• Mel Bay's First Lessons--Flute is an easy method for beginning players of all ages.

• From the first tones to a full two-octave chromatic scale, this book/CD/DVD set will progressively introduce the beginner to the foundations of flute playing and musicianship.

• Move at your own pace with the instructional DVD included in the set. The 90 minute series of lessons by the authors includes: proper assembly, playing position, and embouchure formation. Simple songs and rudiments of music are also carefully introduced. Beginning players are taught a set of basic skills from which they can build technique and embark upon lifelong enjoyment of flute performance.

• Lively rhythmic backgrounds on the accompanying CD will generate student interest from the very beginning.

• Practice loops included with most exercises will encourage students to learn through repetition. They are perfect for use with group lessons and for energizing practice sessions from start to finish.

• Latin and jazz accompaniments make even the simplest exercises an enjoyable musical experience. Assemble your flute, pop the Mel Bay's First Lessons CD or DVD into your entertainment center and have fun while you learn to play!

• Presents scale exercises and etudes that suit the range and technical abilities of the developing player

• Extended scale patterns introduced

• Reinforces daily scale regimens

• Etudes thoroughly cover major/minor keys

• 40 Etudes representing the finest studies by Kohler, Nicholson, Gariboldi, Berbiguier, Drouet, Pratten, Rabboni, Hugot and Wunderlich, and others

• Excellent lesson material to prepare students for more advanced technical studies and scale regimens

Standard major and minor scale exercises and patterns are presented to assist the developing player who is learning to memorize these important routines. Arpeggios, scales in triplets, scales in thirds, extended scales, chromatic scales and more are presented to increase technical proficiency with scale practice.

Forty carefully selected etudes are designed to increase technical mastery over all major and minor keys. Theoretical understanding of each etude is enhanced when corresponding scale exercises and patterns are studied simultaneously.

For example:

• Includes a large variety of literature for the intermediate player: excerpts from Meline's The Modern Flute Professor; Loeillet's Sonata I, IV, and VI; excerpts from Devienne's Twelve Duos for Two Flutes, Op. 57; Hotteterre's Suite I, Op. 4; Stamitz' Duo I from Six Duo Concertans pour Deux Flutes; Telemann's Sonata II, and Sonata III from Six Sonatas or Duets for Two German Flutes or Violins, Op. 2
• Notes on Baroque performance practice
• Score format excellent for sight reading
• Spiral bound, 96 pages

• A complete method especially designed for use in the private lesson.
• Introduces each new concept with: fingering exercises, scale exercises and etudes.
• Advanced techniques are outlined succinctly. Essentials for the virtuoso player are discussed.
• Gives students a broad understanding of literature from an historical perspective. Contains exemplary pieces from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary periods.
• Pace of method is progressive. Parallel literature may be found in the Flute Handbook (a chart of complementary studies follows description of the Flute Handbook.)

• A great addition to standard method materials for developing players.
• Includes pointers on embouchure, hand position and breath support.
• Easy duets for warm-ups or sight reading. Free accompaniments for duets provided at this website each month (see Free Music section).
• Short etudes prepare students for the study of lengthier technical etudes.
• Includes notes on vibrato and tone.
• Exercises for the practice of double and triple tonguing.
• Contemporary etudes (flutter tonguing, multiphonics, harmonics, twelve-tone and more).
• Trill chart and easy-to-read fingering chart.
• Scale/Arpeggio reference pages.

The CD includes a recording of all lower octave, extended range and contemporary etudes. The recording also includes piano accompaniment tracks that are perfect for the practice or performance setting.

In addition to providing a progressive sequence of study for the developing flutist, the Flute Handbook reinforces and supplements the methodology found in Mel Bay's The Flutist's Companion. Teachers and students using these books will find the following chart of complementary studies a useful tool for lesson-planning and practice.

• Christmas solos, many with new-age piano accompaniments
• Each piece modulates to the next such that the entire book can be played from beginning to end as an extended suite
• Perfect for the player who prefers contemporary sounds, yet wishes to play traditional carols
• Works well for both the beginner and advanced player
• A lovely addition to your Christmas repertoire
• Contents include: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Angels We Have Heard on High; Ding, Dong, Merrily on High; God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen; I Saw Three Ships; Here We Come A-Caroling; The Rocking Carol; The First Noel; Away in a Manger; O Holy NIght; Silent Night; We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The book now includes a CD containing four full sets of accompaniments for all pieces in the book. Slower practice sets familiarize the flutist with the ensemble arrangement, while faster performance tracks may be used in the studio or performance setting.

The beginning stages of instruction on the flute are the most crucial in developing a secure foundation upon which all later technique will rest. Developmental studies have indicated that musical sense is acquired gradually, and that early exposure to sources of good music provides young students with the best possible experience for learning musical language.

Flutists begin playing when they are strong enough to hold and balance the flute, often as late as age 9 or 10, but by this time the child loses the benefits of musical experience in the younger years. Why not train the child on another pre-flute instrument such as the tin whistle, fife, or melody flute at a younger age? Simple six-hole instruments are logical pre-flute choices. They can assist the flute teacher by reinforcing posture, breath support, tonguing, and fingerings on an inexpensive instrument that the child can handle.

Children six years and older can enjoy the benefits of playing wind instruments at an early age. The tin whistle or penny whistle (pictured here) is easy to hold, and can accommodate small fingers. It does not require the formation of an embouchure, it has fingerings that are similar to the flute, and it can give students a jump start in learning to play simple songs that they can later transfer to the flute.

Pictured below is a solid brass instrument with durable red plastic mouthpiece. The whistle is pitched in D, i.e. when all of the tone-holes are covered the note D will sound. Fingerings closely resemble those of the flute. This instrument is also suitable for the mature player.

Low Octave Fingering Chart for Tin Whistle