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“Piccolo Phil” on doubling
ByBret Pimentel October 27, 2012January 3, 2018
“Piccolo Phil” over at The Balanced Flutist discusses the benefits and challenges of woodwind doubling in preparation for an upcoming gig. Benefits:

I actually don’t mind doubling that much, it can be a nice change of pace, plus, show tunes are just so much fun! It’s been great exploring these instruments again, especially since I’ve been really aiming to build a foundation on both instruments, not just patch the holes just enough that I can survive the gig.

Challenges: Endurance, jazz style, obtaining necessary instruments and accessories, and, of course, reeds:

As flutists, we’re super-spoiled. We buy our instrument, a nice headjoint, and we’re done. Not so with reeded instruments – reeds suck.

Read the whole post over at Phil’s blog.
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Still more woodwind blogs you should be reading
ByBret Pimentel November 1, 2011January 3, 2018
In what is turning out to be an approximately biannual roundup, I present the third installment of woodwind-related blogs that I’m enjoying, and you will too. If you’re late to the party, check out episodes 1 and 2. (In each case I picked at least one excellent blog that shortly thereafter stopped publishing new content, so take a look at today’s picks and see if you can guess which is getting the “Bret Pimentel, woodwinds” curse. Bwahahahaha.)

Tammy Evans Yonce

Tammy is a former classmate of mine (go ‘Dawgs), and a flutist and educator to keep an eye on. Her blog, just a few months old, is outstandingly good: important topics, carefully thought out, and clearly and elegantly written. Tammy writes about flute performance and pedagogy, with a special interest in making practice time really effective. A must-read.
- Practicing: Measuring Progress
- Setting Expectations and Establishing a Culture
Also check out Tammy on Twitter, and at her other new blog, the collaborative Music Collective. Read More “Still more woodwind blogs you should be reading”
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Historical woodwind recordings on the National Jukebox
ByBret Pimentel July 7, 2011January 3, 2018
Photo, alexruthmann

The United States Library of Congress’s National Jukebox project makes American recordings from the days before microphones available for streaming online. This is a fantastic resource for recordings—classical, jazz, and more—from the turn of the 20th century until the mid-1920’s.

These recordings are not in the public domain, like you might think; Sony, the owner of the recordings, has given the Library of Congress special permission to stream them.

Naturally, I’ve been searching the National Jukebox for woodwind players, and here are a few of my favorite discoveries. Some of the gems include oddities like the Heckelphone and bass saxophone, and there are a few woodwind doublers in there, too. Take note of how woodwind playing, like recording technology, has changed over the past century!

To kick things off, here’s a nice tour of the woodwind section of the Victor Orchestra in 1912:
- Instruments of the orchestra
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A few more woodwind blogs you should be reading
ByBret Pimentel March 19, 2011March 14, 2017
A few months ago I posted some of my recommendations for good woodwind-related blogs, and shared a couple of tips on getting the most out of your blog reading. I’ve got a few more favorite blogs I’d like to share today, and another blog-reading tip, too.

This time I came up with a blog each for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone, plus a bonus one. Here they are in no particular order:

Barrick Stees (Barry Blogs)

Barrick Stees is the assistant principal bassoonist in the Cleveland Orchestra, and a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Akron. His blog is fairly new (started earlier this year) but is already full of good stuff. Professor Stees shares some insights on playing excerpts at a level suitable to one of the great American orchestras:
- Tchaikovsky 6th
- Firebird
He also keeps a travelogue of his tours with the orchestra, and comments on other items of interest to professional or developing musicians, such as:
- Practicing – planning ahead
- Myth buster #1 – you’ve either got it or you don’t
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December links digest
ByBret Pimentel December 22, 2010July 23, 2022
I try not to just dump lists of links very often, but here are a few fun items that didn’t warrant their own full posts:
- Here, Dr. Coleman models the new flute case cover from Cavallaro, featuring simulated shearling liner and spacious accessory pocket.
  
  Flutists in the news: NASA astronaut Cady Coleman makes music in outer space.
- Artist Matthias Adolfsson proposes some new members of the woodwind family.
- Musicians can save the world, over at Betsy’s blog.
- Esther at Obohemia explains how to tell the flute, the clarinet, and the oboe apart [update: link dead].
- And this one is from me: some holiday fun with one of Butch Hall‘s amazing Native American flutes. One of the loveliest instruments I own. Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating it.
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YouTubeage: Cool EWI videos
ByBret Pimentel September 20, 2010February 8, 2021
Some of my favorite EWI videos. Enjoy!

Jeff Kashiwa explains and demonstrates the Akai EWI4000s to an appreciative audience. A little loopstation fun, with some Telemann and then a smooth-jazz tune.

EWI specialist Bernie Kenerson does cool stuff with an EWI hooked up to a vocoder. Read More “YouTubeage: Cool EWI videos”
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A few woodwind blogs you should be reading
ByBret Pimentel August 18, 2010July 24, 2022
Photo, alcomm

If you’re a woodwind player and avid blog reader, you’re likely already following some prominent and popular bloggers like oboist Patty Mitchell (oboeinsight), flutist Jennifer Cluff, and clarinetists David Thomas (The Buzzing Reed) and Marion Harrington.

I read and enjoy all of these, but I would also like to suggest a few others that are particular favorites of mine. These are ones that I think have a somewhat smaller readership, although there’s not a good way to know that without asking nosy questions. So I could be wrong, but I’m guessing that some of these may be new to you. Check them out, and let us know in the comments what else you’re reading.

Also, read to the bottom for a couple of tips on reading blogs like you know what you’re doing.

In no particular order… Read More “A few woodwind blogs you should be reading”
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Pedro Eustache: Suite Concertante for World Woodwinds and Orchestra
ByBret Pimentel May 4, 2010July 24, 2022
Ethnic woodwind guru and composer Pedro Eustache (“ayoo-STAH-chay”) has posted videos on YouTube of most of his recent work Suite Concertante for World Woodwinds and Orchestra, featuring himself as soloist playing a staggering 21 instruments over the course of 12 movements (45 minutes).

The instruments are mostly ethnic flutes and reeds, though a few modern Western instruments appear as well. Since some of the instruments are Eustache’s own unique creations or modifications, it would seem he doesn’t intend for anyone beside himself to perform this piece. Certainly few woodwind players would have the ability to do so, nor to obtain or make the unusual and customized instruments required.

Here are the movements currently available on YouTube.

Mvts. 1-2: Three different bansuri (Indian bamboo flutes).

Mvt. 3: “Oryxophone,” neys (Middle Eastern flutes), mezoued (Tunisian reed instrument), and flute fitted with ney headjoint

Mvt. 4: Duduk (Armenian reed instrument), blul (Armenian flute)

Mvts. 6-7: Soprano saxophone, flute

Mvts. 8-9: Quenacho (South American flute), “double tarka” (customized version of South American flute)

Mvt. 10: Fjitchu (South American flute)

The missing movements include shvis (Armenian flutes), fujara (Slovakian flute), didgeridoo (Australian lip-reed), and apparently vocal percussion. There is some additional information on Eustache’s website and in a Spanish-language concert program [update: links dead]. Even if your Spanish isn’t good, it’s worth looking through the program to find the picture of Eustache surrounded by his instruments.

Elsewhere on this website, I list more compositions involving performance on multiple woodwind instruments.
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Vinny Golia review
ByBret Pimentel April 13, 2010January 3, 2018
Clarinetist David Thomas quoted from the article below on his excellent blog The Buzzing Reed earlier today, and I thought it was worth passing along. There is some fun description of amazing woodwind doubler Vinny Golia doing his thing.

Spring Reverb: Golia/Turetzy; Dana Reason Trio

by Christian Hertzog, sandiego.com

The first set was devoted to Vinny Golia and Bertram Turetzky, both of whom have played together in San Diego many times, giving them, as Turetzky announced in one of the generous introductions that preceded each of their 5 selections, a kind of ESP. Unlike Dana Reason, who brought plenty of written music to use (or ignore, as the case may have been) for her set, Golia and Turetzky played freely improvised music.

Golia had so many clarinets, flutes, and saxophones propped up next to him or in a travel bag that Turetzky joked that the real Museum was the one next to Golia. Each work began with Golia pondering which wind to play, making a selection, and then soloing, to be joined shortly afterward by Turetzky. The description of their music making as “ESP” was not far off the mark, given the duo’s uncanny ability to complement each other while spontaneously creating melodies and textures.

Golia has a penchant for playing multiphonics, alternating the highest and lowest registers of his chosen instruments (clarinet, contrabass clarinet, contrabass flute, or piccolo). At other times, he pulled out different varieties of ethnic flutes, from which issued trills, microtones, and spastic twittering melodies.

Read the whole thing.

More about woodwind wizard Vinny Golia at his website.
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David Summer: Flute/trumpet doubling
ByBret Pimentel December 23, 2009July 24, 2022
I enjoyed reading some interesting thoughts from multi-instrumentalist and music educator David Summer, who doubles quite effectively on flute and trumpet (and a few other instruments). I’m quoting a few highlights below, but definitely read the whole thing here.

I have seen no ill effects on either the trumpet embouchure or flute embouchure from playing both the flute and trumpet. I have no trouble going from one instrument to the other. In performance, I sometimes switch instruments, going from trumpet to flute or flute to trumpet, in the middle of a piece. This presents no problem at all.

As a multi-instrumentalist you will likely find more opportunities for performance… often people are glad to find that I can play both flute and trumpet and are happy to have me utilize that ability.

Certain fundamental musical concepts apply when playing any wind instrument. These include, embouchure development, breathing, pitch, articulation (tonguing), ear training, range, tone, technique (digital dexterity) and flexibility.

I believe that you should play the instruments that interest you and not be concerned about how one wind instrument embouchure might affect another. If you select instruments on the basis of those that you truly enjoy playing you will be more likely to keep playing and enjoying the enormous satisfaction that comes from making music.

Well said.
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