Lessons

Flute lessons from the comfort of your own home

Hi there! I’m Hannah, a Melbourne-based freelance flautist offering online flute lessons.

In a world of hectic schedules and internet-based activities, online lessons give students the freedom to have lessons at a time, and place, that best suits them. No travel required!

My teaching philosophy

No two musicians are the same - so why should their lessons be?

I strongly believe in personalised learning, so I tailor my lessons to each student depending on their goals and their current capabilities. Perhaps you one day want to play in an orchestra or attend music school - or maybe you want to learn how to play your favourite pop song on the flute. No goal is too big or too small! I do my best to provide my students with the tools they need to achieve their goals from now to well into the future. Whether you’re new to the flute, currently studying, or coming back after a break, we’ll work together as a team to help you achieve your personal flute-related goals.

Who do my lessons suit?

Short answer: anyone!

Maybe you’re returning to the flute after many years, or you haven’t been playing the flute for long. Perhaps you want some help with high school band assignments, or you’re preparing for music school auditions. No matter your prior relationship with the flute, my main wish is for my students to carry a willingness to learn and the drive to work on reaching their goals.

I strongly believe that the flute is for anyone and accept students from all walks of life. However, due to the demands of learning in an online environment, I do request my students to be of at least seven years of age at the time of enrolment. I also accept complete beginners, though if you've never played an instrument like the flute before I would recommend seeking out an in-person teacher at the start of your learning journey to help keep an eye on your posture and embouchure development, as problems with these can be harder for us to spot through a screen!
Read more about my lesson policies here.

The way I teach

Currently, I exclusively teach the western concert flute, otherwise known as the Boehm flute. I will be happy to soon also offer lessons on the piccolo.

Tailored to each student's goals, I like to break down my lesson content into the following areas:

Technique

Technique includes elements like finger dexterity, tonal flexibility, and good (relaxed!) posture, and it forms the basis of everything we do on the flute. I support development in these areas through scales, arpeggios, tonal flexibility exercises, and studies, which allow us to focus on specific aspects of technique in an engaging way. Good technique allows flutists to play in increasingly advanced and varied ways without risk of injury.

Musicianship

Musicianship is all about being able to understand the music we play and create. It includes skills such as reading sheet music, understanding music theory, aural skills, improvisation, and analysing cultural ties in music. These allow us to perceive, understand, and respond to all kinds of music in-depth. I also like to teach students from a scientific perspective of how the flute works, to fully understand why we do things in certain ways.

Repertoire

Technique and musical expression are applied to our repertoire - the pieces of music we play. I encourage my students to explore a wide variety of music styles, including common flute repertoire and music genres they love. I teach approaches to practising musical pieces and how to break down difficult areas into manageable sections so that students are equipped with the ability to learn - and master - any piece they encounter.

Musical identity

This area focuses on your personal relationship with music and the pieces you play. We’ll explore musical identity in all aspects of our learning journey together, with a particular emphasis on style and artistry through playing repertoire. I encourage my students to try out new ideas and play with bold emotion, experimenting with what they want to tell the world through their flute playing.

In addition to the above, I offer the following learning opportunities to my students: