When I teach flute lessons, I ask my students, "how did that feel?" after they finish playing part of a warm up, etude, or solo, often when it didn't go according to plan. They figure the answer I'm looking for must be something external, so the first words out of their mouth are usually observations or judgments about what happened. But when I ask, "how did that feel?" I'm not asking about what could be judged externally, I'm asking about what you experienced internally.

In the spirit of reflection, here are some of my favorite practice prompts and contemplative questions from MPR over the years.

Feel like you don't have enough time to practice? Read this.

A new piece of music you set out to learn is represented by a jar. The things you do to practice the piece are marbles.

When you’re trying to make progress in your music, start by moving from Step 1 to Step 2 instead of Step 9 to Step 10.

In music, body doubling can look like warming up with a friend, playing duets together, or going to the school practice rooms together.

Everything can inch forward. The beauty is in NOTICING the inches.

You have to put the time in even in the messy in between, even when you aren’t inspired, if you want to see any real improvement.

I have been really interested in exploring the balance of intentionality in practicing.

These materials are essential for flute lessons to get the most out of your experience.

Fundamentals themselves are non-negotiable, but the way we approach them is entirely flexible, free, and LIMITLESS.

The thing about mistakes is that they themselves are not bad, but they are sending us a message.

The problems with high notes range from getting lightheaded, forgetting fingerings, or just plain not being able to get the notes out.

Young musicians can benefit immensely from this patient process and they will grow into self-aware teachers of themselves. Slow practice pro

We’ve been in this pandemic for a year. Some of us are uninspired with our instruments and some of us are drained in general. No matter...