grace aloud

Encyclopedia Entry: F is for Flute

When I was in 6th grade, I was given a choice of electives between choir, band, or art.  I thought playing an instrument sounded fun, so I signed up for band.  I already played piano, so I knew how to read music, and I initially asked to play the bells in the band.  Well, when I learned you had to play drums, too—you couldn’t just be the bell player—I defected to flute pretty quickly.

I picked up on the flute pretty quickly, and my parents put me into lessons as well.  I found myself in first chair more often than not, and I remember with pride the moment I walked into the Jr. High band room in 7th grade and realized it wasn’t a mistake that my name was in the first chair spot even ahead of the eighth grade flute players!

I kept taking lessons and got involved in all kinds of band stuff—district band, solo and ensemble, marching band…  Even after I got burned out from band itself and wanted to do something else my senior year, I kept playing my flute in church every Sunday morning.  Being a flautist was a significant part of my identity!  I even had my flute in many of my senior pictures—I wish I had one of those to upload with this post!

The fact that I play flute was actually instrumental (haha) in meeting my husband!  If I hadn’t been at the Texas Baptist All State Choir & Band camp (say that 3x fast), we probably would never have crossed paths.  The picture above was taken at one of the concerts at that camp the last summer that we went—the week that Jonathan decided he had to tell me about his feelings for me, when he wrote “the letter”…  But that’s a story for another day!

Now, I hardly ever play.  I have my beautiful flute that my parents bought for me, but there’s no orchestra at my church, and without a steady accountability, practicing falls pretty far down on my list of things to do.  I worry about losing my technique—I know my embouchure (that’s the way you hold your mouth and lips to make a beautiful tone) is already out of shape… But every once in awhile, I pull out my flute and spend a little bit of time making music.  I think it’s a wonderful gift to be able to make beautiful music, and I know that it will be a skill I try to maintain throughout my life.  Hopefully I can share that love of playing an instrument and making music with my children one day!