I currently limit my teaching to bansuri instruction, offered both online and in my home in northern Cook County, Illinois, near Chicago. I teach largely the way I was taught by my guruji. The principal method is dictation of the music phrase by phrase, along with explanation and discussion of every kind of issue that arises in raga music and bansuri playing. The material is the application of Maihar Gharana approaches to the bansuri as developed by Pannalal Ghosh and Devendra Murdeshwar.

I accept students on the basis of interest in pursuing raga music and bansuri playing and some ability to produce sound on the instrument and adapt to its fingering system. I do not require any further commitment except to practice regularly. I see the availability of this training as a route for the student to gain deeper appreciation of the music as well as as much advancement as a player/performer as the student is capable of achieving. There is no obligation to pursue this course for anything other than personal satisfaction.

I am retired as Flute Instructor at Northeastern Illinois University. In studio teaching there I put great emphasis on solid training in the elements of the modern, Boehm system flute, on traditional musicianship in Western classical music, and on covering all style periods from baroque forward. Flute majors pursued a curriculum in line with that of major conservatories, emphasizing work in the fundamentals of sound, dexterity and musicianship through a thorough study of flute literature of all periods. This included solos, chamber music, orchestral excerpts and etudes. In addition, students could delve into baroque flute, the bansuri and raga music.  I’ve always emphasized the elements of sound production and a rational approach to the technical issues facing the flutist, as well as to higher level issues of phrasing, interpretation and esthetics.

I’m deeply convinced that many basic technical issues in transverse flutes, for example sound production and managing intonation, are essentially identical whether the instrument is a Boehm flute, a flauto traverso or a bansuri. Consequently, I believe my deep experience as a player and teacher provides a basis for delivering much to the student.

For further information about study with me in any venue, please contact me at lyonleifer@mac.com