Favorite blog posts, August 2026
- Stohrer Music (Matt Stohrer, saxophone): Original Selmer ToneX Resonator Sizes
- Dudukhouse Blog (Armen Matosyan): The Duduk in Film Scores: From Gladiator to Modern Cinema
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Favorite blog posts, July 2026
- Hodge Products, Inc.: Latest News: The Geometry Of Tube Cane
- Jennifer Cluff (flute): Whistles to Flute in "Come From Away" the Musical
- Aaron Lakota: Oboe Reed Gouging: Understanding Side Thickness for Better Reeds
- Stohrer Music: Adolphe Sax's Last Patent: A Man Ahead of His Time
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Favorite blog posts, June 2026
- New York City Woodwinds, LLC – BLOG (Michael Norsworthy): The Multi-Instrumentalist Moment (arguably commercial in nature but the information is useful)
- Steve Neff Music Blog (saxophone): Morgan Kind of Blue Cannonball Adderley Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review (arguably promotes a product but the history is interesting)
- Aaron Lakota: Oboe Reed Scraping for Beginners: A Three-Line Method
- The Flute View: The Flute Behind The Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill” Heads to Auction
- Joffe Woodwinds (Ed Joffe): A Tribute to Gary Foster
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Fingering Diagram Builder, version 0.84
Here’s a new minor release of the Fingering Diagram Builder with a few improvements:
- New and significantly improved contrabassoon diagram. Thanks to several of you who contributed with keywork photos and other feedback. I haven’t had recent access to a contrabassoon myself, so if you’re a contra player and see things that need tweaking, please let me know. The old contrabassoon diagram is still available as a key set of the bassoon diagram (now called “Contrabassoon (old),” and the new one is its own separate entry (“Contrabassoon”). I’ll keep an eye on the server logs and if it looks like the old one is still getting a lot of use I’ll keep it around.
- Miscellaneous minor bug fixes.
Enjoy!
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Review: New woodwind doubling duets from Gene Kaplan and Paul Saunders
A couple of new books of duets for woodwind doublers hit my inbox recently. (I received complimentary copies without any promise of a review.) Gene Kaplan has published a second volume of his Duos for Doublers, following up the volume I reviewed previously. And Paul Saunders, whose other doubling publications I’ve reviewed, has written Six Duets for Woodwind Doublers.
As I noted in previous reviews, (solo) etudes for woodwind doublers have an issue: it’s too easy to take extra time during instrument changes, a luxury that doesn’t exist in musical theater or many other doubling scenarios. Kaplan’s two volumes solve this by pairing the player with another doubler. Saunders’s previous works provided piano accompaniment (including downloadable backing tracks). Either solution keeps the woodwind doubler accountable to another musician (at least a virtual one) to execute the quick changes without disrupting the tempo.
Saunders’s new publication expands on his previous offerings by introducing a duet format with piano or backing track. The backing tracks include versions with just accompaniment (piano plus a virtual rhythm section), or with accompaniment plus Saunders ably playing the first woodwind part, or with accompaniment plus the second part.
Kaplan’s solution of course requires a duet partner with skills on three instruments, but also provides some flexibility in rehearsal with tempos or repeating problem sections. With two volumes available, each with a dozen 2-3 page duets, this would be a great resource for a sight reading session with a friend or student. (This new volume has well-placed page turns.)
Saunders’s approach lends itself well to solo practice, and since you can play either part with Saunders covering the other, the six duets amount to twelve parts to work on. The included piano score also raises some possibilities for a polished public performance. (The introduction also indicates that the duets are composed to work without the accompaniment.)
The books are similar in instrumentation, for flute/clarinet/saxophone doublers, with the first part using alto saxophone and the second using tenor. Saunders’s book has one duet with optional piccolos. I’ve been clear that I think the flute/clarinet/saxophone doubling paradigm is outdated in the 21st century, and while the market for such things is admittedly probably small, I’d like to see more resources available that incorporate double reeds.
Both books publish the duets as separate parts, which is probably a closer match to the musical theater doubling experience, but I do prefer seeing both lines on the same page. With Saunders’s book, the additional piano score does show both parts, which could be helpful for perusal or rehearsal.
I’ve updated my Music for woodwind doublers page to include these new publications. Keep me posted if you are aware of additional ones.
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Favorite blog posts, May 2026
Just one to share this month:
- International Clarinet Association (Shawn Copeland and Jackie McIlwain): Pedagogy Corner — A Clarinetist on Her Head: Redefining Support
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Five little things that will make a difference in your next performance, audition, or competition
When I listen to young and advancing woodwind players at the high school level (masterclass participants, scholarship or honor band auditionees, competition participants), I often think that there are some small fixes that would make a big difference in their success. There’s no substitute for lessons with a qualified teacher, but these improvements are easy and set you apart from the rest:
- Slow down a little. Speed is only impressive if your playing is clean, even, and precise. If taking a slightly slower tempo gives you better accuracy and control, do it.
- Breathe intentionally. Where you breathe in the music makes a huge difference in your phrasing. Never just play until you run out of air. Find places to breathe that sound natural. If you’re not sure, listen to a recording of a good player and copy their breaths, or record yourself and notice what sounds right or wrong. Mark the breaths in (all of them!) and practice them carefully until they are a habit.
- Do bigger dynamics. Even if you think you are already following the dynamic markings, make your softs softer and your louds louder.
- Choose reeds wisely. I hear lots of ambitious young players using reeds that are much too hard. If a little softer reed allows you to play with ease and comfort, you will probably sound better. And a performance isn’t the time to use a brand-new one, or one that is past its prime. A week or two ahead, break in some new reeds and pick the best 2-3 to have on hand.
- Relax. Tension is the biggest thing that tanks even well-prepared performances. Practice releasing the tension in your body. As you feel tension creep back in, release it again. Take advantage of rests or other pauses in the music to release once more. Try a pre-performance ritual like box breathing to reduce your adrenaline response, focus and calm your mind, and steady your hands.
Sometimes the smallest adjustments make the biggest difference. If you are an advancing player, which of these do you think would help you the most? If you’re a teacher, what small fixes do you recommend most?
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Professional-sounding ornaments
When I’m working with new or prospective college music students, one thing that I often hear in their auditions or early lessons is awkward ornamentation. Here are some common pitfalls:
- Aggressive grace notes. Notice how grace notes are printed smaller on the page? They aren’t there to call attention to themselves. They are usually adding weight or importance to the following note. Give that note a little extra volume/tenuto/stretch/stress, rather than accenting the grace notes themselves.
- Weak trills. Don’t let your breath support sag. Blow through the trill like it’s part of the phrase (because it is). Every note of the trill, no matter how fast it goes by, needs a full, clear, in-tune sound.
- Short trills that aren’t short enough. If you don’t have an exit plan for your trill, it’s easy to get stuck in it and be late for the next note. It’s especially a problem for shorter trills, like on a quarter note. To make sure your trills aren’t interrupting the rhythmic pulse, decide exactly how many notes they should have. The shortest version (for trills starting on the lower pitch) is three notes—the starting note, the upper note, and back to the starting note. Five or seven notes (hitting the upper note two or three times) makes it sound more convincingly like a trill, if there’s time. Decide what number makes sense for the style and tempo, and practice it slowly and deliberately with a metronome so you can land on the following note right on time.
- Missed accidentals or key signatures. Even within ornaments, key signatures still apply, and accidentals still carry through the measure. Check carefully and mark in any sharps or flats that will help your accuracy.
- Uninformed interpretation. Ornamentation is an art, and takes into account musical style, historical context, harmonic context, rhythm and meter, and a lot more. If you possibly can, listen to lots of recordings by professional players and see how they approach the ornaments. Listen for note choices, rhythms, emphasis, and articulation. While you’re still accumulating the knowledge and background you need to make good ornamentation choices on your own, there’s nothing wrong with stealing some ideas from musicians you admire. Also: a surprising number of Baroque composers wrote books on how to play ornaments, so if you’re playing something in that style it may be worth checking to see what the composer themself had in mind! (Quantz‘s chapters on appoggiaturas and “shakes” are a good example for woodwind players.)
Graceful ornaments raise the maturity level of your playing, and audition judges notice. Don’t wing it!
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Favorite blog posts, April 2026
- Jenny Maclay (clarinet): How to choose the best clarinet fingerings
- At the Woodwindfixer’s Bench (Jeff Dening): Help! My instrument got stolen!
- oboealli (Alli Gessner): Chronic Octave Key Water
- The Flute Examiner (Keith Hanlon): Flute Olympics: Tactile Dissonance When Doubling
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Mindset shifts for college music majors
Here are some mindsets that I find can hold college music majors back from reaching their potential—or can launch them to the next level.
From “This is how I was taught” to “I’m here to explore new ideas.“
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve suggested a better fingering option to a student who resists because they already know a different fingering and would rather not have to remember a new one. But my most successful students are curious to learn new things and try them out. Someday you’ll have the option to choose your own path, but you’ll do so from a place of experience, not habit.
From “I have to practice for hours” to “What can I get done in ten minutes?“
Mastery takes time, but the quality of that time is what really gets results. I’ve had students suffer alone in practice rooms all week with nothing to show for it. But if they can set a few small goals and spend a few minutes pursuing each of them in a focused way, by their next lesson they have measurable progress, the confidence to show it off, and a grade that reflects it.
From “I’m never going to use this” to “I’m building a versatile skill set.”
My students often have very clear ideas about what they will and won’t be doing in their careers. But working in music and/or education can mean wearing a lot of different hats, and broad knowledge and experience can have surprising advantages.
From “My teacher my is judge and executioner” to “My teacher is on this journey with me.”
Rather than playing your assignment for your teacher and nervously waiting for a verdict, let your teacher be a guide and consultant. Be ready to outline and demonstrate your successes and frustrations from the week, and ask for help and advice on what’s holding you back. It’s not you versus your teacher—it’s the two of you versus the technical and musical challenges.
From “I don’t play well enough to perform in front of others” to “I have something to share.”
My students perform frequently for other music majors, for faculty, and for public audiences. It’s pretty normal to feel inadequate to the task or to feel outclassed by others. But our audiences, even when they are our peers or teachers, want us to succeed. If you see your performance as a gift rather than a test, you never know who you might impress, inspire, or uplift.
Which of these mindset shifts feels the most uncomfortable to you? Often the one that scares us the most is the one that offers the biggest breakthrough. Let’s do this!
