Barb Oakley | Flutist, Teacher, and Author of “A Band Teacher’s Guide to Fixing Every Imaginable Flute Problem From the Start” barboakleyflute@gmail.com
A Band Teacher’s Guide to Fixing Every Imaginable Flute Problem From the Start 
 by Barbara Oakley
$30 USD | Spiral-bound book
License allows various charts & lists to be copied for your students.

Ships to Canada and the United States. It’s recommended to buy the digital edition if you live in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, or Australia. If you are a buyer for a music/book store, please get in touch about wholesale prices.



$25 USD | Digital edition
License allows various charts & lists to be copied for your students.

Delivered as a PDF and printable on 8.5"×11" letter-sized paper (easily printable on A4 as well).

(An A4 sheet is 8.27×11.69 inches so you ou can scale to fit when you print and the pages will be negligibly smaller).


Buy Now

▶ ORGANIZED BY AGE RANGE & SKILL LEVEL

Do you teach elementary band, middle school band, high school band, orchestra, or some combination of those classes? “A Band Teacher’s Guide to Fixing Every Imaginable Flute Problem From the Start” is a go-to reference that empowers you, the educator, to rapidly find the solutions to your flutists’ problems during your all-too-brief prep period, regardless of whether they started playing yesterday or six years ago.



The book begins at the first year, a time when most bad habits are formed. Music instructors teaching older students may want to revisit this first chapter, the book’s longest and most in-depth, for answers as to why their middle & high school flutists are having problems. 




Chapter two moves into the second year and the middle school years, a time when listening to themselves, the flutists they sit next to, and the band as a whole becomes increasingly crucial if improvement is to be made. Special attention is given to tuning, a mysterious and often frustrating process for band teachers who specialize in instruments other than flute. (Here’s one freebie: never, ever tell your students to roll their flute in or out to adjust the pitch!)




In the book’s third chapter, the issues most commonly faced in high school are addressed. A checklist of the common bad habits that accumulate over the years is included at the beginning and special attention is paid to the important but confusing task of not only choosing a step-up flute but, once a parent has been convinced it’s a worthwhile investment, how to help the student unlock the full potential of the instrument.



Chapter four covers playing flute in the orchestra and how being a flutist in band is a totally different ballgame than playing in orchestra where you are one on a part and sitting back four rows instead of in the front row.


Chapter five explains what to look for in a student’s first flute and chapter six explains how to purchase a step-up flute. Recommendations of specific makes and models are included.




Chapter seven looks at the tiny little monster called the piccolo, detailing tips and tricks revolving around one core message — the piccolo is not a small flute, it is an instrument all its own.



▶ CLEAN & SIMPLE GRAPHICS

Do you know the correct fingering for a high G-A trill on the piccolo? This book contains over 20 pages of fingering charts, trill charts, common misfingerings, and out of tune notes, all presented in the cleanest, easiest-to-read format to date. Best of all, by purchasing the book you are allowed to make copies of these pages and hand them out to your students.


This book contains four pages of fingering charts for flute and four for piccolo, printed on standard American letter-sized paper (very close to A4) and spiral bound for easy photocopying as well as beautiful fidelity.

Twelve pages are devoted to the trills of the flute and piccolo. Following the same format as the fingering charts — only 9–16 fingerings per page — makes these incredibly easy to read on a music stand from a distance, perfect for the conductor.

Three pages cover the most problematic notes on the flute and piccolo, those notes that are naturally flat or sharp and require attentive listening and subsequent adjustments from your players.




▶ ACCOLADES FROM MUSIC EDUCATORS

What a gem! Barb Oakley has insightfully created a “must have” resource for every instrumental ensemble teacher.

Written from a practical, problem-solving standpoint, Barb has organized the book’s material in a format that offers easy-to-find solutions for day-to-day flute issues that every instrumental teacher faces in class.

Barb’s extensive experience and research shines through to help those of us with limited flute pedagogy offer much needed support to our students. Thank you, Barb!

—Jim Rice

Band & Orchestra teacher at Inglemoor High School, Northshore School District, WA; President of Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA); Past-President, Northwest Division, NAfME (National Association for Music Education)

How do you get two piccolos to play in tune? Read this book!

Barbara Oakley has provided an invaluable resource for band directors, students and private instructors to address the mysteries of flute playing, with careful attention to the sequential skills needed for success at any level. As a highly respected flute teacher, coach and professional flutist, Barbara’s students stand out for producing a beautiful characteristic tone, and playing with impeccable ensemble intonation. In this book she shares her teaching secrets with clear explanations and examples designed to avoid typical problems for beginning through accomplished flute players.

Included are comprehensive, easy-to-read fingering and trill charts. These alone are a must for every band room.

Any teacher who instructs young flutists needs this reference book to help provide clear, accurate information to their students. Setting up good habits from the beginning is the quickest way to ongoing success.

—Scott Barnes

President-Elect for the NW Division of the National Association of Music Education; Manager of Visual and Performing Arts, Edmonds School District, WA; Past-President, Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA)


▶ ABOUT BARB OAKLEY


Barbara Oakley grew up in the San Francisco east bay area. She started piano in 1st grade and the flute in 4th grade when she was eight. Barbara was the concerto winner of the Contra Costa Youth Symphony her senior year of high school. She attended San Joaquin Delta College, University of the Pacific, University of New Mexico, University of Washington, and Seattle Pacific University. She holds degrees in music education with a flute emphasis and Church Music from Seattle Pacific University. She studied flute with Gary Gray of the San Francisco Symphony, Francis Bowen of the University of New Mexico, and Hal Ott of Central Washington University. She studied piccolo with Zart Dombourian-Eby of the Seattle Symphony and studied piano with Elsie Clark, Madeline Caruso, Stan Smith, and Dr. Carl Reed.
Barbara has taught band and orchestra at the elementary, junior high, and high school level, as well as junior high jazz band, choir, general music, piano pedagogy, elementary choir, and general music. She currently teaches in the Edmonds School District in Lynnwood, Washington.

Barbara has played in the Albuquerque Symphony, Everett Symphony, Everett Philharmonic Orchestra, Cascade Symphony, Pacifica Chamber Orchestra, Port Gardner Chamber Orchestra, Puget Sound Chamber Trio, Circle of Flutes Flute Choir, has done studio work and is the flute coach for the Cascade Youth Symphony.

Barbara has been a music director in several churches, directing a number of different types of vocal groups.

Barbara teaches flute privately and is a sought-after adjudicator for solo and ensemble festivals.


▶ GET IN TOUCH

Have a question, feedback, or want to book Barb Oakley for a workshop? barboakleyflute@gmail.com


▶ GET YOUR COPY IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT
A Band Teacher’s Guide to Fixing Every Imaginable Flute Problem From the Start 
 by Barbara Oakley
$30 USD | Spiral-bound book
License allows various charts & lists to be copied for your students.


$25 USD | Digital edition
License allows various charts & lists to be copied for your students. 

Ships to Canada and the United States. It’s recommended to buy the digital edition if you live in Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, or Australia. If you are a buyer for a music/book store, please get in touch about wholesale prices.


Delivered as a PDF and printable on 8.5"×11" letter-sized paper (easily printable on A4 as well).

(An A4 sheet is 8.27×11.69 inches so you ou can scale to fit when you print and the pages will be negligibly smaller).


Buy Now

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