i have been playing the flute since january and i am meant to be takin grade 3 flute in november except i dont seem to be motivated anymore?Do you think i should keep at it or try some thing new.ps i already do piano grade 6

i've been motivated by having fun with VERY difficult pieces, i started Clarinet when i was 11 and 5 months later, i had a Grade 6 piece note perfect

try looking at say some Grade 5-6 stuff first and dont make my mistake of going for Grade 8-diploma stuff

Why do you think you're not motivated anymore?

Do you enjoy playing flute? Are you bored with it? Are you playing the same things all the time or trying other peices too just for the fun of it? Are you stuck in a rutt and not seeing improvement? (you must be pretty good at it if your grade 3 standard after only 6 months)

A bit more info would help us help you.

If you've only been playing since January then you haven't really given yourself much of a chance to get to know and enjoy the instrument!

How's your tone? One thing that is very motivating on the flute is starting to produce a really good tone, or at least improving what you've got! Get some longtones and other tone practice going over the summer and see how much you can improve your tone. You also have loads of time to improve your scales over the summer so that then you know they are really in your head and your fingers, then you can concentrate with your teacher on getting your pieces really beautiful.

Grade 3 in 11 months seems very quick even if you already play a woodwind instrument.
I took the flute teaching diploma last week and the flute specialist said (more than once!) that the G Minor scale was too hard for grade 3. The scales for this grade need a lot of new skill with the embouchure. I would say start with grade 2 or hold off the grade 3 until 2006.

I'm glad someone else feels that way. It sticks out like a sore thumb in difficulty. I wish there wasn't such a big gap between Grade 2 and Grade 3 scales.

I find A major and F# minor a problem with Grade 4 students as well, and lots of them get confused between F# minor and B minor to the 12th as they both turn round on top F#.

I agree. When I started playing the flute 2 years ago, I was so put off by the poor quality of the sound I produced that I hated playing it and actually regretted starting the flute. But once I overcame that problem, I became totally motivated and now I'm doing grade 8.

I'm not trying to offend anybody and I'm certainly not boasting or anything guys! Just want to make that clear just in case you know, somebody feels offended.

Yes I think A major is too hard for grade 4 it took me ages to master it.

A Major isn't THAT bad, but it should be left til about Grade 5 i reckon. F# B B flat major and B flat G# and E flat minor are pretty hard

The thing I found most odd about the scales is how one scale will be there, then will disappear for a few grades, then reappear, then... well maybe not that inconsistent, but it does seem a little odd and I can't see the logic behind some of the decisions. I don't have a syllabus right by me, but I think i remember correctly that for chromatics, for example, for grade 4 you need D and F, for grade 5 it's E and Eb... F at least seems to be harder (to me at any rate!) than the two you need for grade five! Off the top of my head I can't think of any more obvious ones, but I remember thinking that seemed a bit odd. I can see how learning E and Eb together is potentially *confusing*, but only because you may pick the wrong one under stressful exam conditions, or end up adding an extra semitone on if panicked maybe... and given how many people have problems, especially under stress, starting in the lowest few notes of the flute, I would think that in some ways D could be considered harder than either E or Eb...

I forget which minors are needed for grade 5 - I agree that Bb, G# and Eb are all among the nastiest, I know you need them for 6 but I can't remember about grade 5... But yes, some of the logic behind which are needed for which grades I do not get at all. I remember A major scaring me for quite some time even though it probably should not have done! My flute teacher commented of the grade 6 scales that they have been a bit mean by not having many or even any (I'd have to double check the list) that are relative majors/minors (is A min in there to go with C major? I can't remember...) which would make it easier to learn them logically.

Actually I think F# major (and minor) is fine once you get a handle on it, it looks really evil and then when you get to grips with it it's like "Oh! I see!" (maybe that's just me... ) B Major is hard in two octaves, to me at any rate, mostly due to remembering the fingerings and not panicking up there - although I KNOW them, in the middle of a scale sometimes my brain just gives out! - especially with the balance of the flute for A# and B at the top. Bb I would say was among the easier ones especially when it's a 12th at grade 5 - it doesn't go that immensely high, and only two flats to worry about - and even when it's 2 octaves, really... yes, it goes high, but the key and fingering is straightforward, and once you get to grips with venturing all the way to top Bb, it's one of the ones that makes sense and doesn't contain too many freaky fingerings or anything!

i used to get a bit bored sometimes at the beginning, as there wasn't much interesting pieces to play, but when i got a bit more confident i did as someone else said and started playing pieces above my standard. i really enjoy playing now, the pieces have really improved my standard, and i will happily admit that the grade 5/6 pieces are much more fun than grade 1, even though they are a bit harder! (i really hated my grade 1 pieces, they were soooo boring!) and if you already have grade 6 piano, you will have the backing that will help you playing higher grade flute pieces, i.e you will have played more complicated rhythms etc.
good luck
hoxie
x

its probably me but i actually find B flat and B major (and minor) 2 octaves and i suppose 3 octaves of C all very difficult at the top around the B flat and B! maybe im using the wrong fingering for them?

Have you actually worked on your 3rd octave separately outside of trying to play scales up there? And yes, check your fingerings. B major is quite difficult because of all the sharps and esp going from A# to B feels unnatural, but Bb major isn't that hard, so check your fingerings.