Okay, I know flute is a hobby for pretty much all of you! But what else do you like to do? And is there an element of improvisation in it too? When I was a child at the circus I saw fire poi and was entranced by the the beauty & danger of the performance! In high school I had a few friends who spun glow sticks like fire at dimly lit dance parties! I wasn't much of a "raver" but there were a few dancers who were really smooth with the lights and I loved watching them. I started spinning the "figure 8" pattern with my drum major whistle whenever I had it in 10th grade! We also learned to spin our mace as drum majors, and now I have a staff (an old broomstick I think!) that is good for spinning. Later I shoved some tennis balls into tube socks and started practicing poi with them - poi is a performance art that involves swinging weighted objects attached to tethers in rhythmic, geometric patterns. Frequently lights or fire. There is definitely an element of improvisation to poi. It is very rhythmic, so getting the timing right feels very similar to tapping your foot to music or playing a run perfectly rhythmically. But there is also the element of the unknown, unexpected, and making mistakes. Like when I bumped against the stairwell, how could I recover my timing? I find that having a variety of potential "answers" in my mental movement library helps me find the groove again, just like have a variety of potential musical answers in my mental musical library helps me navigate a route back to being in the groove. A friend gave me these purple flags for my recent birthday. They have weights sewn into the corner edges, so it feels like poi. I love them! I like to observe the sound they make while trying to solve the tiny problems of how to make them move with the music without getting tangled. Purple has not always been my favorite color, but after someone told me it's the highest vibration color and that I should consider adopting it for Flutarians, I've really embraced it. After I saw @Jodie Mesler's beautiful new purple lighting in her little flute studio I set an intention to get some purple on the walls in my studio... and then my friend Sone gave me these flags!

Movie music is usually epic. It HAS to be highly dramatic!!

I love Bluegrass and had a lot of fun with this. I liked playing along with the fiddle at the end and I would improve support on some of the notes and of course dynamics could be better:)

The Tuesday Night Music Club that produced Sheryl Crow's "All I Wanna Do (Is Have Some Fun)" had a rule: you can't play your primary instrument. Sometimes playing an instrument where you're constrained by your lack of skill stimulates now creativity! I suggest you try it by improvising on an instrument that you're not the best at! What instrument will you try next?

This is definitely not my best playing, but I am so thankful I was able to play at my Grandmas graveside service. I hope I am not oversharing, but I played while they were lowering her into the ground. I was having a hard time not crying while I played so that made it hard to get a good sound and stay in tune, but it was a blessing to be able to play her favorite song. I am thankful for Vic’s teaching which allowed me to play without music. After the video, the first photo is my mom, me and my 80s hair, my grandma and grandpa. The last photo is me with my siblings and grandma, a few days before she passed. She lived a wonderful 96 years and I am so grateful for her.