Bad ideas woodwind doublers get

ByBret Pimentel

Some, but fortunately not all, of these are mistakes I have made myself.

Bad idea Good idea
“With the help of a fingering chart and the Internet, I can pick up clarinet on my own. I’ll take lessons later, once I’ve gotten pretty good.” “The earliest stages of learning are when the vital habits are formed. Now is the crucial time to get some expert guidance.”
“Someone is selling an oboe really cheap. This is my chance to pick one up.” “It will be worth it to save and sacrifice so I can get a high-quality instrument. Since I’m doubling, I need every advantage.”
“I just need to learn how to make a good embouchure and how to finger most of the notes, and then I can add this new instrument to my arsenal.” “I need a solid technical foundation on my doubling instruments, just like I have on my main instrument. Better start putting in some hours on long tones, scales and arpeggios, and etudes.”
“I play flute pretty well compared to the other guys in the saxophone section, so I figure I’m on the right track.” “I’m spending a lot of time listening to great flute recordings to develop a good sound concept.”
“I already have lots of etudes and exercises that I use on my main instrument, so I’ll just practice the same stuff on my other instruments.” “I’m immersing myself in the tradition of each instrument—learning, for example, to play saxophone like a saxophonist and clarinet like a clarinetist.”
“I sound bad. Maybe I need a really short barrel, a really soft reed, a really open mouthpiece, a really unusual headjoint…” “I’ll leave extreme gear choices for when I really know what I’m doing. For now I’d better stick to standard, middle-of-the-road equipment and get some embouchure advice from a good teacher.”
“Since I’m a jazz player, I can skip the tone exercises. I’m going for my own sound.” “Classical training will give me a thorough command of the instrument, and give me options in developing a personal sound concept. If I skimp on fundamentals, I’ll just be limiting what I can do.”
“I’ve got some money to spend. What new instrument can I get for this amount?” “This is a perfect opportunity to take some lessons with a good teacher. It’s the best investment I can make in my music habit.”

No shortcuts!

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    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.

  • A brief thought about new music for saxophone

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  • Woodwind Doubler Census 2021 results, part 1: demographics

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    Thanks to all who participated in my 2021 woodwind doubling survey, and to those who helped spread the word. I’m releasing the results in installments, so be sure to use my social media links, RSS feeds, etc. to keep up.

    I got 284 responses, an improvement over 2011’s 187. The numbers for each of these questions don’t necessarily add up to exactly that number, since not everybody responded to every question.

    Gender identity

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    2021 Data
    Male 222 78%
    Female 49 17%
    Female, Transgender 1 ~0%
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    Transgender, Nonbinary/nonconforming 1 ~0%

    2011 Data
    Male 146 78%
    Female 41 22%

    Age

    As was the case 10 years ago, the numbers skew toward the younger end. I’m not sure if this is affected by the survey being distributed primarily online. No respondents claimed to be younger than teenaged or older than in their 70s.

    2021 Data
    Teenage 22 8%
    20s 72 25%
    30s 67 24%
    40s 40 14%
    50s 41 14%
    60s 35 12%
    70s 6 2%

    2011 Data
    Younger than 20 19 1%
    20s 54 10%
    30s 31 29%
    40s 36 17%
    50s 33 19%
    60s 12 18%
    70s 1 6%

    Region

    I provided options for this that broke down by continent. A few of you island dwellers responded with “other” and specified locations in Oceania and the Caribbean. I probably need to rethink this question for 2031, but for purposes of data reporting I have lumped everyone together into continents for now.

    The continued absence of responses from Africa and South America may be related to language barriers and/or other factors. I did get a few responses from Asia this year, which I didn’t in 2011.

    2021 Data
    Asia 3 1%
    Australia 11 4%
    Europe 20 7%
    North America 249 88%

    2011 Data
    Australia 11 6%
    Europe 12 6%
    North America 162 87%

    Which of these best describes where you live?

    The “city, but not a ‘major’ one” option was added based on feedback from the 2011 survey. A few of you used the “other” option to explain more complicated living situations (such as multiple locations), and for reporting purposes I’ve taken the liberty of lumping those into the categories I thought were the closest match.

    2021 Data
    major city or metropolitan area 127 45%
    city, but not a “major” one 69 24%
    suburb or exurb 63 22%
    rural or remote area 24 8%

    2011 Data
    major city or metropolitan area 93 50%
    suburban area 66 35%
    rural or remote area 23 12%
    other 5 3%

    Describe your current level of formal education (in any field).

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    2021 dATA
    Less than high school diploma 8 3%
    High school diploma or equivalent 6 2%
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    Doctorate 38 13%
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    2011 Data
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    Masters degree 53 28%
    Doctorate 16 9%
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  • |

    Sample woodwind methods syllabus

    ByBret Pimentel

    If you are teaching a woodwind methods course, you might be interested in my book.

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

    Shortly before the beginning of fall and spring semesters, I usually get a few emails from new university professors and adjuncts looking for advice and resources on teaching woodwind methods courses. I’m happy to hear from folks, but thought it might be helpful to make available a generic syllabus based on how I teach my class.

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    Download the syllabus in your preferred format:

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    fingerings
    make cool fingering diagrams with the Fingering Diagram Builder
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  • Creating “lightness”

    ByBret Pimentel

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

    Composers (or a performer’s interpretation) often call for “lightness” in music. How do you play a wind instrument “lightly?”

    When I discuss this with my students, they often suggest that the way to play lightly is to be lighter with their tongue. When I turn that around on them—”is there a situation where you should use a heavier tongue?—they are quick to say no, the tongue should never be heavy. Sometimes instead they suggest using “lighter” air, but upon further interrogation they aren’t able to explain that without stumbling into no-nos like “less air” or “less powerful support.”

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    The volume in the Bernstein clip is soft, but this approach is very effective at louder dynamics, too. I stress this when rehearsing my university’s jazz big band, since things can easily get heavy- or angry-sounding at fortissimo. To bring some lightness back into a loud, thickly-orchestrated passage, I ask the band to look for the marked or implied accents and let those set the fortissimo ceiling. The in-between notes can be brought back down perhaps to a comfortable mezzo-forte, giving the musical line some texture and headroom without losing the excitement of the louder dynamic.

    Creating lightness in music means giving some notes some gravity, so the others can float weightlessly.

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