What Is Flutefacts?
FluteFacts.com is an online educational resource designed to help students build a strong foundation on the flute. We aim to provide aspiring flutists of all ages comprehensive, self-paced, and easily accessible flute lessons. Our modules provide lessons through slideshows, videos, playing activities, and more. Our goal is to provide low-cost flute lessons online, designed for the student to download and take anywhere.
Brittany DeLaVergne, M.M. Music Education
Brittany DeLaVergne is a private flute instructor and former junior high band director with 30 years flute performance experience, including performances with such notable flutists as Bonita Boyd, Thomas Robertello, Jean Ferrandis, Laurel Zucker, and Valerie Coleman. As a private instructor, Ms. DeLaVergne has enjoyed contributing to her private students’ achievements, including numerous successes at state-level performance competitions.
As a band director, Ms. DeLaVergne recognized the importance of keeping up with technological trends in music education, eventually incorporating numerous apps, sites, and extensions as online learning resources to further augment curriculum and instruction in the K-12 music classroom. Flute facts is the culmination of 12 years of both her private flute instruction and K-12 band curriculum.
Ms. DeLaVergne earned a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in flute performance from Tarleton State University, as well as a Masters degree in music education from Boston University. Ms. DeLaVergne’s professional affiliations include the Texas Classroom Teacher Association, American Teacher Panel, Texas Music Educators Association, and the Texas Flute Society where she served for five years on the board of directors, including a year as president of the organization.
Why should i choose the flute?
The flute is one of the best instruments for beginner musicians. Flutes are low maintenance, and very portable compared to other instruments. Cleaning and taking care of your flute is easier than cleaning and maintaining a brass instrument, and the instrument and case are small enough to fit inside a backpack.
No one is born with musical talent - musical ability comes with practice.
This being said, anyone living in the same space as a new musician needs to have patience. If someone in your home is banging a drum, blowing a horn, or strumming a guitar, everyone else is going to know about it - especially if you live in a smaller space. Although it’s possible to produce unpleasant noises with a flute, it requires more effort to do it at volume. The flute has a naturally mellow tone, and it typically takes less time for novice players to produce a good sound. These facts combined mean that living with a novice flutist is more enjoyable than learners of many other instruments.
The flute is also a very versatile instrument, and can be used for a wide range of musical styles. Flutes are used in Jazz Bands, Orchestras, Wind Pits, Concert Bands, Military Bands, and even Rock Bands. Flute skills are also easily transferrable to other woodwind instruments, as the flute will teach the fundamentals of breathing, mouth position (embouchure), playing notes in time, and more.
Lastly, learning a new instrument isn’t just about becoming a musician. Learning a new instrument feeds your brain, from developing muscle-memory and neurological control to increasing concentration and cognitive development. Proven research also exists suggesting that learning music helps your mathematical abilities, verbal abilities, and non-verbal reasoning.