Favorite blog posts, January 2022
- International Clarinet Association: Clarinet Music by Black Composers
- The Flute Examiner (Kelly Wilson): Performance Space
- Jade Bultitude (flute): 6 ways to stop you having a bad tone day!
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Favorite blog posts, July 2015
- Patty Mitchell shares insights on oboe finger placement.
- Betsy Sturdevant gives a behind-the-scenes look at playing principal bassoon on Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony and Brahms’s 1st piano concerto.
- Sam Sadigursky explains why saxophonists should play the flute. (I would add to his list of reasons that the flute is a lovely instrument and playing it is a rewarding pursuit on its own merits.)
- Jennifer Cluff gives good down-to-earth advice for beginning flutists.
- The new The Clarinet: Online blog, the digital companion to the International Clarinet Association’s print journal, did some coverage of this year’s ClarinetFest® in Madrid, Spain. Here is day one.
- Christopher Jones shares detailed information about clarinet left hand position.
- The Adventures in Woodwindland blog examines the old question about “how many” instruments doublers play [update: link dead]. (Here’s my take from the early days of this blog.)
Favorite blog posts, April 2021
- Hodge Products, Inc.: Latest News (Rebecca Watson): BASSOON WIRE GAUGE: DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
- Jenny Maclay (clarinet): The Science of Squeaking – What Your Squeaks are Trying to Tell You
Favorite blog posts, December 2019
- bassoon blog (Betsy Sturdevant): The art of bassoon maintenance
- Just Flutes Blog (Adam Clifford): CITES Regulations of Wooden Instruments – Update
- Steve Neff Music Blog: Buyer Beware! Counterfeit Vintage Saxophone Mouthpieces Galore
- oboeinsight (Patty Mitchell): A Very Good Reminder
Favorite blog posts, September 2013
Here’s what I liked on the woodwind-related blogs this month:
- From Casa Valdez, some utterly fascinating recordings (with scores!) of Joe Viola playing overdubbed woodwinds. A must-see for doublers.
- I have been seeing this incredible video of Samuel Barber with the classic Philadelphia Orchestra Wind Quintet all over blogs and social media lately, but Donax Music was the first to bring it to my attention. Worth the half-hour.
- Saxophonist Jody Espina shares the concept he calls “Coltrones”—a sort of combination of long tones and transcription that can help you sound like Coltrane (and others).
- Oboist Jennet Ingle explains how your brain may be sabotaging your playing in a confused attempt to keep you alive, and offers tips for solving this problem.
- David Wells makes freely available his edition of Vivaldi G-minor bassoon concerto RV 495—solo part, score, and orchestral parts.
- Saxophonist Jeff Cunningham shares some tips on maintaining motivation to practice. Geared toward beginners, but solid concepts for experienced musicians as well.
- Trent Jacobs of Midwest Musical Imports does a brief video interview with bassoon maker Peter Wolf. It’s a little bit of an ad for Wolf/Midwest, but I’m a sucker for new technologies/materials in instrument manufacture, and Wolf is full of interesting ideas.
- Soprano saxophone specialist Sam Newsome walks us through a solo by Wayne Shorter (with video).
- Oboist Christa Garvey connects articulation to breathing.
- Saxophonist Bill Plake shares some ideas about attitude and progress toward musical goals.
- Maarten Vonk of Bassoon.com starts a kind of census of the world’s bassoonists.
- Clarinet Cache points out some resources for finding and reading clarinet dissertations.
- Bassoonist Jolene Mason wrestles with the competitive aspects of music and academia.
Enjoy, and keep writing good stuff!
Favorite blog posts, October 2015
Lots of great woodwind blogging this month!
- Ben Britton shares some tips on jazz saxophone section playing. In a sort of related post, Bob Reynolds discusses note endings in section playing.
- Roderick Seed gives advice on getting a good middle E on the flute.
- Pauline at Cleonide discusses the (non?-)influence of instrument materials on tone. Unsurprisingly, the naysayers were quick to respond in the comments section with their unsupported arguments (as they have been on my own posts on this topic).
- Bassoonist Barry Stees offers some ideas for playing pianissimo.
- Clarinetist Jenny Maclay believes there is more to life than All-State auditions.
- Flutist Helen Bledsoe has a request for composers about articulation markings.
- Bassoonist Mike Macaulay shares thoughts on preparing orchestral parts.
- Saxophonist Peter Spitzer muses on the “bis” key.
- Bassoonist Jessi Vandagriff suggests raising your lesson fees.
- Saxophonist Bob Reynolds (again) relieves stress by practicing fundamentals.
Favorite blog posts, October 2018
- Oboist Jennifer Stucki offers some suggestions and resources for keeping a reed log.
- Clarinetist Diana Haskell shares ideas on helping students avoid injury.
- Flutist Roderick Seed explains a comprehensive method for memorizing music.
- Anne Norman reports on the 2018 World Shakuhachi Festival.
- Oboist Nuria Cabezas demonstrates hand and finger stretches.