Merry Christmas!

Have you finished your holiday shopping?

At this time of year, parents and grandparents often ask me for ideas for useful gifts for musicians. This is a short list of items that every flutist in my studio should own:

Accessories

Everyone needs a music stand. Many young students will start with a foldable wire rack like this one. They come in a variety of colors and can be folded into a small carrying bag.

For an upgrade on the portable music stand, consider a sturdy Manhasset.

A rack for the music stand is the perfect place to store pencils, markers, sticky tabs, and much more.

Speaking of sticky tabs, grab some like this or these cute animal ones.

Because it’s impossible to have too many writing implements, a pack of mechanical pencils makes a great stocking stuffer. If you want to buy a fancy pencil, this one would make a nice gift. I also like using erasable colored pencils.

shoulder bag for flute

Of course you can download a metronome app, but the real thing sounds so much better. Metronomes can range in price from the expensive Dr. Beat to the inexpensive QT-5, which is the size of a credit card. The QT-5 has a high electronic beep that is not good for flutists, so I don’t recommend that one. My favorite is the Seiko SQ50-V because it has a pleasant woodblock sound and the volume can be loud if you need it. The metronome apps have a lot of useful features, but I don’t always want a phone in the practice room with me so a real metronome is helpful.

In these dark days, it’s helpful to have extra light for the music. A clip-on book light attaches easily to the music stand. I have a Mighty Bright 44812, I and like that it has a rechargable battery.

Maybe it’s time to upgrade your flute bag. A tote bag is helpful for carrying music to and from lessons. Many of my students like a shoulder strap bag for their flutes too. With one of these bags, the cleaning cloth can be stored in the outer pocket. There’s room for a pencil too.

Books

The Flute Book: A Complete Guide for Students and Performers by Nancy Toff is a comprehensive tome that covers everything from the history of flute making to repertoire. It’s also expensive so put this on the list for Grandma. 😉

Put a few fun music books on your Christmas list. Perhaps you are a Harry Potter fan or love Disney movies. Even if you never play this music on a recital, familiar tunes are great for sightreading. Choose something that you love and that will make you excited to pick up your flute.

Every intermediate-advanced student will need a copy of Modern Guide to Fingerings for the Flute by James J. Pellerite. It’s the flutist’s dictionary of fingerings for every combination of tremolos, trills, and multiphonics.

What are your favorite items to receive or give as gifts?

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