- Bassoonist William Short explains his method for evaluating reeds honestly.
- Cleonide, an interesting new blog on musical acoustics, offers some insight on response issues in the saxophone’s low register. (Somewhat technical/mathematical.)
- Ed Joffe pays tribute to Al Block, a distinguished woodwind doubler who passed away recently.
- Cate Hummel discusses a timeline for teaching flute dynamics. (I agree wholeheartedly about waiting to teach dynamics, for all woodwinds, but respectfully disagree about how dynamic changes are produced.) In another post, she discusses teaching students how to practice.
- Flutist Rena Urso-Trapani shares her experience with a recent orchestral audition, and offers some tips.
- Clarinetist Jenny Maclay offers some ways to improve your playing from outside the practice room.
- Jennet Ingle teaches a young oboist a new fingering. (Great minds think alike.)
Month: September 2015
Woodwind dynamics and the embouchure
There’s a lot of confusion about how different dynamic levels are produced on woodwind instruments. How do you think it’s done? If you said something like “blow harder or softer,” you are asking for trouble.
FAQ: Practicing schedule
Some of the questions I am asked most frequently about woodwind doubling are about how I practice. Specifically, how often do I get to each instrument, and how do I divide up my time? The truth is that there isn’t an ideal solution, and maybe not even a good one. There are only so many … Read more
Recital videos, August 2015
I put on a faculty recital in August with a colleague. Here is the program and some videos: Program