Flute duets at Target with a first year student!
“As a parent of a 12 year old beginning flute player, I was amazed at how much my daughter learned even after just a few lessons with Dr. Kallie Snyder. Kallie always taught the correct technique. She is patient, encouraging, and inspiring. My daughter’s confidence was built with each lesson. She has developed a love for playing the flute. Dr. Kallie Snyder is an extraordinary flute instructor. Every lesson is well worth the investment!”
Teaching Philosophy
I am a teacher because I had a phenomenal teacher in high school that believed me, encouraged me, and taught me to believe in myself.
I teach music because I believe it is a powerful and essential component of the human experience.
In my eyes, my first job as a teacher is to empower you. To help you see the potential in yourself and to encourage you on your musical journey. I promise that I will always be on your team; I will always be honest; and I will always keep your best interests at heart.
This means helping you play with ease and practice with efficiency.
I am committed to helping you play with a healthy and comfortable posture and hand position so that you can enjoy playing the flute all your life! And while regular practice is integral to improvement on the instrument, I firmly believe that we are better and happier musicians when we live full lives and aren’t stuck in a practice room all day. As a member of my studio, you will learn how to practice thoughtfully and efficiently, so that you make more progress in less time, and can spend more time doing the other things that bring you joy besides music.
In that vein, we are flute PLAYERS. We get to PLAY music. But we are so often caught up in trying to play “right” that we forget to have fun and just play!
Musicianship is a process. Some aspects of playing may come to us quickly, but more often than not, they come slowly with much time, patience, and diligence, but this should not be at the expense of enjoying music, which is why lessons are structured to incorporate fun extended techniques, duets, and improvisation games that both balance and enhance the work that we will be doing to prepare your playing test, audition music, or solo.
After all, the flute player is, foremost, a person, and I believe in taking the time to understand the goals, motives, concerns, and learning preferences of all my students and discovering what teaching strategies best serve each one. This is why I’ve come to appreciate and use, to the best of my ability, a holistic and personal approach to teaching the flute.
Whatever your goals may be – if it’s to play your first tune as a beginner, earn a spot in the All-District or All-State Band, gain entrance into a college music program, or maybe rekindle your relationship with the flute after a *few* years off – I strive to give you the tools in every lesson to improve a little by little each week and enjoy the process along the way.
Photos with my high school and undergraduate flute teacher, Dr. Heidi Alvarez, after my senior recital at WKU in 2010, after performing a Guest Artist recital at WKU in 2016, and after teaching a master class at WKU in 2018!
“Kallie would always work with me to accommodate my individual needs as a student, while still holding me accountable to achieve my potential. Her clear yet creative communication abilities make her an excellent teacher, and I’m grateful to have benefited from her guidance and expertise through the challenges I faced in college. Kallie’s enthusiasm for teaching flute helped me keep sight of and nurture my own passion for music education.”
