Sashabefluting

October 18, 2019 6:42 AM

Lizzo boosts flute sales as classical music has renaissance on Instagram - "The Detroit-born star has amassed more than 265,000 fans on her flute playing Instagram account @Sashabefluting (named after her flute she calls Sasha Flute)."
posted by kliuless (10 comments total)

Check out her videos, like this one, which features her jazz chops, a flaming flute, flute with pissing girl, and a "mic drop" at the end sure to horrify flutists everywhere. Or her Tiny Desk concert, featuring her amazing pipes sans flute.

I was a flutist until puberty, when being the only boy in the flute section led to gender microagressions--or whatever they called it in 1964. ("Sissy!") I switched to French horn. Then back to piano, everyone's first instrument, when I discovered jazz in 1970.

Go Lizzo! Its not "more cowbell" to me, it's "more flute!"
posted by kozad at 8:33 AM on October 18, 2019 [8 favorites]

Totally wanted to play flute when I was asked if I wanted to play an instrument. I must've been too young to know about Ian Anderson but definitely became a Tull fan later because of that. Was told that flute was for girls and given a clarinet. Folks, I was a terrible clarinet player, but I did finally figure out I'm not a boy after all, so there's that, Mr. Sugarman.
posted by kokaku at 9:27 AM on October 18, 2019 [13 favorites]

Right on! I played the flute and piccolo through my senior year of high school. My flute's name is Knute and the piccolo was named Jenny. Back when I was a kid the only flute representation in popular media was Locomotive Breath and that one little part in November Rain (flute @ 1:26). Band Kids Forever.
posted by Gray Duck at 9:54 AM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I taught beginning band back in the mid-90s, and really tried to never gender-stereotype instruments, or which instruments kids were interested in, or etc. I always wanted them to focus on the sound--if a kid loves the sound an instrument makes, they are pre-motivated to, e.g., practice regularly to learn how to play it well. So I would bring in all the principal players from our high school program to do an instrument demo and 'petting zoo,' so that all the entering 5th grade beginning band kids could hear all the instruments available (including oboe! and bassoon!), and then go and talk to the HS kids, hold the instruments, and even try them out. Turns out that plenty of boys want to play flute and oboe, and plenty of girls want to play low brass and percussion. For the three years I was there, the best oboe player in the band was a boy, and the best trumpet player was a girl.

Lizzo is doing better advocacy for music education than any of the actual, professional advocacy groups have managed in decades, and it's amazing. My work and life experience has taught me that making music together is a profoundly valuable act for human beings, for all kinds of reasons, and I'm really happy to know about her cultural impact on this. Plus, damn, her music sure is enjoyable.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:17 AM on October 18, 2019 [21 favorites]

One of my fave Kraftwerk songs is Ruckzuck, a piece they actually came up with prior to being Kraftwerk, in a free-form jazz outfit called Organisation (80s kids may recognize the re-done KW version as the original theme for PBS’s “Newton’s Apple” before Ralf brought the hammer down). The entire tune practically rests on Florian Schneider’s flute.

I‘ve been meaning to listen to Lizzo. Knowing she’s out there on her flute is cool.
posted by droplet at 10:58 AM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

As someone who loves, among other things, Lizzo and Western concert music and jazz and Eric Dolphy, this just fills my heart with warmth. She's amazing.
posted by invitapriore at 11:00 AM on October 18, 2019

I move that we change our website name to LizzoFilter so it can be all Lizzo all the Tim. Do I hear a second?

Lizzo's flute playing in Tempo is awesome. As is the line "By all means necessary/my ass is not an accessorary"
posted by medusa at 11:04 AM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

kozad, towards the end of her Tiny Desk Concert, Lizzo did bring out her flute to wonderful effect.

My college computer science professor plays the flute with a jazz band. Too bad I'd never heard them play.
posted by of strange foe at 11:33 AM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

> Check out her videos, like this one, which features her jazz chops, a flaming flute,

It's based on this scene from Anchorman, which if you haven't seen it already, makes the Lizzo version even funnier (if possible).
posted by flug at 12:52 PM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

More power to her! OMG the comments on that article... my eyes...
posted by Coaticass at 1:01 PM on October 18, 2019