging bits, are there any passages that will throw you for a loop (particularly in the higher register)? Scan, identify, take a big breath, subdivide, and play.
Work on your practice plan. Your schedule is changing. You may have certain days that are busier than others. The beginning of the school year is a good time to plan out your practice time. Add practice blocks to your calendar. Adding these time blocks will help you avoid cram practicing on the weekends when your schedule becomes cray cray.
Don’t forget to schedule in rests. The beginning of the school year does not need to be all about the GO GO GO. Crush it in your rehearsals, lessons, and practice sessions, but also take some time to chill and smell the pumpkin spice lattes!
Welcome new flute friends. You may have new musicians in your band classes either transferring from other schools or promoting into the ensemble. Welcome them to the flute section! Play a few duets with them. Improvise together! Talk about all of the super fun performance opportunities available this year.
Take notes on everything. I don’t just mean in your classes or on the latest tea buzzing around the school. Bring a notebook to band or orchestra class. Take notes on studio masterclasses. Write down those nuggets that your teachers offer - You might be able to use them later!
Back to School Tips for Teachers
Start slowly - Your students have a lot on their plate (and summer grogginess still in their souls)! Teachers often want to start off the school year at full steam ahead which sometimes leaves kids overwhelmed. Work on strengthening the basics and introducing new repertoire slowly during the first couple of weeks.
Discuss practice expectations for the upcoming year. Have your students been practicing enough? How are they practicing? Do they have a dedicated practice space that is free from distractions? Have this talk with your students and offer some practical suggestions for increasing practice time while making that time super efficient (aka don’t just drill the fun stuff).
Make sure students know about all upcoming competitions, auditions, performances, and any other opportunities arising during the school year. This will help them set up their goals. Print out the guidelines for students to keep handy in their music folders.
Make sure they know the rules. Did you update your studio policies recently? Do your students have a copy of these policies? Has their information changed? The beginning of the school year is a great time to make sure everybody is on the same page.
Encourage student progress with super fun incentive programs. A band director in my area has a wall in their classroom where every student who successfully plays all 12 major scales, plus a two-octave chromatic scale, gets their name listed for all the world to see for the remainder of the school year (and often beyond). This is a great idea that we can incorporate into our studios. Do you have a Congrats Wall? If not, you may instead offer incentives like a new polishing cloth or a flute hat for achieving certain goals.
Back to School Tips for Parents
Encourage practice time. Parents are important cheerleaders for their budding young musicians. Daily practice is the key to success. Help your student by setting up a dedicated practice space in a quiet place where they will not be disturbed. Help identify how long they need to practice each day and set a timer. Even 20 minutes per day is a great start!
Make sure your student has the right gear. Do they have a music stand? Do they have a music folder? Do they have pencils and good lighting? Often, these requirements are listed in the teacher’s studio policies.
Ask the teacher about upcoming performances. Make sure to add these to all family calendars. It is very important to have support from family members at performances. This is also a great time to meet other parents and discuss future goals with the teacher. Performances are all about celebrating achievements and building community.
Buy your student a few fun songs to mix in with their stand repertoire. Music does not always have to be about Bach and Mozart. Sometimes kids want to learn a Star Wars melody or learn the basic notes to a Taylor Swift song. Add a Disney songbook or two to your checkout cart.
Be curious about your child’s musical development. Ask them what they are working on. Ask them what they enjoy playing. Ask them what they find challenging. Encourage living room concerts for your family members. If you are a musician yourself, try playing a duet with them. Music is meant to be interactive. Try to interact as much as possible during the learning process.
What tips do you have to make the most out of the beginning of the school year? What are you most looking forward to this school year?
Happy fluting!
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.
