For me, there was a point in my education and career when I decided that I was a woodwind doubler, or at least that I was going to be one. Prior to that decision, I had really identified as a saxophonist, or maybe a saxophonist who doubled a little on the side.
If you are thinking that serious woodwind doubling—committing to playing several instruments at the highest possible level—might be your thing, then I suggest you ask yourself these questions:
Am I willing to commit major practice time to each instrument?
Am I willing to accept a slower rate of improvement and/or more extensive practice routine than I would if I remained committed to a single instrument?
Am I willing to sacrifice or at least postpone some high-level performance goals on my primary instrument in order to devote time to my secondary instruments?
Do I have the resources and/or financial discipline to accumulate the necessary high-quality instruments and other equipment?
Do I have the guts to perform on instruments that aren’t my strongest one(s)?
Am I genuinely interested in and motivated by each of the instruments I intend to play?
If you answered “no” to one or more, then you might be happier and more successful maintaining a single “primary” instrument, and taking a more casual approach to doubling. Or you may not have fully come to terms yet with the realities of woodwind doubling. Playing any one instrument well requires non-trivial investment of time and money, and very little of that can be truly recycled for a second instrument: if it takes you 10,000 practice hours to achieve your goals on your first instrument, expect to take another 10,000 to achieve the same goals on another.
There are of course many advantages to woodwind doubling, which I won’t rehash in depth here other than to list a few: more and/or different employment opportunities, expanded musical experiences, and, for some, great fun. But it’s not for everyone (probably not for most people). If your answer is “yes” to each of the questions above, then carve out some extra practice time, start saving your pennies, and clear your calendar for some new opportunities.
There is a long tradition of using small orchestras in musical theater as a money- and space-saving consideration. Presumably, if budgets and orchestra pit square footages were unlimited, full symphonic orchestras would be used for theater like they are for movies, with an 8-12(+)-piece orchestral woodwind section, plus perhaps a 5-piece saxophone section. But let’s go back a few decades and examine the compromises. Here are a couple of examples:
The Flower Drum Song orchestration uses a 6-piece woodwind section. The bassoons, sadly, are the first thing to go. The principal flutist has to double on both piccolo and alto flute, an uncommon compromise in the orchestral repertoire, where the doubling is often relegated to an auxiliary flute part to allow the principal to be at his or her soloistic best on a single instrument. (The second flutist also doubles piccolo, which is a bit more common.) Similarly, the oboist pulls double-duty as soloist on both oboe and English horn. The full clarinet section is expected to double not on auxiliary clarinets, but on saxophones.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is not quite as demanding on individual woodwind players; the first flute part does include piccolo (again, this is not typical symphonic-orchestral thinking), and the bass clarinetist doubles on saxophone. The double reed section is eliminated completely.
44 years later, Flower Drum Song’s woodwind section has shrunken from six musicians to four, but the number of instruments has boomed from 13 to 25. The first flutist is expected to play some “world” woodwinds in addition to an array of orchestral flutes, and the other three woodwind players each cover instruments from three or four woodwind families, with multiple members from at least one of those families.
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown’s revival after 33 years drops the woodwind section from five musicians down to one. The lone woodwind player covers seven instruments from (arguably) five families: two flutes, a clarinet, two saxophones, a recorder, and a kazoo (which, despite being vaguely woodwind-like in form, is not one). As the only player of each of these instruments, this musician should expect to be prepared to sound like a convincing soloist on each.
Based on these examples and others, two trends seem to be emerging in theater orchestrations:
Fewer woodwind players.
More colorful orchestrations. In the case of both of these shows, the new orchestrations are not simply a slimming-down of a too-expensive woodwind section—new sounds are being introduced. In some cases these might be meant to rebalance the orchestra due to cuts in other sections, but it also seems that recent orchestrations involve creative choices tending toward a broader aural palette.
Both of these mean greater demands upon woodwind players. 21st-century woodwind players need to be able to play a greater number of instruments, from a pool no longer limited to the orchestral woodwinds and saxophones, at a soloist level on each instrument. The common 20th-century clarinet/saxophone or flute/clarinet/saxophone doubler may find him- or herself less employable than in previous years, and less able to hide in the section on a weaker double. Double reeds are a must, and so are auxiliary instruments (piccolo, larger flutes, English horn, clarinets and saxophones of any size) and world or historical woodwinds.
As the number of woodwind chairs shrinks and the standards of musicianship and versatility rise, the specialist and the jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none will both be out of a job, and the rare jack-of-all-trades-master-of-each will become an increasingly hot property.
Here is a version of a handout I provided recently to graduate students at the American Band College, a summer program for school band directors.
Band directors, don’t say this to your beginning oboists:
“Shh.” As a university oboe teacher, I routinely meet young oboists who play like they are terrified of making a sound. They often report that in their school band experience, every time they play the director gives them “the hand.” Playing softly on the oboe (or any woodwind) is an advanced technique. If you possibly can, encourage your beginning oboists to make big, resonant, confident sounds. Defend them from classmates who compare them unfavorably to waterfowl. It will pay off when you have a rock-star oboe soloist, with a glorious, ringing sound, for your high school wind ensemble.
“The oboe is really hard.” There’s a pointless myth that the oboe is at or near the top of the list of “hardest” instruments. Like any instrument, it has its own learning curve. But it’s quite manageable for a motivated student. Don’t give them unnecessary reasons to stress over it.
“Take this fingering chart home and figure it out.” Of course ideally all your students would be taking private lessons, right? But the oboe has a few unique quirks, like its fussy and delicate reeds, that really heighten the need for some specialist instruction. If you possibly can, get your beginning oboists in touch with qualified private teachers ASAP.
“Lip it up.” “Tighten your embouchure.” This is bad advice for any woodwind instrument. It’s a band-aid solution for flat pitch, buzzy tone, or squeaks. A good oboe embouchure is almost no embouchure at all—the lips remain pretty close to a neutral, non-oboe-playing position. (Do allow the corners of the mouth to come inward, and the lipstick part of the lips to roll in over the reed a bit.) Solve pitch, tone, and response problems with a relaxed, light embouchure, powerful breath support, correct voicing (low, “oh” vowel, warm air), and good reeds (preferably handmade and/or adjusted by the student’s private oboe teacher).
“Check out this oboe player on YouTube.” Listening and watching is a good thing, for sure. But be cautious about who you recommend: there are various “schools” of oboe playing in different parts of the world, that value different tone ideals and use differing posture, embouchure, and reeds. Generally the American-school players value a silky-smooth, relatively dark tone, and use a posture that keeps the oboe at around a 45° angle to the body. If you hear a livelier, brighter tone and see a more trumpet-like instrument position, that may not be the model you want for your young American oboists. (All the regional oboe sounds are lovely and valid, but oboe sounds from other locales should be presented with some context.)
“You can’t march it.” You’re absolutely right that oboes do not belong on the marching field, and your oboists should find some other way to get involved. But please encourage the oboe as a worthwhile pursuit for young musicians. It has a noble history and repertoire, is sought-after by university music department scholarship committees, and will bring something special to your concert ensembles.
I recently got email from a reader about the use of Chinese woodwinds in theater and film music. I did my best to answer his questions, and I’m posting them here in case they are of use to anyone else. Both questions and answers are edited here for length and awesomeness.
My question for you is about bamboo flutes. I see the term bamboo flute thrown around (such as in the reed 1 book for Aida) and I wonder what exactly that means. Do those musicians own 12 bamboo sticks with holes drilled in them, or do they use a specific style of bamboo flute from a particular part of the world?
If the part calls for “bamboo flute” with no other clarification, I think that leaves it pretty well open to interpretation by the flutist and musical director. Aida is set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, where, according to my Wikipedia research, bamboo per se did not grow. Probably the best-known bamboo-ish Egyptian flutes are neys, made from bamboo-like reeds.
My guess is that most woodwind players would substitute some variety of bamboo transverse flute, such as an Indian bansuri, a Chinese dizi (perhaps with the buzzing membrane replaced by a piece of tape), or a non-culture-specific bamboo flute like those sold by Erik the Flutemaker. Doug Tipple’s PVC flutes make an excellent and economical substitute for bamboo, with nice tone (I dare you to hear the difference) and consistent intonation and response. You might be able to contact musicians who have worked on specific shows, and find out what solutions they came up with; the Internet Broadway Database is a good starting point.
Your listing for The Lion King is much more specific, which brings me to my next question: dizi keys. I happen to be in China right now. Tunable dizi flutes are cheap, and one-piece dizi are cheaper. Do I need 12 tunable dizi? What keys are actually played in theater and film in the US? Read More “Reader email: Chinese woodwinds”
When you’re working on a new piece and there’s no place to breathe:
Re-examine. Are you sure there’s no place? Tonal wind-instrument music usually has phrases. To find them might take some careful analysis, or maybe listening to a recording to check out someone else’s solutions. Once you know where the phrases end, you may be able to take a little extra time to breathe in those spots without it sounding disruptive.
Practice. With some effort and repetition, you may be able to play longer phrases than you thought. Make sure you’re really taking a full breath—the inhalation should feel pretty physical, much more so than “normal” (tidal) breathing.
Edit thoughtfully. If the music was written originally for, say, piano or a string instrument (or if it’s just written by a less-experienced wind composer), it may not have good built-in breaths. Where absolutely necessary, consider breaking a slur, reducing the dynamic level, boosting the tempo, or making some other minor adaptation. Mark it in, so you’re in the habit of breaking with the composer’s intent only after serious deliberation.
Be quick. Sometimes a very small, very short breath is all you need to finish out a phrase strong. Find a reasonable musical place to insert one, and mark it in such a way that you will remember not to take too much time for it.
Consider circular breathing. It’s a challenge but not impossible for someone playing at a reasonably advanced level. But be careful: don’t use it an excuse to avoid the issue of phrasing. Plus, it’s not very comfortable to circular-breathe for extended periods, for you or your audience. (Audiences often breathe with you!) Use this as a last resort or when specifically requested by the composer.
Here is a cleaned-up version of my lecture notes from a presentation on woodwind doubling I gave last week at the Mid-South Flute Festival:
Woodwind doubling for flutists
What is doubling?
Primary-to-secondary doubling: Playing multiple instruments within a family, such as flute (primary), piccolo (secondary), and alto flute (secondary)
Primary-to-primary doubling: Playing instruments from different families, such as flute (primary), clarinet (primary), and saxophone (primary) [The idea of primary-to-secondary or primary-to-primary doubling comes from a web article by Mary AllyeB Purtle.]
Why double?
More (and more varied) gigs. Also, doublers can sometimes get bonus pay.
More teaching opportunities
Larger network
Fun; expanded horizons
Flute with non-flute woodwinds
Doubling opportunities in musical theater, backing up singers, jazz big bands (requires strong saxophone). With strong enough skills on secondary instruments, gigs on those instruments become a possibility. Employers often value musicianship over virtuosity.
The flutist’s advantage: flute and especially piccolo are often weak spots for woodwind doublers. A strong, soloistic flutist with at least basic reed skills can be a hot commodity.
For maximum pre-existing gig opportunities, add alto saxophone first, then clarinet. Convincing swing style is also helpful. For create-your-own opportunities, any combination can work!
To do multiple-instrument teaching really well, you need to play all of your teaching instruments well! To do this at a lower level, you will at least need to be familiar with current/respected pedagogical literature, a variety of repertoire (including method books, etudes, and solos), a variety of excellent recordings, and a variety of equipment options.
Flute with other flute-like instruments
Doubling opportunities in situations that increasingly call for “other” flutes: recent musical theater, studio recording, even recent orchestral music. Check out my dissertation on this topic.
“World” transverse flutes: bansuri, dizi, “Irish” flute. Also non-tradition-linked bamboo, wooden, or plastic flutes
Endblown flutes: quena, shakuhachi, panflutes (Romanian, South American)
Getting started
Be a beginner (but an informed beginner). Get a good teacher. Buy quality instruments within your price range. Do thorough work from good method books. Give yourself all the advantages you wish you had had when you started the flute.
Work out a practice schedule that reflects your priorities. If you are juggling a lot of instruments, it may not make sense to practice each one each day, but do practice each one at least a few days in a row to get some momentum.
What to practice? If your goal is maximum gig employability, prioritize intonation, rhythm, tone, and sight reading. Practice scales, arpeggios, and other technical drills in all keys, through the full range of the instrument. (Musicals are notorious for “singer” keys and unforgiving tessituras!) Begin working methodically through time-tested etude and technique books. Start learning the easier standard repertoire if that suits your goals.
Will doubling hurt my flute playing?
Some flutists believe that doubling can damage your embouchure. Realistically, if reed playing is leaving your embouchure swollen, numb, or sore, you need to reexamine your reed-playing approach. Embouchure muscles are agile, flexible, and accustomed to doing varied tasks: playing the flute, eating, speaking, facial expressions. If your tone production on all instruments is based on solid principles, embouchure is not an issue.
The real issue: doubling diverts time, money, and mental energy away from flute playing. Committing to “serious” doubling means committing to less time with the flute.
For me, doubling allows me to play more and different styles of music. Being primarily a sax player (and a baritone sax player at that) pretty much pegs me as a jazz player. I love being a jazz player, but I love all kinds of music. Playing flute, clarinet, and bassoon has allowed me to play much more classical music, and allows me to play musicals, which I love. And I have discovered that I have a real passion for flute, which, considering how hard it was to get started on in high school, is a major revelation.
I also have an electric bass. I am terrible at it, but I am trying to learn rock-and-roll material on it.
Great advice. I think making the time to take on another instrument is a tough choice – you either have to double the amount of time you spend practicing or sacrifice some of the practice time on your main instrument.
Good stuff. When I started doubling it was out of necessity from the university ensembles. The problem I was having with practice time was that I didn’t have good solid fundamentals on my secondary instruments. So I was having to practice fundamentals and struggle through my ensemble music. It was trial by fire. I would change some things of how I started but not that I started. It was one of the best musical decisions of my life.
For me, the last 2 are the big ones. My interest is in the different tone colors each instrument is capable of. (We woodwind players don’t have the luxury of just sticking different mutes in our instrument to get different timbres.)
And yes, you definitely have to have guts to play a not-so-strong instrument publicly.
I am a beginning doubler (meaning I have been playing flute for 12 years, clarinet for a year and a half and just got myself an alto sax yesterday!) and have just started exploring your site! I came upon this list and found it incredibly insightful. I think the hardest part for me is going to be allowing myself to practice the new instruments and accept that I am at different levels with them than my flute playing. It is also hard to practice the same way, because I still feel like I am “playing” with them as new toys, rather than practicing with discipline.
I’ve played the flute as an amateur for about 40 years now and took up a second instrument (voice – I am a baritone) about 15 years ago. Voice is now my main instrument but for my 50th birthday my wife gave me an EWI (Akai 4000S) which I am struggling to find the time to get up to performance standard on — its all about finding the time to practice. Also fingers no longer move with the speed and precision they once did and the EWI is pretty unforgiving with regard to slack finger timing! And yes agreeing to play in public when you know you are not as good as on your other instruments is ‘challenging’ in many ways…
But for me the most important thing to take away from the experience is the benefit of having regular lessons. They keep you honest, make you find the time for practise (well for me anyway— maybe its because when you have done some teaching you realise that it is all too obvious when a pupil turns up who hasn’t done any practice between one lesson and the next). I don’t have anyone I am studying the EWI with and it is far too easy to de-prioritise practice and then never make the progress with it that you hoped for.
For me, doubling allows me to play more and different styles of music. Being primarily a sax player (and a baritone sax player at that) pretty much pegs me as a jazz player. I love being a jazz player, but I love all kinds of music. Playing flute, clarinet, and bassoon has allowed me to play much more classical music, and allows me to play musicals, which I love. And I have discovered that I have a real passion for flute, which, considering how hard it was to get started on in high school, is a major revelation.
I also have an electric bass. I am terrible at it, but I am trying to learn rock-and-roll material on it.
Great advice. I think making the time to take on another instrument is a tough choice – you either have to double the amount of time you spend practicing or sacrifice some of the practice time on your main instrument.
Good stuff. When I started doubling it was out of necessity from the university ensembles. The problem I was having with practice time was that I didn’t have good solid fundamentals on my secondary instruments. So I was having to practice fundamentals and struggle through my ensemble music. It was trial by fire. I would change some things of how I started but not that I started. It was one of the best musical decisions of my life.
For me, the last 2 are the big ones. My interest is in the different tone colors each instrument is capable of. (We woodwind players don’t have the luxury of just sticking different mutes in our instrument to get different timbres.)
And yes, you definitely have to have guts to play a not-so-strong instrument publicly.
I am a beginning doubler (meaning I have been playing flute for 12 years, clarinet for a year and a half and just got myself an alto sax yesterday!) and have just started exploring your site! I came upon this list and found it incredibly insightful. I think the hardest part for me is going to be allowing myself to practice the new instruments and accept that I am at different levels with them than my flute playing. It is also hard to practice the same way, because I still feel like I am “playing” with them as new toys, rather than practicing with discipline.
I’ve played the flute as an amateur for about 40 years now and took up a second instrument (voice – I am a baritone) about 15 years ago. Voice is now my main instrument but for my 50th birthday my wife gave me an EWI (Akai 4000S) which I am struggling to find the time to get up to performance standard on — its all about finding the time to practice. Also fingers no longer move with the speed and precision they once did and the EWI is pretty unforgiving with regard to slack finger timing! And yes agreeing to play in public when you know you are not as good as on your other instruments is ‘challenging’ in many ways…
But for me the most important thing to take away from the experience is the benefit of having regular lessons. They keep you honest, make you find the time for practise (well for me anyway— maybe its because when you have done some teaching you realise that it is all too obvious when a pupil turns up who hasn’t done any practice between one lesson and the next). I don’t have anyone I am studying the EWI with and it is far too easy to de-prioritise practice and then never make the progress with it that you hoped for.