Jen Cluff ~ Best flute books for students (cheapest)

Flute sheet music purchases for the budget-minded

Beginners:

Best Books (prices in Cdn dollars):

  Liz Goodwin: The Fife Book. The best possible book for very small children; starts with only B, A, and G, and has funny cartoons. Moves slowly, teaches how to read music; big pictures, very pleasant simple tunes. $25 

Good links for flute teachers:

See all the flute books for Abrsm 2007 exams in the U.K.

See all flute books for Abrsm 2008-2013 exams in the U.K.

Eartraining theory course for children/adults: Sound Advice:

Good flute book article: New Books for Flute by Sally Adams:

 

Other Beginner Books that are okay too:

  Novello: Trevor Wye "Beginner Book of the Flute Vol. I   contains most of the useful info. including diagrams and introducing one note at a time including sharps. Stays in low register for most of the book which can be good. $15

or

Karen Smithson Playing the Flute Vol I & Vol 2 These books used to be my favourites, but can be just a bit dry compared to some of the newer books for the UK. However the tunes are good and the theory work is fine for an older beginner (12-13.) both of these volumes (they go from 1 to 5) are avail from above link or from www.fluteworld.com $22 per volume.

or

Karen Smithson Piano Accompaniments for "Playing the Flute series. There are hundreds of classical and folk tunes arranged for flute and piano in this one volume. Great for junior recitals. High quality arrangements in score form. All the pieces appear in the five volume student books, but here are printed as piano scores in one large volume. Good deal for the price as you are sure to find at least 50% of the tunes gorgeous. Avail from www.fluteworld.com  $28

or

Schirmer: Louis Moyse:40 Little Pieces for Beginners This used to be the standard beginner piece book, but is a tiny bit old and stuffy compared to the music books now being published for youngsters. Check all the music books now available coming from the UK. at www.justflutes.com or at Abrsm Publishing. They're head and shoulders above the old standards we used to use just five-ten years ago. $18
 

For beginner flute duets click here.

For more beginner books click here.

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Novices:

Novello:Trevor Wye:" APractice Book for the Flute Vol. I Tone" $26

Plus add one or more fun books:

For Novices- fun books:

Easy level pieces: Celtic Music for Flute with CD by Jessica Walsh or any of the flute & guitar books by Walsh at www.fluteandguitar.com .You can hear MP3s of the pieces there also. And you can make duets out of them (along with CD, or with your teacher) by checking out the Walsh duet method here. $35

or  

Claire McKenna: 110 of Ireland's Best Tin Whistle Tunes, Volume 1.  Although the fingerings on the first few pages could possibly be confusing for young beginners, as they are tin whistle fingerings, the rest of the tunes (with guitar chords) are given without fingerings. A lovely collection of music for the family flutist with violin or guitar playing siblings or parents. Gorgeous tunes and lots of them, clearly printed. $20. 

For more novice flute books click here.

Novice Level Etudes:

Cheapest: Southern: Melodious & Progressive Studies Book I. Cavally  $15

or

Cheapest: Mel Bay: "Indispensible Scales, Exercises and Etudes" by McCaskill $12

Novice level pieces: Any playalong book by Jessica Walsh (view and hear samples at www.fluteandguitar.com ; create own duets by clicking here.) or

Cheapest: Rubank: Selected Duets for Flute Volume I or II Voxman $12

Fischer:36 Repertoire Pieces by Donald Peck $19  

You may also like the inexpensive flute CD by NAXOS that contains several of the repertoire pieces from the "36 Repertoire" above::

CD: "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" Naxos CD, flutist: Nora Shulman ($8) or

Cheapest: Rubank: Concert and Concert Collection for flute by Voxman $10

For novice duets click here.

For more novice books click here.

Good links for flute teachers:

See ALL FLUTE BOOKS for Abrsm exams in the U.K.

Eartraining theory course for children/adults: Sound Advice:

Good flute book article: New Books for Flute by Sally Adams:

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Intermediates:

Trevor Wye Omnibus Edition "Practice Books for the Flute

This one volume includes: 1. Tone; 2.Technique; 3 Articulation; 4.Intonation & Vibrato; 5. Breathing & Scales.] This book is $60 Cdn. Better than $22 for each book separately, or

Cheapest: Mel Bay: "Indispensible Scales, Exercises and Etudes" McCaskill or

Cheapest for how many books you get in one: The Ultimate Collection Cd-rom: Flute Methods and Ensembles."

This Cd-rom includes: Kohler- Romantic Etudes; J.S. Bach 24 Etudes; Andersen Op. 33 & Altes 26 Selected Etudes. See my fave repertoire list for thumbnail reviews of various items on this disc.. Contains duets and etudes from easy to virtuoso level. Bonus: Reichert's "Seven Daily Exercises, Altes teaching method, Wagner Method all included for $20 U.S. total cost.plus shipping, GST etc. See www.cdsheetmusic.com

Intermediate level Pieces: Choose duets and solo collections listed on my 'Jen's Favourite Repertoire' page.

For individual pieces of flute & piano music, see my "Jen's fave" repertoire, and look for level B and up. Collections in book form with multiple pieces give you more solos with piano for the money.

For intermediate duets click here

For more Intermediate books click here.

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Advanced:

Daily Exercises: Novello: Trevor Wye ˜Complete Daily Exercises for the Flute

(this is a huge collection of all traditional daily exercise books in one volume) or

Walfrid Kujala "The Flutist's Vade Mecum [order from www.fluteworld.com] or

Taffenal & Gaubert:Seventeen Daily Exercises (small book format-Leduc)

Etudes:

Schirmer: "The Flutist's Detache Book (very advanced ) by Robert Stallman or

Cheapest:Rubank: "Selected Studies for Flute"Voxman (includes scales, thirds etc. in back)

Advanced Repertoire:

See my "Jen's fave" repertoire for level C to D solos, duets, Orch excerpts or see my webpage for lists of the Royal Conservatory Grade 9 & 10 Syllabus Flute Solos ( found online under "repertoire" on my webpage,) or simply buy The Ultimate Cd-rom of Flute Solos; see my webpage & link to table of contents at www.cdsheetmusic.com click on Woodwinds, then FLUTE, then "Flute solos" cd-rom.

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MORE FLUTE BOOKS:

See my favourite repertoire list here plus....

Still more books that might interest you if you are working on your own over the summer, taking a year off from lessons, and/or wish to supplement the books you already own (have some money to spend.):

Beginners: RCM Grade I-II

• Mizzy Mccaskill~ Solo Pieces for the Beginning Flutist with playalong CD
  See: http://home.rica.net/gilliadj/solos.html

• Take Up The Flute Repertoire Book One with CD - By Chris Morgan/James Galway

• Abracadabra Flute Duets:
  
• "How to Play the Flute" by Howard Harrison

• Trevor Wye: "Very Easy Baroque Album" or Romantic or Classical same series for flute/piano

Novices: RCM Grade III-V

• French Pieces for Flute and Piano~ Pub: Mel Bay 95295

• Favourite Celtic Melodies by Sarah Watts ~ Pub: Mel Bay

• Wagner Flute Method and Altes Flute Method (vol. 1 & 2) plus about 200 other books of etudes/studies/duets etc. all on one cd-rom:
  www.cdsheetmusic.com for Flute: "The Ultimate Sheetmusic for Flute - Methods, Ensembles and Studies".

• 125 Easy Classical Studies for flute ~ Pub: Universal UE16042

Intermediates: RCM Grade VI-VIII

• The Physical Flute by Fiona Wilkinson

• De La Sonorite by Marcel Moyse

• 24 Short Concert Pieces, Southern Publishers.
  CD by Barbara Hopkins of first 15 of these pieces: http://www.barbarahopkins.com/
• Flute Music of the Baroque ~ Pub: Schirmer

• Vernon Hill: The Flute Player's Book with demo- CD [Everything you
  wanted to know about playing the flute.] See index of topics covered at;
  http://users.bigpond.com/vkhill/ or order through www.fluteworld.com

• Robert Dick: Tone Development Through Extended Technique.

Advanced: RCM Grade IX to A.R.C.T.

• Flute Music by French Composers ed: Louis Moyse Pub: Schirmer

• Marcel Moyse's "Tone Development Through Interpretation"

• Werner Richter: Conditioning Training for flutists. Publisher: Zimmerman. Avail at: www.fluteworld.com

• Peter Lukas Graf: Checkup avail. at www.fluteworld.com

• Marcel Moyse: "Exercises Journaliers" pub: Leduc
• Jeanne Baxtresser's "Orchestral Excerpts for Flute" AND ALSO...
• Jeanne Baxtresser's CD of Orchestral Excerpts for Flute: Summit

A thumbnail description of many of my top-pick Advanced Flutists' books and methods are all given here.

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