Unless you are on LinkedIn or know me extremely well you won't know that I, among many other occupations and avocations, am a highly trained, professional flutist besides being an operatically trained singer. Yes, that's right. I'm a genuine diva from the tender age of eleven. My mother told me that I sang from my crib! Are you shocked? Well, it's true that for the past decade I have spent most of my time writing when life isn't calling me away to the mundane things in life like sleeping, eating and cleaning a house. However, I don't think I could get through a single day without music being a large part of it. Even my family thinks I might be sick when they hear no noise coming from me or around me when I'm awake.
Fluting was a latecomer to my life- relatively speaking. When I lived in San Diego in the 80s I received a brand new Yamaha flute with a silver head for my birthday in the mail! I was intrigued and tried to play it on my own without much luck. I called a music store that I liked a lot and asked for the person who gave flute lessons and the rest is kind of boring history when it comes to the machinations of my early training. I did progress very quickly- to the pleasure of my teacher, Rosalind Roberts, because she didn't have to teach me to read music along with getting to the finer points of getting a good sound.
The best teacher I had during my learning period was a woman by the name of Julia Elliot. She was a professor at Denver University's Lamont School of Music and I remember at some point going to her lecture for her thesis when she received her credentials for a masters degree in music. She was one of these people that was basically a student of life besides being at the top at her profession. With her help I feel like I achieved a sound to my flute playing that I would never have accomplished otherwise. I was a natural to play the flute because my lips were structured well to play the flute. Herself ? She struggled in the early days because her lips were all wrong. When she showed me the difference in the mirror I was astounded that she had figured this out and is also a clear illustration of how she analyzed and thought things through to find solutions to problems and confusing aspects of just about everything. We had some great conversations during my lessons which didn't limit us to just talking about the flute or music in general.
When I started taking courses at Metro State University in Denver I inevitably took flute lessons from the professor there and he liked the sound I had achieved and never messed with it. There were a couple of sax and horn professors that said they didn't like it (my sound) but both Garnett and I felt they were just jealous because my sound was unique and no other flute player in the whole department could match my full, hoot-y sound. Not even he could do my sound.
At some point I became a member of the NFA- the National Flute Association- and have been able to connect with a wonderful bunch of people. There is something special about being a flutist that no one can tell you about. If you have to be a flutist then you have to join, even if you can't be at every single convention every year. This instrument covers so many genres that I have been able to pick up just about any music I like and play the flute somewhere inside the musical bars. I feel that I am a very well-rounded musician because of the versatility of the instrument and its portability has made it possible for me to carry it with me wherever I wander. It's a truly marvelous companion in a world that doesn't understand the need for immediate music gratification.
Currently I like to do session playing. I started doing that when I went to play for a small church back in 1995 for their praise and worship team which consisted of a piano-playing pastor's wife, Judy, another keyboard player, two guitarists- acoustic and electric- and the pastor on tambourine. I just threw myself into it and was amazed that the music in my throat moved to my fingers, especially since I took piano lessons as a kid and never did very well at it. Only once in a while I would sing solos but I was heavily encouraged to do so.
If you don't play a musical instrument and you think you shouldn't then you can take this as good advice. Don't impoverish your life by thinking that you need to be a rock star to make a joyful noise. There is something very therapeutic about listening to music but also when you create it. If you don't believe me then just try it. Think of a particular instrument that you find fascinating or you especially like, go buy one and take lessons. Even if you have only limited success you'll still enrich your life beyond your wildest dreams because you reached out to make a contribution to the world around you and you have a chance to join in with the most fantastic people in the world. Musicians.
The Castle Lady
