Rigid saxophone harnesses seem to be popping up from several makers lately. Barry Caudill tries one on for size. (Inclusion here isn’t an endorsement of this particular model; I’m just glad to see a nice thoughtful review of this type of product. I would like to see Vandoren sending some of theirs out for review—hint, hint?)
Enjoy! If you or one of your favorite woodwind bloggers writes something especially awesome in July, drop me a note and I’ll give it a look for next month’s list.
Ed Joffe pays tribute to Al Block, a distinguished woodwind doubler who passed away recently.
Cate Hummel discusses a timeline for teaching flute dynamics. (I agree wholeheartedly about waiting to teach dynamics, for all woodwinds, but respectfully disagree about how dynamic changes are produced.) In another post, she discusses teaching students how to practice.
Flutist Rena Urso-Trapani shares her experience with a recent orchestral audition, and offers some tips.
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.
Oboist Stephen Caplan reconsiders concentration in performance.
Bassoonist Barry Stees shares a simple but revealing way to test reeds.
Flutist Jessica Dunnavant discusses her complicated relationship with university teaching.
David Pierce considers a pedagogical order for the Vivaldi bassoon concertos (a re-“print” from a 1987 article in the Journal of the International Double Reed Society) [update: link dead].
Oboist Jennet Ingle figures out how to give a good tuning A every time.
