O'Neill Flute Studio | STUDIO BLOG

Setting up a curved headjoint flute - Jupiter 313/313S Prodigy

Sep 30, 2020
2 min

Setting up a curved headjoint flute - Jupiter 313/313S Prodigy

Hurray! You've got your first real flute! Congratulations! Are you now wondering how to set the instrument up? Read on! The Jupiter Prodigy flute (model number 313 or 313S) is a beautiful instrument designed especially for tiny kids who want to play. If you compare it to a full-sized flute, you'll notice a couple of differences; it's all in one piece, the headjoint (the part you blow into!) is curved, the keys have extensions on them and there are a few keys missing (no t

Getting your first sounds on flute

Flute: From Classical to Irish

Jan 15, 2020
2 min

Flute: From Classical to Irish

Are you a classical player who really loves Irish traditional music? Here are a few pointers to get started on the right foot! 1. It's "Irish", not "Celtic" If you want to be taken seriously by trad players (that's traditional Irish players!) call it "trad", "traditional Irish" or "Irish" music, not "Celtic" music. If "Celtic" is the best word for the situation, make sure you pronounce it with a hard C - "seltics" is a basketball team, "keltic" is the pronunciation that ref

Practice Tips: Choose One

Dec 9, 2019
2 min

Practice Tips: Choose One

There are so many things flying at us at any given moment and we are used to juggling multiple things at once as we go through our day. In your practice sessions, if you really want to fix an issue, pick ONE THING to focus on at a time. Things like... Tone quality Correct notes Rhythm Articulation Dynamics Vibrato Intonation Tone colour Precise technique Pick one thing. And then focus on that thing until it's as good as it's going to be today. Let's say you picked tone quali

App Review: Flashnote Derby

Apr 10, 2019
2 min

App Review: Flashnote Derby

Flashnote Derby is one of my favourite apps to use with my students. It's a note-learning app that seems to have taken everything a teacher (or student) could want into account. The app is set up to be completely customizable, from the theme of the game to the clef or notes you want to review. It's great to use with everyone from kids just learning their notes through adults who want to explore clefs outside of the ones they normally use. Check out some of what the app has

Youth Ensembles

Mar 8, 2019
2 min

Youth Ensembles

Looking for a place to play outside of your school band for 2019/20? Check out these ensembles! Feisty Flutes Auditions: none Age: 8 + Fees: $60/4 week term Start date: new term starts every ~ 2 months Community flute group open to all ages and experience levels. Music is arranged to be approachable to a wide range of players, who can choose to play in either the beginner or intermediate ensembles. More information can be found on the O'Neill Flute Studio website or by ema

Review: Nuvo TooT

Nov 1, 2018
4 min

Review: Nuvo TooT

I've been looking for a good way to get tiny kids involved in flute playing at a cost that doesn't scare off parents who aren't completely sure if their child will stick with playing. The Nuvo Toot has been on my radar for awhile, but I've been concerned about the open holes when combined with 5-year-old fingers. When I saw the TooT's newest version, I was excited to try it out! The old TooT was recorder-like with a flute mouthpiece, somewhat similar to the Yamaha fife. Th

Scholarships: Youth & Uni

Oct 9, 2018
3 min

Scholarships: Youth & Uni

Do you eat, sleep and dream music? Do you want to take advantage of every possible opportunity to study it? Are you looking for ways to help fund those studies? Here are a few scholarships available to young musicians in Nova Scotia: NSMEA Summer Study Bursary $150 Open to any student attending grade 12 or under in NS and to be used to defray costs of any summer music camp. Additional $200 award: Fran Tyrell Memorial Summer Study Bursary for leadership in music. Boxwood F

Irish Flute: Learning By Ear

Oct 3, 2018
3 min

Irish Flute: Learning By Ear

So you love Irish music and want to get started learning tunes. If you already know how to read music, it's going to be incredibly tempting to pick up some sheet music and read the tunes from the dots. Resist! If you really want to become a contributing member of the tradition, the best advice you'll ever get is: "Listen! Listen! Listen! and Learn. By. Ear". I can't stress this enough: learning by ear is what is going to make the difference between sounding like you're ju

New Students

Trills!

Sep 16, 2018
2 min

Trills!

Have a new band piece that's full of trills and you're not sure how to tackle them? Here are a few simple rules* to help. If you see one (or both) of these signs: Follow these steps: Check your key signature. Starting on the written note, alternate between that pitch and the one above. End on the written note. Try these: Start on the main note and trill to the note above, based on your key signature. In this case, we start on the G, trill to an A natural (because A is not al

Booking School Workshops

Parents and Practising

Jul 20, 2018
2 min

Parents and Practising

Ok. So you've thought up all sorts of games, you're encouraging like crazy, you're allowing your child to take some control of what activity will happen next, and things still aren't going well? Here are a few more ideas! Change your practice time. Some kids really like to play after school, but can't focus before bed. Others would love to have an excuse to stay up just 20 minutes later but are too tired and hungry right after school. Some kids want to stay in bed as long

Starting out on Irish Flute

Jul 10, 2018
1 min

Starting out on Irish Flute

The Irish or wooden flute is so much fun to play! If you're thinking about learning to play but don't know if you want to invest in a full flute yet, you can pick up a tin whistle at the music store for around $15 CDN and get started right away. Once you've decided that you want to stick with it, you can get your name on a flute maker's waiting list or ask around about used instruments. There are a lot of options when it comes to getting a flute made, so asking a maker, pla

Practice Tips - Improve More Quickly

Jun 15, 2017
2 min

Practice Tips - Improve More Quickly

Do you ever think you're working way too hard for very little musical gain? Maybe it's how you're practicing. Here are a few ideas to try: Start by identifying the thing that is the most difficult in your piece. Isolate that tiny passage from the rest of the piece. Identify the exact problem you're having. Identify how to solve that problem. Work only on that specific problem and stay focused! Integrate your solved passage back into the piece. If you are smart about how you