NAfME BLOG
Young Flute Player Wins International Recognition with a Plastic Flute
Ananda’s Musical Journey
Young Flute Player Wins International Recognition with a Plastic Flute
By Brittany Bauman, sponsored by KHS America
“You Will Have to Wait”
This was what Ananda heard from her mother when she first begged to play the flute when she was only three years old: “You will have to wait.” Even though she was enthusiastic to learn, traditional metal flutes are too heavy and large for young children. Therefore, her mother began giving piano lessons to Ananda at the age of four to fulfill her eagerness to make music.
Photo courtesy of @premagrace
The Cool Discovery
When Ananda was 5 years old, she discovered the NUVO Toot and was thrilled and exclaimed, “It was so, so, so cool!” The NUVO Toot allowed Ananda to begin learning flute fingerings since it was light and the keys were easy to reach. The Toot features a Firstnote lip plate, which is a unique, recorder-like mouthpiece developed by NUVO, allowing Ananda to make a sound immediately! Building upon the musical foundation Ananda developed in piano lessons, she quickly learned to play “Hot Cross Buns,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on the NUVO mini flute.
Photo courtesy of @premagrace
Transition Was Easy
Ananda could soon play the C scale and various articulations, so she quickly stepped up to the NUVO jFlute. She learned to play the entire range of the flute in just a month. With the shortened Donut headjoint and again with the Firstnote lip plate, Ananda was able to get a beautiful sound right away and she was able to focus on her fingerings. As she grew, she progressed from the Donut to the straight headjoint. With the straight headjoint and C foot joint attached, the jFlute measures the same length as a student flute, yet it is much lighter than a standard metal flute because it is made of plastic. Ananda does not have to worry about straining her arms and can continue to focus on learning new music. When she is ready, she will start learning the flute embouchure by swapping out the Firstnote lip plate to a standard flute lip plate.
Photo courtesy of @premagrace
Great Start at an Early Age
Ananda’s mother said, “We are grateful to NUVO for the wonderful products that allowed Ananda to begin the flute at an early age and have a great start.” Indeed, she has had a brilliant start and in less than a year has already received numerous national and international awards. Her latest accomplishment is winning the London Young Musician Fans’ Favorite Award in the Talent Category. In late 2020, NUVO appointed Ananda as their youngest ambassador.
Photo courtesy of @premagrace
Inspiring Other Children
As Ananda continues to grow, she will soon progress to a silver flute. At that time, she will have already learned correct fingerings, breathing, and posture using the jFlute, and those skills will directly transfer to the silver flute. We hope Ananda’s story is an inspiration for other young children who are eager to learn an instrument but are limited because of the size and weight of traditional instruments. To date, Ananda has already placed in 16 international competitions on the jFlute. We look forward to watching Ananda continue to grow as a musician. Take a moment and watch Ananda performing Paul-Agricole Génin’s Theme and Variation No. 5 from “The Carnival of Venice.”
Follow Ananda’s musical journey on her mother’s Instagram.
About the author:
Brittany Bauman is Director of Music Education at Nuvo Instrumental, part of the KHS America family of brands. She is co-author of the WindStars pre-band curriculum focused on bridging the gap between recorder and beginning band. Prior to joining Nuvo Instrumental, Brittany was an elementary general music and instrumental educator for over a decade. Currently, she is helping music educators across the United States start pre-band programs in their schools.
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May 20, 2021. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)
