- Trent Jacobs, bassoonist: Ruminations on cane selection and density testing, Ruminations on cane density, part 2, Cane density post #3
- DoctorFlute (Angela McBrearty): Getting Spin on Your Third Octave Notes
Clarinet glissando
There are few more coveted clarinet techniques than the smooth glissando, as heard in the famous opening to Rhapsody in Blue. But the technique isn’t intuitive, and lots of questions persist about how to do it. (Incidentally: the Rhapsody in Blue score doesn’t call for a smooth portamento-type effect, but a scale with discrete notes. … Read more
Favorite blog posts, January 2023
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, January 2023 edition.
Out-of-tune accents
Young woodwind players often have trouble playing elegant, well-controlled accents. Accented notes are too often thumpy and out of tune. The most common manifestations are accented notes that are too flat, or that scoop up to pitch. This is usually a side effect of the mistaken idea that accented notes should be tongued “harder.” The … Read more
How to fix your clarinet section
Teaching a beginning or intermediate clarinet section? Here are some things to consider:
Favorite blog posts, December 2022
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, December 2022 edition.
Review: ClariMate digital clarinet mute by Buffet-Crampon
Bottom line: the ClariMate is an interesting gadget with potential for various uses, but it’s a little rough around the edges. Consider buying one now as a tech toy if you’re an early-adopter type, or wait for a new-and-improved iteration if you need something that just works. I recently got my hands on the “ClariMate,” … Read more
What college professors don’t know about their music department colleagues
I’m a music professor, and I find there are sometimes disconnects between the music faculty and the faculty in other departments. Of course not every institution is the same, and even areas of concentration within music can have differing roles and expectations, but here’s what sometimes surprises my non-music colleagues about my particular job: Check … Read more
Favorite blog posts, November 2022
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, November 2022 edition.
What kind of ligature should I get?
I’m on record as believing that clarinet and saxophone ligatures make little if any actual difference in how you sound. You’re welcome to disagree, but you might want to watch Michael Lowenstern’s video about it first. So, assuming the ligature has little direct influence on sound, what is the best kind to buy? Consider the … Read more