About Ami

A Musical Childhood

My musical career started as soon as I was big enough to crawl onto the piano bench. From the time I was 6 until I was 21 years old, I took piano lessons. They have served me well as a foundation for becoming a musical educator. But even though I had musical training, I was glued to the piece of paper on the stand. There was anxiety around playing, performing, and being judged. It was not the relaxing and freeing experience I yearned for in my musical life.

Many years later, a friend introduced me to the Native American flute. I didn’t have lot of time to learn a new instrument as my family demands were very real, but this was a primitive instrument after all. I had been in love with the sound of beautiful Native American flute music for some time and decided to do something healing for myself and learn to play this intriguing instrument.

Avoiding Bad Habits

I decided to set myself up for success and get good quality instruction right up front. One thing I knew from learning an instrument before, once bad habits set in, it is hard to undo them.  If I just learned the best practices from the beginning, perhaps I could actually make some music on my flute.

I was amazed to see where I was after just 10 hours of practice. Finally, I had found an instrument that I could improvise on. I even started to be able to express my emotions in my playing. I started to bring my flute with me and have enjoyed playing little interludes in so many different places in nature.

Writing the Book and Teaching Classes

I wrote the first edition of my book and started holding group classes which were popular. Within a couple years, I was teaching three different levels of classes.  In a safe and supportive atmosphere, my students were exploring this new territory and I was thrilled to be their facilitator.

My experience deepened as I traveled to several flute schools around the country. I  brought all I learned home to my own classes and workshops and refined the courses. Next, I started to teach online quite a bit and found online learning to be a viable way to learn the flute. These and many other learning experiences along the way brought me to the creation of my book (now in its final edition), my CD, and my flagship work, my full online course.

Discover Your Heartsong

For those who have heard the calling of the flute and have a true desire to learn to play, I hope my online offerings will make it entirely possible in a way that is enjoyable, affordable, and engaging.

Truly, I am delighted to be a steward of this ancient and mystical instrument. The Native American flute has provided an outlet for my emotions, a platform from which I could share the experience with others, and a place of solace and beauty.