Phone: (Home) 989-892-1419 or (Cell) 989-450-2160

If you are going to be absent, please call one day in advance or e-mail me at:
laurenrongo@hotmail.com or laurenrongo50@yahoo.com

Please do not use my SVSU e-mail address as I do not check it regularly.  I get too much spam there, and often delete important emails by mistake.  Thank you.  I prefer to be contacted by phone if you are intending to miss a lesson.  There is absolutely NO REASON not to contact me and failure to do so may affect your grade.

• Flute Literature.  Students will learn flute literature from all periods of music.  Freshman will focus on the baroque period.  Sophomores will focus on the classical period.  Juniors will focus the romantic period.  Seniors will be working towards their senior recital program. Students may be asked to play from different musical periods depending on their individual level of performance.
• Tone.  Trevor Wye’s Tone Book I is required. (Publisher: Novello)  We will work to improve your tone and vibrato with this method.
• Scale Technique.  Trevor Wye’s Scale Book is required. We will start with the breathing and scales to improve your breath control.   We will work on the full scales up to 120 to the 16th note. A metronome will be required.
• Finger Exercises.  I have my own set which were written by the renowned Harold Bennett (my teacher at Manhattan School of Music) I will provide you with exercises each week which I will write in your manuscript book.  (also required)  Daily Exercises by Maquarre are required.  Thomas Filas High Note Studies are required.
• Etudes.  An etude book will be picked out at your 2nd or 3rd lesson. The choice of book will depend on your technical ability.   One etude per week will be learned.  I encourage your trying to memorize two to three lines of the etude. Memorization will be included in the lessons.
• Ear training. I will pick “nursery rhyme” tunes for you to play by ear in all twelve keys.
• Sight reading.  We will sight read duets during the lesson.
• For flutists looking for an orchestral career I will incorporate some orchestral excerpts.
• If you are an education major I will also work with you on teaching the flute in the public school.  There is a technique that I feel will work for the 6th grade student to help them play to the best of their ability.

• We will also research new ideas on teaching and playing the flute. We will use resources like the internet and library.  One paper will be due at your final lesson, which must be about a new technique you have found about the flute.

I will allow you to miss one lesson, but I MUST be contacted in advance.  If you have to miss a lesson, it will be your responsibility to make that lesson up at my convenience.

Daily practice will, of course, be expected.

My grading system is as follows:

I will grade each lesson with a point system.  10 points being a perfect lesson.
And the end of the semester I will add together all the points and divide by the number of lessons.

120-140: A
110-120: A-
100-110: B+
90-100:   B
80-90:     B-
70-80:     C+
60-70:     C
50-60:    C-

I will not go lower than this on grades. You would have to miss all lessons to get a lower grade than a C-.
 

List of Books needed:
Trevor Wye Tone Book  (Book I)  published by Novello
Trevor Wye Scale Book  ( Novello)
Daily Exercises by Maquarre  published by Schirmer
Top Register Studies by Thomas Filas
Manuscript Paper (spiral)
After you have finished the Harold Bennett finger exercises and ONLY after: You will need  Doubtful Digits by Tacy Edwards.
Etude Books / please do not buy these ahead of time. I need to see what level you are first.  DO not go ahead/ I have a system that works.
• Anderson Etudes Opus 33
• Berbiguier Eighteen Studies
• Famous Flute Studies and Duets; (Southern) this book contains Anderson Etudes
• Douze Etudes  by Bitsch
• Quatorze Etudes Arabesques  by Bozza
Solos will also be ordered as needed.
We will pick your solo literature based on what you have already studied and your level of performance.

Please have a working metronome!!

Thank you.
I look forward to working with each of you.
Flutingly yours,
Lauren Rongo