If you’re a woodwind player and avid blog reader, you’re likely already following some prominent and popular bloggers like oboist Patty Mitchell (oboeinsight), flutist Jennifer Cluff, and clarinetists David Thomas (The Buzzing Reed) and Marion Harrington.

I read and enjoy all of these, but I would also like to suggest a few others that are particular favorites of mine. These are ones that I think have a somewhat smaller readership, although there’s not a good way to know that without asking nosy questions. So I could be wrong, but I’m guessing that some of these may be new to you. Check them out, and let us know in the comments what else you’re reading.

Also, read to the bottom for a couple of tips on reading blogs like you know what you’re doing.

In no particular order…

Jennet Ingle (Pronoboe)

Jennet writes about life, motherhood, and, of course, oboe playing. Her oboe-related posts are consistently well-thought-out, insightful, and inspiring. For proof you need look no further than a couple of her most recent entries (one published earlier today):

• Memorizing on the Run
• Warming Up – Long Tones

I also really liked:

• The Unfussy Oboist – a manifesto for leaving reed issues and personal insecurities at home.

Betsy Sturdevant (Bassoon Blog)

Betsy is the principal bassoonist of the Columbus Symphony, and her blog is, literally, a bassoonist’s-eye view of the world of orchestral playing. Almost every post features photographs of her orchestral bassoon parts in situ on the music stand, often with visible pencil marks. She discusses the excerpts and offers tips on practicing and playing them.

• Mozart, Brahms and Bartók
• The Firebird

David Freeman (David Freeman Music)

It’s hard to point to a specific post on David’s blog that sums up why it’s so interesting. Instead, jump back a while in the archives and start reading the posts in sequence. What emerges is an honest, human account of life as a gigging musician. David chronicles experiences with various Atlanta-area bands and one-off gigs. He writes in equal parts about successes and failures, and doesn’t pull any punches.

Steve Goodson (The Saxgourmet Daily Picayune-Intellegencier and Journal Express)

Steve Goodson is the mad scientist of saxophones. His blog functions largely to promote his products (saxophones, mouthpieces, and such), with which I’ll confess I have little personal experience. But whether you’re looking to buy or not, the blog is a must-read for Steve’s relentless tinkering with saxophone design. Many posts include an unscripted video with Steve behind the camera and one of his clients test-playing his latest brainchild. Here’s a taste:

• The Saxgourment Category Five has arrived! Steve’s spare-no-expense, cut-no-corners, Rolls-Royce premium tenor. It’s pretty fascinating to see what a guy like Steve will do when he’s not worried about pricing himself out of the market: “If you have to ask the price, you most likely cannot afford it.” (The most recent posted price is $15,000 “firm.”)
• The Decline and Fall of the Vintage Saxophone Market

Update 8/19/2010: I had the pleasure of speaking with Steve on the phone about his work. He is quite a nice guy and took the time to call me, thank me for the mention, and tell me about some of his projects. One thing he pointed out, that I was aware of from his blog but which I failed to make clear: his Category Five tenors, despite their high price, are selling out with each (small) production run. He also told me that the innovative stuff that shows up in his videos represents about 10% of his experiments—the other 90% is apparently too cool and/or crazy even for YouTube.

Imani Winds

This is a new blog by the rock star members of wind quintet the Imani Winds. They mix promotional materials with more personal items, including favorite TV shows and recipes. Recently oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz posted a couple of brief and excellent oboe tips—I hope these will become a regular feature, and maybe the rest of the group will get in on it too.

• Tip for oboe #1: How to make your low notes sound in pianissimo
• Tip for oboe #2: How to bend notes

Pro tip #1: Subscribe to your favorites

If you’re interested in current conversations on woodwind-related topics, you need to be using something like Google Reader to keep track of your favorites. When you’re visiting a favorite blog and see a symbol like this…

…you can click on it to add that blog to Google Reader (or another favorite blog reader), and keep track of new blog posts all in one place.

Especially clever people can also subscribe selectively on some blogs. For example, if you are browsing my oboe-related articles, you have the option of subscribing only to articles tagged as oboe-oriented:

Pro tip #2: Engage your favorite bloggers

Don’t just read—respond! Most blogs allow you to leave comments. This opens up conversations, adds value to your favorite bloggers’ writings, and can also generate interest in your own blog or website. If public commenting isn’t your style, consider sending an email to let your favorite bloggers know you’re reading and enjoying. Let them know what you liked and what you’d like to see more of.

Have fun!

Related posts:

1. More woodwind blogs
2. Recommended: Jennifer Cluff’s flute blog

Yesterday the LA Times ran an op-ed by Meghan Daum, herself a recovering oboe player, entitled “The Supreme Court could use an oboist.” Here are the good parts:

The oboe isn’t just an instrument; it’s a way of life. … Playing the oboe means living your life entirely at the mercy of tiny wooden double reeds that crack at inopportune moments (weirder and more awful yet, you’re supposed to make them yourself as though you were a 19th century artisan). It also means blowing so hard into them that you risk a brain aneurysm every time you try to hit a high D. It also means you’re a huge nerd.

And speaking for myself and so many others in the oboe community, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to suggest that even if Wood had no judicial experience at all, even if she’d never even gone to law school — heck, even if she were a fifth-grader squawking out “Ode to Joy” on a plastic Bundy — she’d still probably be more qualified for the Supreme Court bench than anyone else in the pool. Why? Because oboists may vary in talent, discipline, ethnicity, gender and taste in unfashionable clothes, but we all have one thing in common: We’re just about the most judgmental people on the face of the Earth.

Where does our judgmentalism come from? The same place as everyone’s: insecurity, self-loathing, anger at parents (which oboists have in high doses because most of us had parents who forced us to play the oboe).

Thanks to Michael Kibbe for the tip about the LA Times article.

Ms. Cluff’s blog gets my vote for being the most useful woodwind-related blog currently on the web, with long and in-depth posts about flute playing, including, sometimes, answers to readers’ questions. There is really excellent stuff here for beginners and very advanced flutists alike. I just finished reading her latest post, on excess movement in flute playing. Ms. Cluff’s posts are sporadic but always worthwhile, so subscribe to the RSS feed if you’re cool like that.

A very different blog that I also enjoy is Patty Mitchell’s oboeinsight. Ms. Mitchell posts very frequently, several times per day. Often she posts just to share a link or YouTube video, to complain about a reed problem, or to pass along a quote about the oboe or about classical music. She mostly isn’t generating serious original content like Ms. Cluff is doing, but she’s an entertaining read (or an entertaining “reed,” she might say).

Related posts:

1. New blog