Flute Tune Challenge for This Week...or Maybe More

I've really missed having a piano.  We had one for a few years--an old one that was pretty but wouldn't stay tuned, and I really loved playing it.  Who knew that those 8 years of lessons would come in so handy all those years later???  There was no place for a piano in our last Texas house, so I actually haven't had access to one in almost 10 years.  Electronic keyboards are fun but are not the same.  Even the slightest delay between pushing the key and getting the sound ruins the whole experience for me.  What I really want is a small, plain upright practice piano.  Here, one of those costs $5,000-$8,000, so you can imagine that's not on the shopping list.

So John has his guitar, Hank has his violin (which he doesn't play enough!), Jack has his recorder, and Hannah has her belly dancing.  For my birthday, I bought myself a flute.  In middle and high school, I played clarinet but was blessed to have friends who helped me learn a little about the flute--the fingerings are surprisingly similar and I've taken enough music lessons that reading music remains easy (like riding a bike).

On amazon.com.

The flute I bought was nothing fancy.  I had to buy one while I was in Texas, and the ones I saw in a couple of music stores cost $800-$1,000.  Way.too.much. at least for now.  I found this flute on amazon, and after consulting with my flute-playin'-sister, we agreed that it was worth the money for a starter flute.

And it is a perfect starter flute.  It plays sharp, but that could be my fault in how I'm blowing, but I can pull the neck joint out about 3/4 inch and that gets it in better range.  It's pretty, shiny, new, and works well.

And the really fun part is how much stuff is available online now!  This Flute Tunes site is completely free and includes lots of sheet music, often with accompaniment.  The "easy" stuff is sometimes "easy" enough for me to sight-read--sometimes it takes a little practice.  The intermediate stuff is definitely worthy of extended practice, and the advanced stuff is way too hard.

I've been playing probably 4-5 hours per week and having so much fun.  No, I will NOT be posting videos.  There IS a limit to my willingness to over-share and publicly humiliate myself, and this surpasses that limit.

My song for last week was...
It's a Long Way to Tipperary
I could play this at speed with the accompaniment, but the sharpness of my tone was a little grating and I'm not so great at the lowest notes (low D, C#, C).  They get all breathy and faint but should improve with practice...

My song for this week is...
Pauls Steeple
This one is fast for my abilities, but I can get through the first four sections after one day...still a little bobbling here and there, but I can keep up with the track while it's playing.  I like the range of this one better (notes don't get too low or too high).  This will take lot more practice to play with any grace, but I'll work on it as long as it's fun...

You can go to either page and click the play button to hear the music.

No, I will not be providing in-person performances either, unless Hank agrees to a violin/flute duet.

Yes, this is an excellent way to spend time indoors when it's 115 degrees and windy outside. :)