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Taking the Pain out of the Piccolo

In Corrective Exercise, Fitness, Flute, Pedagogy and Teaching by AngelaLeave a Comment

This article was originally published in 2014 and was based off the wildly popular presentation I did with GySgt.(Ret.) Cynthia K. Rugolo of “The President’s Own” Marine Band at the National Flute Association convention in Washington DC in 2015. Both piccoloists, both in military bands and both invested in musician’s health (I took over her position as chair of the …

Your Hips Are A Hinge

In Corrective Exercise, Fitness, Flute, Travel, Workshops by AngelaLeave a Comment

This article was originally written as a recap after a presentation at the Florida Flute Association Convention. It is such a joy to me to get to be able to personally walk people through the mechanics of fitness and learning how to properly use their bodies to better play their first instrument, their bodies, before picking up the flute. Speaking …

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Being A Military Musician Interview with Flute 360 Podcast

In Entrepreneurship, Flute, media/podcast/interviews by AngelaLeave a Comment

Recently I had the honor of being interviewed by Dr. Heidi Kay Begay about my experiences as a military musician. You can listen to it here: In today’s episode, Heidi talks with Sergeant Angela McCuiston about her time being a Military Flutist in the U.S. Army Reserve Band. She goes into detail about the audition process, her experience with basic …

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Lighten Up! A Study Of Lightweight Professional Model Flutes For Injury Prevention

In Flute, Pedagogy and Teaching, Resources by AngelaLeave a Comment

Notes on Hand Size and Injury Angela: “During the play-testing of these flutes, I was suffering from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, which caused numbness, tingling, muscle spasms and shooting electrical pains down my right arm. For this reason, I was in the unique position of finding myself NEEDING a lightweight flute. I have large hands and ergonomically found several flutes challenging …

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Exercises for Flutists

In Corrective Exercise, Fitness, Flute, Special Thanks by AngelaLeave a Comment

Recently I was asked to write an article for Flutist Quarterly, the quarterly publication of the National Flute Association. There are a LOT of beneficial exercises for flutists, but I picked 2 stretches and 2 strengthening exercises I felt were the most beneficial, with no equipment, for the general population of flute players. These may be more difficult for some, …

The Maturing Flutist

In Corrective Exercise, Fitness, Flute, Travel by musicstrongLeave a Comment

Yesterday Dr. Steve Mitchell and I co-presented at the National Flute Association Convention in Orlando, FL.  Our talk was titled “The Maturing Flutist” and it covered a lot of the issues that concern aging musicians and the elderly populations.  You don’t need to be a flutist to benefit from this, as lots of the things we covered relate to the …

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3 Marching Band Fitness Hacks for Flutists

In Fitness, Flute by musicstrongLeave a Comment

Ah band camp….long, hot days with your instrument and at the end you’re rewarded with an aching back and feet, right?  Well, you might not be able to get out of marching band, and you might not be able to change your band director’s mind about what’s good for you to do vs. what looks good, but here are 3 …

Activating a Weak Rotator Cuff Using the Body Blade

In Fitness, Flute by Angela2 Comments

Have you heard of the BodyBlade? It looks deceptively easy, but if you have any muscle weakness you’ll be shocked how difficult it is to control. This is an excellent tool for activating the weak muscles of the rotate cuff which can be especially painful in musicians such as flutists, guitarists, string players and pianists.  Start out with 5 sets …