John Skelton will teach an ‘intermediate’
flute workshop at the Tional here
in St. Louis at the end of March.
To my horror, I find I’m supposed
to fly off to an academic conference then,
in San Francisco. So I must decide which to do.
I’m learning flute but I’ve never had
access to a teacher. Seem to be
doing OK; slow but steady improvement.
Can anybody tell me what’s
covered in such a flute class?
Anybody done one before?
There is no beginner’s class.
I’ve played whistle for years,
and know ornaments, etc.
So what part is about
flute?
Best, Jim
I can personally vouch for John’s abilities as a teacher. He taught at last year’s <a href=“http://www.skiphealy.com/frames/fr_windonbay.htm” target"_blank">Wind On The Bay and the students really enjoyed his classes.
In the beginner class I attended, he led us through two tunes. As he went along, he would stop and chat about various techniques used in different places. It was all very effective.
As to what you’ll get out of it, that varies widely. It depends on the length of the class, your skill level, how many students are in the class, etc.
I think the whole experience will be better if you go to the class with a solid idea of what you want to accomplish and questions you can ask regarding those goals.
I hope this is helpful. Though the value of workshops is difficult to quantify, you can at least be sure about John’s ability.
At pretty much all of these one-off workshops at tionols, Comhaltas conventions, etc, I would say that the main value one would gain from them is proximity and access to an excellent player for a couple of hours, rather than any specific teacher-student learning experience per se. In other words, whatever you learn will be by osmosis - which is not a bad way to learn if you have no other options available (i.e. regular access to a good teacher.)
Why do I say this? Well, because these workshops are usually very well attended (in other words, crowded) by players of varying degrees of experience and proficiency. There’s no way that even a good teacher (and John Skelton is one of the best) can possibly engage with each and every player in the room in a meaningful way in just a couple of hours. Therefore, he will have to cater to the mean. Those above the mean will hear lots of stuff they already know, and will have to sift through it for nuggets of wisdom that they can later use to improve their playing. Those below the mean will find themselves in over their heads much of the time, and will have to read between the lines to figure out which aspect of their playing that needs improvement can benefit from what’s being presented, because there’s no way they’ll be able to work on all their weak points at once. Those lucky few who are at the mean (and it’s a crapshoot as to who they’ll be, since you never know in advance who will be at these things) will have the most opportunity to learn.
Still, with all that said I am a big advocate of exposing myself to as many good traditional players as possible whenever the opportunity arises, because there’s always something that can be learned from the experience. So if I was you, if at all possible I would go…
Jim -
I attended this class last year in St. Louis with John Skelton. I agree with some of what was said above - much of what you’ll get from the class will come by osmosis. This is an intermediate class. John will teach 3 or 4 tunes, and expects you to pick them up by ear (although he will hand out music). Learning by ear is something I’m working on, but I’m still heavily dependent on the notes. What was neat was hearing how he played the tunes, and used different techniques to add the rythmn and pulse to the music. He expects you to be able to hear what he is doing and be able to copy it on your flute. I had only had my Copley 6 months when I took the class, so frankly, alot of it went over my head.
There were less than a dozen people in the class, ranging from beginners to quite good. John did not dummy down the class for the beginners, although he was very encouraging. Since the workshop goes all day, you will have plenty of exposure time and oppourtunities to ask questions.
If you decide to stay in town for the workshop, be sure to stay long enough to attend the concert at the Sheldon - last year’s was almost five hours of the most incredible music I’ve heard!! It is not to be missed, and the ticket is included in the price of the workshop.
I don’t know whether to take the flute class (it will still be over my head!!) or to take one of the easier whistle classes and learn some more basic techniques, but I am planning on being there.
P.S. If John’s condition Saturday morning was any indication, the Friday nite session was great!
[ This Message was edited by: DanD on 2003-02-07 13:24 ]
Thanks to all. This is very helpful.
I took a whistle class from John
Skelton at an earlier Tional,
and of course I think well
of him as a teacher.
Learning new tunes is not what
I need, simply because one can learn
them elsewhere and especially
because I have a hell of a
time learning tunes on
the wing! Especially
in a class full of people
all of whom learn them
faster than I do. As mentioned,
I already play whistle.
What I need is flute technique.
It sounds as though the class
will be helpful in that respect,
but that a fair amount of
it is devoted to learning tunes.
Well, then, Off To California.
Why, I ask, if there are
two interesting things
to which I can go, must
they happen at the same time
a thousand miles apart? Thanks
again, Jim
Why, I ask, if there are
two interesting things
to which I can go, must
they happen at the same time
a thousand miles apart? Thanks
again, Jim
Let’s call it Jim’s Law: If one holds an interest in more than one thing, at least two things of interest will always occur concurrently and in different areas, ensuring an equal amount of happiness and disappointment (happiness that one gets to attend one event, disappointment at missing the others).
It’s the universe’s way of assuring balance.
And Aaron’s corollary: if you are required to be out of town for work, one or more events that you’d previously planned on attending will be happening in town at the same time.
Last weekend I had to go to Phoenix for a meeting, and of course here in the Bay Area there were both a juggling festival – I’m an avid juggler – and an exhibition of exotic birds (we keep parrots), both of which I’d planned to attend. Argh.
–Aaron
[ This Message was edited by: herbivore12 on 2003-02-07 15:25 ]
[ This Message was edited by: herbivore12 on 2003-02-07 15:25 ]
Last weekend I had to go to Phoenix for a meeting, and of course here in the Bay Area there were both a juggling festival – I’m an avid juggler – and an exhibition of exotic birds (we keep parrots), both of which I’d planned to attend. Argh.
–Aaron
Of course, you must realize, then, that this is just another form of juggling, juggling your schedules. And, as far as birds go, you gave up parrots to see a Phoenix. All things in balance…
To me, a major part of learning from the greats is to SEE what they do. Watching John Skelton at the Healy Wind On The Bay last summer gave me a much needed and greater perspective of hand position, flute angle, embouchure (position and flexibility), breathing - and on and on. The old addage “.. picture . . . thousand words. . .” certainly applies here.
or to take one of the easier whistle classes and learn some more basic techniques, but I am planning on being there.