The Method
The Toot & Hoot Flute Method is a fun, engaging, and playful approach to learning the flute. While it was originally designed for beginners, its creative structure and flexible progression make it equally enjoyable and effective for older students and anyone starting or returning to the flute. Built on a play-and-learn concept, the method turns flute study into an imaginative and rewarding experience through gamification, storytelling, and interactive techniques.
The entire method was created over years of teaching young beginners on flute. It represents solutions developed iteratively in areas of tone, time, technique and theory. For example, learning rhythm and tunes before being introduced to theory, or delaying the introduction of the note C, in order to give the student time to develop a stable hand and body position.
At the core of the Toot & Hoot Flute Method is the idea that children must first experience music before they can analyze it. The approach grew from observing how young learners absorb rhythm, pitch, and movement long before they grasp abstract symbols. By combining physical experience, play, and imagination—through movement, singing, storytelling, and visual tools like rhythm tiles or LEGO blocks—the method builds a natural understanding of music that makes theory feel intuitive later. It also responds to how today’s children learn: visually, interactively, and through exploration. Each small step is designed to feel achievable, nurturing curiosity and confidence rather than pressure.
Over time, this philosophy evolved into a complete system of materials that blend learning with creativity. What began as individual classroom games and lesson ideas gradually became a structured framework of books, stories, and digital resources—the Toot & Hoot Flute Method Books. Each element in the series reflects the same playful logic: that joy and imagination are not opposites of discipline, but the path to lasting musical growth.
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Toot & Hoot Flute Method – Book 1 is a foundational method book ideal for early beginners.
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Toot & Hoot Flute Method - Book 2, designed for beginners aged six and above or for those with a bit more musical maturity, will be published very soon.
The Flute and Narrator Book Series further enriches the learning journey. In these three storybooks, children (or beginners of any age) play the flute headjoint or full flute to create sound effects that accompany the story, read by a teacher, parent, or friend. These charming books bring imagination and fun to the very first sounds on the flute.
Complementing the method is the Music Monsters Book Series, co-created by Irena Mitevska Mileva (author of the Toot & Hoot Flute Method) and Anne Fontenay (www.myflutebooks.com) - fellow educator and book author. This collection of eleven activity books features humorous, engaging monsters that guide young musicians through key musical concepts — from basic music theory, rhythm, and the music alphabet, to flute-focused topics such as Flute Fast Fingers, Flute Scales and Arpeggios, and Flute Silly Melodies.
