Category: Woodwind playing and pedagogy
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Masato Honda plays recorder
I’ve been practicing the Telemann recorder suite this summer, and I had been meaning to write a recorder-related post. I thought I might mention this video of Masato Honda, a Japanese woodwind doubler and fusion/smooth jazz artist, but Gandalfe at The Bis Key Chronicles beat me to the punch today with this post featuring another …
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Public domain woodwind clip art
Artist Karen Hatzigeorgiou has posted some charming public domain images of woodwind instruments at her website, like this lovely clarinet. The others are in a similar pen-and-ink (or is it some kind of etching?) style.
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What’s in a name? What “doublers” call themselves, part II
In my last post, I listed some alternate titles for “woodwind doubler.” Here are my thoughts on some of them.
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What’s in a name? What “doublers” call themselves
I’ve struggled a little with what to call myself as a player of several woodwind instruments. “Woodwind doubler” seems like the most accepted nomenclature, but “doubler” seems a little inapt for someone who plays more than two instruments (my flute teacher calls me a “five-aler”).
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Woodwinds in Art
Here are some paintings and drawings by significant artists that feature woodwind instruments. Click the images to buy posters from Art.com! Know of another work that should be included here? Email me.
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Does material affect tone quality in woodwind instruments?: Why scientists and musicians just can’t seem to agree
Most woodwind players would be surprised if you asked them whether the material from which their instrument is made affects its sound. Certainly!—most would reply. An inexpensive nickel-plated flute has a tone lacking in character and brilliance, but a fine silver flute sounds, well, silvery! It has a tone that sparkles, that sings, that carries …
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Buying woodwind instruments
General advice The information on this page is intended for beginning and intermediate players, including woodwind doublers who already play another instrument. Here are some rules of thumb: Get the advice of a good teacher, preferably one that doesn’t get a sales commission from a music store. It’s okay to ask advice before starting lessons. …
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The woodwind section in Mozart’s late symphonies
Introduction The woodwind section of the symphony orchestra has long held a place of preeminence. Woodwind historian Anthony Baines gushes: “…the woodwind [section] is a small cluster of musicians in whom the greatest virtuosity in the symphony or opera orchestra is concentrated. It is the orchestra’s principal solo section… They are stars because composers for …
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Woodwind doubling in musical theater orchestras: Taking the insanity out of Crazy for You
Crazy for You is a Broadway-style stage musical by Ken Ludwig. The show, which premiered in 1992, uses songs written by George and Ira Gershwin for musicals in the 1930’s. In January and February, 2003, the Brigham Young University Department of Theatre and Media Arts and School of Music produced the show. Synthesis, BYU’s award-winning …
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Multi-instrument method in Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Creole Love Call”
View the transcription The artist1 Roland Kirk was born in 1935. As an infant, he was blinded, possibly by negligent medical care. He attended the Ohio State School for the blind, where he played in the school band. At the age of sixteen, he led a dance band that performed around the Midwest. It was …