Interviews

Straubinger pads

If you’ve ever played a flute with Straubinger pads, you know how wonderful they are–the responsiveness and the smoothness of the key action is unparalleled. With the level of detail that goes into them, there is an intensive certification process required to become certified to work with these pads. We are excited to introduce our most recent Straubinger Certified technician, Kaz Chan! Kaz joined our repair team in 2018 after graduating from University of North Texas and then repair school at Minnesota State College Southeast (commonly known as Red Wing). Due to his fantastic work on woodwind instruments, he was quickly assigned to be next in line for Straubinger certification, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed that by a couple of years. He finally completed his training about a year ago, and we are so happy to have him here! The Straubingers do all of their own training, and as such the list of certified technicians is pretty short–in fact, there are only 6 in the state of Indiana, and we have two of them right here at Paige’s! Straubinger pads consist of different materials and components than a traditional pad. The patented pad support unit and profiled washer are machined

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May 26, 2022 No Comments

Summer practice musings

Last week, I offered some suggestions for books to expand your playing repertoire this summer, but let’s be honest–after the year we’ve had, some of us are still trying to get back into the swing of things! That being said, how should we approach our playing while school is out? Let’s talk about it! First of all, just play. Play something–anything! That’s the first step…just pick up your instrument and make some noise. Whether you’ve just finished your first year or your 21st year of flute playing, it’s easy to get into a rut if you don’t have daily or weekly assignments to work towards. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always fine to take some time off…as long as “some time” doesn’t turn into all summer! Dr. Tammy Evans Yonce says, “When school is over and we’re off on summer adventures, we often don’t have the benefit of regularly scheduled lessons with our teacher. The frequent encouragement and support received during those lessons is absent, and that can have an effect on our motivation. There is also much less accountability; if we know we won’t have the opportunity to check in with someone, the temptation to delay practicing is there.

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Jun 8, 2021 No Comments

Paige’s Music History Spotlight-Episode 8

Episode 8 of our “Paige’s of History Spotlights” is ready to go. Several state, national, and international performing arts organizations were formed during this time, as well as big changes in our company. Watch the video to learn what else was happening in our country and with our company between 1975-1990! TRANSCRIPT:Welcome back to our journey through the history of Paige’s Music. Today, we’ll traverse through the 1970s and 1980s an explosive time for the performing arts.1976 also marked a major milestone for Paige’s Music. We opened our first Indianapolis location and have called Indianapolis home ever since.We expanded our business to first in Terre Haute to the mall. And then that grew and grew and then decided to put a store in Indianapolis. That would be our central location for our salesmen calling on schools. And it got it got to be real good.That same year, Paige’s Music partnered with Bands Of America and hosted the very first Grand National Championships at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.Seven years after landing on the moon NASA accomplished another feat by landing on Mars for the first time, a journey we were likely to repeat with astronauts in the coming decade.America’s achievements

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Apr 20, 2021 No Comments

Paige’s Music History Spotlight-Episode 6

We’re chugging right along in our Paige’s of History series, looking today at 1945-1960! A famous comedian from Indianapolis, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, as well as one of the most famous clarinets of all time were born during this time period. Watch the video to find out the answers, and to learn what else was happening in our country and with our company between these years! TRANSCRIPT:Hello everyone! And welcome back to another episode of our “Paige’s of History” Spotlight.This week we’ll be looking at the years 1945 through 1960…On April 12, 1947, comedian and talk show host extraordinaire David Letterman was born right here, in Indianapolis.That same year, in a YMCA on the West side of Chicago, approximately 120 directors assembled for a six-hour clinic and new music reading session. Today, what is now known as the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, hosts 18,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 40 countries.in 1950, Robert Carree developed the Buffett R13, which is still one of the most popular clarinets in the world.On June 25th, 1951, RCA Broadcasted its first color television program on CBS.On October 4th, 1957- The Cold War began to heat up when Russia

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Mar 26, 2021 No Comments

Re-introducing myself

It’s been a while since I’ve said “hey” around here, and I know I have a lot of new followers since this video came out, so I wanted to take a moment to re-“introduce” myself. Hi! My name is Erin Nichols, and I’m the manager of the Indy Flute Shop at Paige’s Music. I work with everyone from new players to students looking to upgrade their beginner flute from Paige’s Music to local and area professionals to help them find their next perfect forever instrument! I genuinely love what I do, even though I never saw myself in this kind of position. Other random things about me: I’m an I/ENFJ (who else loves Meyers-Briggs??), I have 3 senior pets (a 13-year old beagle, a 9-year old miniature pinscher mix, and a 12-year old red tabby cat), and I LOVE to read. I live in a historic neighborhood in Indianapolis with my husband of 13 years, Colin, and my almost-2 year old daughter, Ailey. If you want to know a little bit about me and my background, feel free to watch this video from about 3 years ago. Enjoy!

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Jan 19, 2021 No Comments

Flute podcasts

I’m super late to the podcast game, but during COVID lockdown in March and April, I found myself needing to keep my brain active while I was home with my daughter. I’ve enjoyed subscribing to podcasts related to motherhood, food, lifestyle–and flutes, of course! I wanted to share a few of the best flute-related podcasts that I have enjoyed listening to lately. Whether you are a performer, student, or amateur, you can definitely find something to interest you with these. Flute 360The Flute 360 podcast “incorporates a panoramic view of flute-related topics” from Dr. Heidi Kay Begay, a self-employed teacher, flutist, podcaster, and non-profit organizer. The episodes are educational in nature and cover a range of topics from tech equipment setup for recording, to military musicians, to interviews with well-known performers. https://heidikaybegay.com/ Talking FlutesTalking Flutes is hosted by the duo of Clare Southworth, Flute Professor at the Royal Academy of Music London and Jean-Paul Wright, Managing Director of the Trevor James Flute Company. They share their insights from their unique and different perspectives in the flute industry, offer advice on looking for your next instrument, and have tons of interviews with famous flutists from Jasmine Choi to Greg Pattillo. https://flute.podbean.com/#

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Sep 10, 2020 No Comments

Interview with Donna Wilson

A little over a month ago, I featured a blog article on mindfulness by Donna Wilson from mommysgottapractice.com. (If you missed it, check it out here). Donna is a local performer and teacher in addition to running her website dedicated to juggling parenthood and a professional musical career. Now, you get to learn a little more about her background and what she does! 1. When did you start playing flute? Did you always know you wanted to play an instrument, and what drew you to the flute? Like most kids in Indiana, I started playing flute the summer going into my 6th grade year. I was introduced into the band program a few years earlier because my older brother played saxophone in band. When I went to his concerts, I had originally thought about playing clarinet. My youngest aunt had played clarinet all through school, so I would have one available to me, and I thought it sounded interesting. But something kept pulling me to playing flute. I think it was the idea that I would be in the front row if I played flute! Haha! But, also, the instrument always looked so elegant being played to me. Well, I

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Oct 22, 2019 No Comments
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