“The Discovery Flute Cards offer a different lens through which to explore and embody anything one is practicing.
These cards serve as versatile tools, allowing musicians to select and combine elements that resonate with their creative voices and help create characters that drive musical expression.”
— -Amy Likar, author of The Breathing Book
Discovery Flute Cards
Discovery Flute Cards, developed collaboratively by Laura Lentz and Anastasia Mousouli and included in the expanded edition (December 2025) of Lentz’s Modal Flute Warmup, (and also sold as a separate bundle with 7 Modal Flute Duets) are designed to spark curiosity, reflection, and creative engagement in flute practice and teaching. Organized into four categories—Noticing, Imagining, Experimenting, and Expressing—the cards provide flexible prompts for reflection, improvisation, and exploration.
Designed to support and inspire students, teachers, and performers alike in cultivating awareness and connectedness in the present moment, Discovery Flute Cards are divided into four categories—Noticing, Imagining, Experimenting, and Expressing—with 20 prompts in each.
The cards invite explorations of aspects such as breath, sound, emotion, and artistic voice. Their goal is to help cultivate a habit of tuning into ourselves and our surroundings during practice--accepting what we experience, being present with it, and growing from what we notice.
You might draw a card to guide a lesson or practice, or choose several as springboards to spark warmups, improvisation, or reflection.
The four categories
Noticing = awareness and reflection. The cards move from body awareness → breath, tone, and resonance → mindset and emotion → habits and interpretation. Example card: As you play, notice your body’s movement. Observe if the movement is whole-body; be open to adjusting as needed to return to ease and comfort.
Imagining = creative spark, visualizing. The cards move from internal body/breath awareness → external imagery and movement → emotional connection → outward energy and sound projection. Example card: Imagine your inhale as a yawn and your exhale as a sigh, like ocean waves flowing inland and returning to sea.
Experimenting = playful exploring, curiosity. The cards move from physical awareness and breath → sound and tone production → variation and improvisation → external feedback and collaboration. Example card: Play in a different room, outside, or facing a new direction. Experiment playing into a wall or corner of a room. Reflect on the experience.
Expressing = feeling/emotion, artistry, and communication. The cards move from expressive tools (vibrato, dynamics, tone) → imagery and emotional intention → personal voice and vulnerability → reflective expression and artistic identity. Example card: Is there a phrase or moment in the piece you’re working on that really resonates with you?
A blank page is included at the end for creating your own prompts.