Favorite blog posts, May 2015

Good stuff from the woodwind blogs in May:

Clarinet and saxophone embouchures and the “chin”

The chin is much-discussed in clarinet pedagogy. Keith Stein suggests a “stretching” of the chin, making it feel “long and pointed” and “rather hard.” David Pino, a student of Stein’s, echoes this. Jane Ellsworth describes a chin that is “drawn downward” (while the jaw provides a “controlled” “upward pressure.” Michele Gingras advocates a “flat” chin. … Read more

Subdivision, long notes, and slowing the tempo

As my students get better at reading more complicated rhythms, often it is the “easy” notes that emerge as the ones still lacking in precision. Master the technique of subdivision for greater precision and control of tempo.

“Next” steps in preparing repertoire

I think many aspiring musicians pass through a phase in their development where they have “learned” fingerings, music reading skills, and other fundamentals at a basic degree of mastery, and turn their attention to developing sufficiently fluent technique (mostly finger technique) to tackle the instrument’s standard literature. Once they acquire that fluency and tackle that … Read more