How much repertoire should a Flute teacher know?
I have found myself on a number of occasions having to learn new pieces because they have been chosen by a student for study. I am more than happy to do this and it's interesting to learn music that has been chosen by someone else.
Should I though as a Flute teacher know each piece of repertoire for every grade from the syllabus? I appreciate it's easier up to about grade 6 but for the grade 8 exam syllabus for example. Should I go out and buy every piece and learn it to a high standard? It never occurred to me as a student but looking back I was always told which pieces to practise and I suppose this is in part due to the fact that those were the ones that my teacher knew because they liked them.
I tend to ask my students to choose their own pieces by listening to them before they even see the music. I don't want anyone choosing a piece based on it's difficulty!! If they then choose a piece I am unfamiliar with then this is absolutely fine, I'll order it, learn it and then makes notes on it to help me to teach it effectively.
Is this what all the other flute teachers out there are doing? Do i need to master the music myself? Can I instead just rely on my sight-reading and not worry if it's not up to concert performance, becoming more familiar with the piece as my student learns it?
Should I though as a Flute teacher know each piece of repertoire for every grade from the syllabus? I appreciate it's easier up to about grade 6 but for the grade 8 exam syllabus for example. Should I go out and buy every piece and learn it to a high standard? It never occurred to me as a student but looking back I was always told which pieces to practise and I suppose this is in part due to the fact that those were the ones that my teacher knew because they liked them.
I tend to ask my students to choose their own pieces by listening to them before they even see the music. I don't want anyone choosing a piece based on it's difficulty!! If they then choose a piece I am unfamiliar with then this is absolutely fine, I'll order it, learn it and then makes notes on it to help me to teach it effectively.
Is this what all the other flute teachers out there are doing? Do i need to master the music myself? Can I instead just rely on my sight-reading and not worry if it's not up to concert performance, becoming more familiar with the piece as my student learns it?
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