Well, it has been a great ride studying, teaching, and performing on the instruments of the woodwind family. Thanks everyone for your support here at bretpimentel.com.
I’ll leave this website up for now, but I hope you will all check out my new project:
Prior post: Brass doubling?
Boston Symphony Orchestra bass trombonist Douglas Yeo has a page on his website with doubling tips. In addition to bass trombone, he plays bass trumpet and serpent. Not tenor trombone.
I don’t knock anyone for finding their niche. And Mr. Yeo is clearly a very accomplished musician—listen to some of his sound clips if there is any doubt. But I have to admit a few items from his doubling tips amused me as a woodwind doubler. Read More “More on brass doubling”
See also: Stuff my students say (original flavor)
| What my students say | What my students mean |
|---|---|
| I’m sick. | As you are aware from my prolific and detailed Facebook updates, I was up very late last night making poor health choices, and now wish to be excused from established course or lesson expectations. |
| I’m not sick. | I’m very sick, and by the end of this hour, you will be, too. |
| I have to go to the registrar/bank/doctor/store, and this is the only time I can do it. | For some reason, even though I’m enrolled in your class during this time, I think this is a “time I can do it.” |
| I have a family/fraternity/church/extracurricular thing that I have to go to. | I wish to make choices but not suffer consequences. |
| I’m going to be honest: I haven’t practiced, so I don’t want to waste your time. | I believe that honesty, rather than being seen as a baseline expectation for civilized conversation, should be considered a noble enough gesture to excuse my failure to meet expectations. |
| Did I miss anything important in class? | I think your class is mostly time fillers and stalling, with the few “important” things scattered throughout the semester. |
| I have something I have to do for another class. | My other class is too important to blow off, but yours isn’t. |
| Don’t worry, I already know the material. | Expect me to crash and burn, hard, at the exam/jury. |
If you frequent any of the various woodwind-related Internet message boards, forums, or listservs, you have undoubtedly encountered some of the wildlife I will describe here. Remember that they can be dangerous creatures, and that it is often best not to attempt interaction with them.
One of the most common animal behaviors witnessed on the message boards is the exchange of gear recommendations. There are two primary families of wildlife the participate in this ritual: the askers and the answerers.
The askers all share a common behavioral trait: a proclivity for asking total strangers to blindly recommend instruments, mouthpieces, reeds, and other items. Their calls are varied.
Some prefer to remain hidden in the underbrush, offering no clarifying details:
hey guys first time on this board what reedz should I use lolz Read More “Internet forum field guide: gear recommendations”
A little something to keep myself entertained on long days of private lessons. Um, good luck?
I was hoping to announce this a week ago, on the anniversary of the ReedCast™’s debut, April 1, 2015,but things got a little delayed. Anyway, you can now get your guaranteed-accurate, highly scientific ReedCast™ on your Alexa device. Check it out!
You can, of course, still get your classic ReedCast™ on the web.
I won’t make a habit of posting advertisements here, but I wanted to make you all aware of a new way you can support what I do here at bretpimentel.com while also increasing your own cool factor. Behold the woodwind doubler t-shirt:
It’s a nice quality American Apparel tee available in a variety of attractive and fashionable colors, with the logo in either black or white. A modest profit goes toward keeping the lights on here at your favorite woodwind blog and supports development of additional projects (like, for example, the Woodwind Doubling in Musicals list or the Fingering Diagram Builder).
The 5-instrument shirt is especially awesome, but there is also a saxophone-clarinet-flute version for the classic doubler, an oboe-bassoon version for the masochist, and a saxophone quartet version for those who want to “double” but prefer not to learn any new fingerings. I thought the four saxophone reeds looked sort of like cell phone reception “bars,” so there’s also a version with a dumb joke.
There’s probably still time for holiday delivery if you order soon. Order now and be the best-dressed in the orchestra pit.
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Just gotta ask… Whose trombone? And you look like a natural with if, I might add.
Nice. Though I am surprised this (http://youtu.be/Tg4u7ko333U) wasn’t involved in your newest project. Good luck!
I have to admit. You totally got me with this for a few seconds. I didn’t even realize that April Fools had come and gone.
Good work! ;o)
I was shocked, frightened, all of the above. AND…then I realized that your sense of humor almost got me.
I’m so gonna nab this idea for next April Fools! BTW, it works even better two weeks later! ;O)