I have now successfully completed both my written and oral comprehensive exams, and am one large step closer to finishing a doctorate in multiple woodwinds performance.
In the oral exam, one of my professors asked why woodwind doubling is a well-recognized musical specialty, but doubling on brass instruments is not. The question was an odd one, especially since brass instruments fall precisely outside my area of expertise. I didn’t have a good answer, except that brass players seem to be particularly protective of their embouchures, and presumably don’t want to risk ruining them by switching instruments. (That seemed to be satisfactory for purposes of the exam.)
I do know of one school that offers a “woodwind specialist” master’s degree, a “string specialist” master’s degree, and, yes, a “brass specialist” master’s degree: Michigan State University. (Degree descriptions here.) The string degree requires one primary instrument and one secondary, the brass degree requires one primary and two secondaries, and the woodwind degree requires one primary and three secondary instruments. I expect if anyone is doing the string degree, they do violin/viola or cello/bass, hoping to get one of the “high strings” or “low strings” teaching jobs. The only combination of three brass instruments that strikes me as marketable is trombone/euphonium/tuba, a “low brass” specialist.
Sometimes my students complain that they have had bad practicing days or weeks. Not that I have ever had this problem (ahem), but here are a few ideas for breaking out of a practicing slump.
Check equipment. Slightly-malfunctioning gear can make you feel like a bad player. Be sure to eliminate this possibility.
Are your reeds functioning well? Prioritize response-balanced-with-stability over more subjective and malleable things like tone. Many reed players use unnecessarily stiff reeds; consider trying something a little softer if you haven’t lately.
Is your instrument functioning well? If you know how, check the most important adjustment screws (oboe: left hand stack, left G-sharp key, F resonance; saxophone: bis, G-sharp, right hand stack). Re-check basics like alignment of bridge keys. And, of course, make sure your instrument gets regular (at least annual) maintenance checkups. Professional instruments should probably get full mechanical overhauls every 5-10 years.
Are you using the best equipment for you? Don’t let new purchases be your go-to solution for every problem, but in some cases replacing an instrument or accessory can remove a roadblock to progress. (Do a reality-check with your teacher to make sure you aren’t just throwing away money chasing a quick fix.)
Check technique. It might be you after all.
Have you warmed up thoroughly and correctly today? It’s best to do this at the beginning of your practice session, but there’s no rule that says you can’t warm up some more mid-session to double-check your tone production and reset your mental focus.
Have you reviewed all your fundamentals? Take a closer look at your posture, hand position, breath support, embouchure, voicing, finger movement, etc. Have you slipped back into a bad habit? Are you suffering the effects of a technique deficiency you know you should fix but haven’t gotten around to yet? If you don’t know how to fix it, check in with your teacher.
Can you release some tension? Frustration often goes hand-in-hand with tense muscles. Consider doing a little deep breathing, stretching, mindfulness practice, yoga, Alexander Technique, or whatever else puts your body back in balance.
Have you laid sufficient technical groundwork? If you are working on something especially difficult, is there something else you could practice as an intermediate step? Études, technical exercises, or other preparatory material can help bridge the gap between your current ability level and the ability level you need.
Check your health. If your body isn’t responding well, your practice sessions will be difficult and unpleasant.
Have you been getting enough quality sleep? Implementing good sleep habits is a major upgrade to the function of your mind and body.
Are you eating balanced meals? Are you eating enough? Are you eating too much? Is your diet too low on good stuff and/or too high in bad stuff?
Are you getting outside for at least a few minutes of sunshine and “fresh” air? Sunshine is important to your body’s vitamin D level.
Are you stressed, or otherwise not at your best mentally? In some cases, professional counseling and/or treatment may be needed. If you are a college student, there is a good chance there are free, discreet counseling services available on your campus. In other cases, taking a break, getting a little exercise, talking something out with a friend or loved one, or just getting a change of scenery might be enough.
Check your mindset.
Are you practicing mindlessly or without direction? Try making a short list of goals you would like to accomplish during this practice session. If you’re not sure where to start, make a quick recording (perhaps with the voice memo app on your smartphone) and listen to it to get some ideas about what needs improvement. If you don’t meet all your goals, you can tackle them again tomorrow or re-prioritize.
Check your environment.
At what time of day are your practice sessions the most productive and pleasant? Do you practice best in the morning before your body is tired and your brain is full? Or do you get a second wind after the sun goes down?
What locations are most conducive to good practice sessions? Sometimes just changing the scenery can revitalize your focus and productivity. Practicing in places with different acoustical qualities can make you hear yourself in new ways and get your creative juices flowing.
What distractions are getting in your way? Can you reduce or remove them?
Check your ego. Practicing should challenge you, but not overwhelm you.
Are you working on music that is inappropriately difficult for your current abilities? If you have some freedom to choose what you practice, consider working on something else for now and tackling this project later. If you are committed to a performance of something very difficult and have to make it work, be sure to include other things in your practice session that you can be successful at, to keep your motivation primed.
Don’t let poor practice sessions bring you down—use them to refine your habits and make the next session your best yet.
For many household items, screws should be tightened if they seem loose. But for woodwind instruments it’s a little more complicated.
Woodwind instruments (flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and saxophones) have many screws on them. They are usually the slotted type, for which you would use a standard (“flat-head”) screwdriver. And some of them need to be tightened when they become loose, but some should be left alone—and it’s not always easy to tell which is which. If you aren’t sure, take it to your teacher or a professional instrument repair shop.
When tightening screws, always use a screwdriver that fits the screw very closely, to reduce the chances of damaging the screw. Mismatched screwdrivers can also slip, causing injury to you or scratches on the instrument’s finish.
Here are some kinds of screws you might find on your instrument:
Some screws simply hold some non-moving pieces together. For example, these screws on a saxophone hold this key guard onto the instrument. It’s not a moving part; the screws are just there so a professional can remove the key guard to do specialized work on the key. If these screws are loose, you can carefully tighten them just until they are snug.
The same is true of these screws that hold the oboe’s thumb rest in place—they are part of a non-moving assembly. If they won’t stay in place, the wood may be damaged (the hole is “stripped”). A good repair shop can fix it for you.
Woodwind instruments have many pivot screws, and also pivot rods that have slotted ends like screws. These allow some of the instrument’s keys to pivot (rotate) a little when you press and release them.
Here is one of the pivot screws on a flute. The threaded part screws into a post that is attached to the instrument, and the pointy tip of the screw fits into a void in the end of the key, holding it in place but allowing it to pivot smoothly. For a well-made and well-maintained instrument, usually you can screw these in all the way until they are snug and the head of the screw fits into the post without protruding. But if that makes the key stick or misbehave, it may be necessary to loosen it just slightly.
Here is a flute pivot rod. When it is screwed in it looks the same as a pivot screw, but when it is removed you can see that it’s long enough to pass all the way through a post and the keys’ hinge tube, and then screw into another post. Like a pivot screw, a pivot rod can usually be screwed in until snug, unless that seems to cause a problem.
Most of the woodwinds also have at least a few adjustment screws. These allow a professional to fine-tune how some of the keys move. They need to be tightened a certain amount, no tighter and no looser, like turning the knob on an oven to get the right temperature. If it’s too loose or too tight, it will make the instrument difficult or impossible to play. Making these adjustments properly requires specialized skills.
Here are some of the many adjustment screws on an oboe:
And here is one of the few on a clarinet:
If you tighten these adjustment screws and don’t know what you are doing, you will probably need to take the instrument to your teacher or a repair shop to undo the damage. This can be time-consuming and expensive.
If you have screws that keep loosening on their own, this may be because they are dirty, damaged, or need lubrication. A good repair shop can clean and repair the screws or rods without damaging them (or replace them if necessary), and can determine and apply the appropriate lubricant. (Most household oils aren’t right for the job.) If the screws continue to loosen after this treatment, take the instrument to the shop again and they may use additional methods to secure the screws in place.
One of my goals for the semester is to improve my skills as a chamber music coach. This week I set out to explore some resources on the techniques of playing chamber music, and found surprisingly little in my initial search besides historical surveys and repertoire listings. (A fuller search remains to be done, but in the meantime I welcome your tips and suggested resources in the comments below.)
So, in hopes of making someone else’s search just a little easier, I’m putting in writing a few of my favorite basic tips I use frequently with my college chamber music students:
Arrange your chairs and music stands so you can see everybody (at least in a group that is small enough to do so). If you are the one cuing the start of the movement, make eye contact with everyone first.
Start each movement by breathing together, even if not everyone plays the first note. Also breathe together at appropriate places within each movement. I think this is better than someone giving a visual downbeat for a variety of reasons: it’s aural, it’s unifying, it’s non-distracting to the audience, it’s easy and natural. (It particularly makes sense for wind or vocal chamber groups, but I think it’s a good idea for others as well.)
Move a little. If everyone participates in some subtle “conducting,” it can really help to reinforce and unify the tempo and phrasing, and even indicate a rehearsal mark for someone who is lost. (Too much movement is awkward and distracting, but mostly my students err on the side of being statues.)
Get detailed about matching your sounds. Not just note attacks, but also note shapes and endings. Coordinate breaths if appropriate. If there is a crescendo, don’t just get louder at the same time, but get louder at the same rate. Match and blend tone colors—for example, maybe the flutist tries to sound like a clarinet, and the clarinetist tries to sound like a flute, and they meet somewhere in the middle.
Especially for less-experienced groups, it may be wise to talk through (and maybe even rehearse) some things like stage entrances, exits, and bows, so you aren’t awkwardly trying to figure it out with an audience watching. Make sure you’re one the same page dress-code-wise as well. I personally find matching or overly-coordinated outfits a little silly, but do at least be sure you’re agreed as to an appropriate level of formality so no one feels uncomfortable.
Please do jump in and share your best tips, or your resources on how to be a better chamber musician.
Many musicians are eager to tell you what equipment they use. They list their equipment on their websites, in the signature lines of their forum postings, and so on. I don’t.
I’m rarely impressed with what I see on fellow woodwind players’ lists. Ownership of impressive equipment (assuming the gear is, in fact, paid for?) does not make a fine player. Ownership of unimpressive equipment seems, well, like it’s not worth boasting about.
Some musicians seem to see their equipment listing as a service to the musical community, as though others will benefit from knowing what instruments they play. Buying instruments, mouthpieces, reeds, and so forth just because another player uses them—even a truly fine player—is much like buying the same shoes your favorite basketball player wears. No doubt they are fine shoes, but they might not suit your feet, your ability level, your playing surface, or your personal sense of style. Equipment listings are especially hazardous to younger beginners, who may be easily convinced that owning certain equipment will solve their problems, or who may ill-advisedly buy equipment that isn’t a good fit for them. Read More “Why I don’t list my equipment”
I get asked every so often whether it’s a good idea for a woodwind doubler to try to have a fairly “complete” set of instruments, or whether it’s better to make do with a few and make substitutions as needed. For example, do you need a B-flat clarinet and an A clarinet, or can you just transpose? Is it worth it to buy an English horn for sporadic use, or can you cover the part on saxophone?
The answers, of course, depend on your goals. It’s hard to predict for sure which instruments will end up being useful or financially worthwhile. And a new instrument isn’t always something you can just hurry and buy when a gig offer demands it.
If your aim is to maximize your income, and some substitutions are acceptable at your gigs, then you should buy as few instruments as you can get away with. Prioritize the ones that are most likely to pay for themselves in terms of new gigs within the shortest time frame.
If it makes you happy to have a larger collection of instruments, and you can afford to make it happen, then there’s nothing wrong with that, either. For many of us music straddles the line between profession and hobby, and being a woodwind doubler isn’t necessarily any more expensive a hobby than boating or fine woodworking or international travel. If you can count the purchase as a business expense as well, then all the better.
Follow the instrument acquisition strategy that best suits your financial situation and personal goals.
I attended a small jazz festival a number of years ago, which included student workshops with some of the festival’s headline artists. Unsurprisingly, some of the first questions asked in these workshops were about the artists’ equipment choices.
The responses varied widely. A few of the artists were excited to talk about their instruments, mouthpieces, and so forth, and to offer glowing testimonials.
Others responded less enthusiastically. One of the festival’s biggest-name artists mocked a student for even asking the question. The student slumped down into his seat as one of his idols berated him in front of everyone.
But I was especially impressed by one artist in particular, whose equipment choices are well-known and widely-imitated. “Well, I use _____, _____, and _____,” he explained, “but there are a lot of really good options out there, and what works for me doesn’t work for everybody. Plus, you should know that lots of music stores sell equipment with this brand name, but it’s not really the same product anymore as the one I bought decades ago.” Then he moved onto another question.
I thought this was a very effective, responsible, and respectful way to answer the question: he didn’t make the student feel bad for asking, and he didn’t encourage the student to buy something specific that might not really be a fit. I also admired the brevity and matter-of-factness of his answer—it cast the question as what it ought to be: a curiosity, rather than something of great importance.
C’mon … shouldn’t you have said that woodwind players are simply much smarter than brass players? Any woodwind player knows that. Brass players don’t, of course, because … well … they aren’t smart enough to know.
;-)
Kidding. Of course. (And married to a former trombonist. Guess he was smart enough to stop playing!)
What about folks like Ira Sullivan and Seattle’s Jay Thomas and the late Floyd Standifer? They all doubled brass and woodwinds… Patrick Bartley, the up and coming superb alto saxophonist, was recently videotaped making pretty decent bebop sounds on a trumpet… / Many years ago I read a book on swing era jazz that reported that some of the string section players of Paul Whiteman’s orchestra had learned to be adept doublers on sax when needed… / One of Seattle’s finest flutists recently revealed she’d been practicing her violin regularly for a few years and has been doing well in string quartets… I’ve known several trumpet players who are also decent trombonists… And I saw a string group recently where one of the ‘cellists picked up a violin and played beautifully… The Dorsey Brothers both started on trumpet and both could pick up a trumpet in later years and get by… Harry James had been a child prodigy on the drums! The current principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic started out first on piano, then ‘cello, and won prizes on both before taking up clarinet at age 11 or 12… (I’ve performed on clarinet, saxes, flute, oboe and bassoon. I consider clarinet & oboe my main ones…)
Congrats Bret! I’m one of those oddballs that doubles on a Brass Instrument. I’d say my main instruments are Bassoon and Saxophone….but in three community concert bands, I’m playing French Horn. I took a Brass 1 class in college and Horn was my chosen instruments. I ended up having to march Horn the following fall and played Horn in Concert Band the next year due to having my Wisdom Teeth cut out (and being told by my oral surgeon to NOT play bassoon for 6 months….that SURE put me on the “poop list” of ,my band director…where I stayed ’til he passed away. Fast forward many years….and had a car wreck in 2005. I had to stop playing Horn completely in 2011 (fractured jaw was the start of it). 2024, I knocked two lower teeth loose with a bari sax mouthpiece. Ended up having dental surgery to remove all teeth and roots. I had to learn how to play EVERYTHING all over again…with full dentures top and bottom. I was not able to have implants due to damage to my jaw from the car wreck. 4 months after the surgery, I picked up a Horn in a music store and the ability was still there…and the tone wasn’t half bad. I went back a week later and bought that horn…and it’s my main Horn to use today, a year later… I may NEVER have the range back to play 1st Horn again….but I’m fine with that. My range is low Horn and I’m FINE with those pedal tones with the occassional rip up to a G. I’m STILL playing woodwinds…but my adopted brass playing ability is still there. I truly did miss not playing Horn for those 13 years.
C’mon … shouldn’t you have said that woodwind players are simply much smarter than brass players? Any woodwind player knows that. Brass players don’t, of course, because … well … they aren’t smart enough to know.
;-)
Kidding. Of course. (And married to a former trombonist. Guess he was smart enough to stop playing!)
Congrats on passing your comps Bret! That’s obviously a huge relief for you.
What about folks like Ira Sullivan and Seattle’s Jay Thomas and the late Floyd Standifer? They all doubled brass and woodwinds… Patrick Bartley, the up and coming superb alto saxophonist, was recently videotaped making pretty decent bebop sounds on a trumpet… / Many years ago I read a book on swing era jazz that reported that some of the string section players of Paul Whiteman’s orchestra had learned to be adept doublers on sax when needed… / One of Seattle’s finest flutists recently revealed she’d been practicing her violin regularly for a few years and has been doing well in string quartets… I’ve known several trumpet players who are also decent trombonists… And I saw a string group recently where one of the ‘cellists picked up a violin and played beautifully… The Dorsey Brothers both started on trumpet and both could pick up a trumpet in later years and get by… Harry James had been a child prodigy on the drums! The current principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic started out first on piano, then ‘cello, and won prizes on both before taking up clarinet at age 11 or 12… (I’ve performed on clarinet, saxes, flute, oboe and bassoon. I consider clarinet & oboe my main ones…)
Congrats Bret! I’m one of those oddballs that doubles on a Brass Instrument. I’d say my main instruments are Bassoon and Saxophone….but in three community concert bands, I’m playing French Horn. I took a Brass 1 class in college and Horn was my chosen instruments. I ended up having to march Horn the following fall and played Horn in Concert Band the next year due to having my Wisdom Teeth cut out (and being told by my oral surgeon to NOT play bassoon for 6 months….that SURE put me on the “poop list” of ,my band director…where I stayed ’til he passed away. Fast forward many years….and had a car wreck in 2005. I had to stop playing Horn completely in 2011 (fractured jaw was the start of it). 2024, I knocked two lower teeth loose with a bari sax mouthpiece. Ended up having dental surgery to remove all teeth and roots. I had to learn how to play EVERYTHING all over again…with full dentures top and bottom. I was not able to have implants due to damage to my jaw from the car wreck. 4 months after the surgery, I picked up a Horn in a music store and the ability was still there…and the tone wasn’t half bad. I went back a week later and bought that horn…and it’s my main Horn to use today, a year later… I may NEVER have the range back to play 1st Horn again….but I’m fine with that. My range is low Horn and I’m FINE with those pedal tones with the occassional rip up to a G. I’m STILL playing woodwinds…but my adopted brass playing ability is still there. I truly did miss not playing Horn for those 13 years.