Home / Web reviews / Favorite blog posts / Favorite blog posts, June 2020 ByBret Pimentel June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 How To Make Oboe Reeds (Tim Feil): Oboe Reed Diagrams heather roche (clarinet): Playing with some new ways to demo multiphonics… Jenny Maclay (clarinet): The Vegan Clarinet See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others! Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Favorite blog posts Favorite blog posts, June 2025 ByBret Pimentel July 2, 2025July 2, 2025 Tammy Evans, flutist: Flute Dynamics: Quiet High Notes and Loud Low Notes earspasm – read. (Michael Lowenstern, bass clarinet): Classifying the Bore Designs of Pro Clarinets: The good, the bad and the broken. Jenny Maclay (clarinet): Is your clarinet thumb rest in the optimal position? Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. (Tracy Heavner): How to Select Saxophone Reeds The Flute Examiner (Keith Hanlon): Piccolo Lessons – Teaching Woodwind Doublers Musings from a Saxophonist… (Ellery Eskelin): Gear & Promo Dudukhouse – Dudukhouse Blog: Finally! No More Mental Math: Introducing Duduk Scale Explorer & Duduk Finder See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others! Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Favorite blog posts Favorite blog posts, May 2017 ByBret Pimentel May 31, 2017July 19, 2022 Flutist Terri Sánchez blogged like crazy this month, with many downloadable exercises and practice ideas. A few I liked included this one-minute warmup, these harmonics exercises, these 100 ideas for getting “unstuck,” and this advice on creating your own warmups. Heather Roche shares some clarinet works by female composers. (Check the comments section for more.) Flutist Jolene Harju does an interesting video experiment with expressive body movements. Clarinetist Jenny Maclay suggests practicing recovery from mistakes. Ed Joffe shares his experience with developing a multiple woodwinds graduate degree program. Flutist Andrée Martin discusses priority scheduling for practicing and for life. Barry Stees offers some tips and tricks for playing low, soft orchestral bassoon parts. Flutist Vanessa Breault Mulvey shares ideas on being observant of your own playing [update: link dead]. Saxophonist Sam Newsome recommends slow progress. He also shares some interesting experiments in “prepared” soprano saxophone. Cate Hummel warns against some small but problematic flute habits. Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Favorite blog posts Favorite blog posts, August 2021 ByBret Pimentel August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 EG-REEDS (Éric González, oboe): The importance of previous postural and respiratory work at the beginning of the study of woodwind instruments.Rachel Taylor Geier (flute): The Myth of the Magic FormulaBill Plake Music (saxophone): For This “Career Ending Condition”, There Is HopeThe Flute Examiner (Kelly Wilson): Do You See What I See?Jenny Maclay (clarinet): 10 Ways to Create More Musical Phrases See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others! Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Favorite blog posts Favorite blog posts, July 2017 ByBret Pimentel July 31, 2017January 1, 2018 Check out posts by a small army of bloggers documenting ClarinetFest® 2017. David Wells is working on collecting the Paris Conservatoire bassoon contest pieces. Woodwind doubler Ed Joffe encourages continuing your musical studies beyond school Saxophonist Roxy Coss discusses women as an under-represented group in jazz music. David Mankin shares a fascinating story about oboists Robert Bloom and Engelbert Brenner in a remarkable recording session. Clarinetist Jeremy Wohletz explains the importance of aural training. Saxophonist Sam Newsome identifies some issues that lead to rhythm problems (particularly in improvised music). Flutist Tammy Evans Yonce explains how she approaches a new repertoire piece. Saxophonist Ben Britton catalogs some methods of dealing with sticky G-sharp keys. Eryn Oft outlines the history of Heckel bassoons. Nicole Riner offers suggestions on making first contact with a potential college flute teacher. (Applicable to other instruments, too.) Jenny Maclay dives deep on clarinet resonance fingerings. Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Favorite blog posts Favorite blog posts, July 2019 ByBret Pimentel July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 oboeinsight (Patty Mitchell): Acknowledge the Listeners! Sam Newsome’s Blogspot: Soprano Sax Talk: Teachers Versus Role Models, and The Note Onion Theory Jenny Maclay: Common Clarinet Emergencies and How to Fix Them, and Questions to Ask Yourself for a More Productive Practice Session Jennifer Stucki, oboist: How does the altitude affect your reeds? Recorder Jen (Jennifer Mackerras): How to take apart stuck plastic recorder joints Angela Lickiss-Aleo: IDRS Class on Contemporary Techniques eflatclarinetproject (Jennifer Fraley): Getting Back to Practicing See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others! Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
Favorite blog posts Favorite blog posts, November 2022 ByBret Pimentel November 30, 2022November 30, 2022 DoctorFlute (Angela McBrearty): How to NOT Go Flat at the End of Notes Jenny Maclay (clarinet): Repertoire Recommendations Based on Standard Repertoire oboeinsight (Patty Mitchell): Advice from an Old Musician See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others! Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email