- Ben Britton looks at some common saxophone tone production issues.
- Flutist Deanna Mathews Kilbourne reminds us to play in tune, even alone.
- Oboist Jennet Ingle provides a peek into a “portfolio” career.
- I mentioned previously this post by clarinetist Jenny Maclay on cueing (and attempted to expand upon it). Jenny also takes a look at the A-flat clarinet.
- Cate Hummel gives advice on what order to teach new notes to beginning flutists.
- Saxophonist Steve Neff explores the question of how much the mouthpiece matters.
- I’m still enjoying Rachel Taylor Geier’s “practice blueprints” for flute repertoire. Here is Bach sonata #4.
- “Ericdano” at jazz-sax.com suggests some essential gig gear.
- Cynthia Ellis offers a brief thought on dynamics and the piccolo.
Month: November 2016
Student-selected online woodwind pedagogy articles, 2016 edition
What I want my class to get from the assignment is a sense of how to sift through the information (“information”) available online, taking into account the author’s credentials or sources, a common-sense evaluation of ideas, and applicability to a particular teaching situation. Be careful out there.
Simple and effective cues
Beginners to this often work much too hard at cueing, trying to execute movements that are large, elaborate, and confusing.
Woodwinds and “altissimo” registers
I recently had a saxophone student perform a repertoire piece with some altissimo technique in it, and a non-woodwind-playing musician asked me afterward about the instrument’s extended range. This led to further questions about “altissimo” on other instruments. The answers are a little complicated, but here is some information: The term “altissimo” suggests an extreme high … Read more