Favorite blog posts, September 2021
- The Flute Examiner (Kelly Wilson): A New Practice Strategy to Try
- Jennet Ingle | Oboist: Glorified Long Tones
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Favorite blog posts, February 2026
- oboealli (Alli Gessner): How to get rid of extra air
- Jenny Maclay (clarinet): How to sing while playing clarinet
- earspasm – read. (Michael Lowenstern, bass clarinet): Famous Jazz Clarinet Greats…and Their Clarinets
Favorite blog posts, January 2023
- bassoon blog (Betsy Sturdevant): Guidance for High School Orchestral Bassoon (and Woodwind) Playing
- Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. (Zach Sollitto): The Art of Mouthpiece Refacing with Thomas Occhiuto
- Dudukhouse Blog: Mastering the Duduk: Understanding Key and Pitch Options for the Traditional Armenian Instrument [note: commercial site, but good info]
- Jennifer Cluff (flute): A very quiet whistle
- Everything Saxophone (Ben Britton): Achieving Your Best Sound from Low B♭ Through Altissimo
- The Flute View (Morgan Pappas): How To Be Your Own Agent: 5 Tips for Booking Your Own Concerts
Favorite blog posts, August 2015
- Clarinetist Michael Dean examines some resources available for better-informed preparation of the Cyrille Rose “40” and “32” études.
- David Erato compiles some piccolo tips by some top working flutists and doublers (and also me).
- Saxophonist David Freeman shares some settings for the kinds of electronic filter sounds used by Michael Brecker and Jeff Coffin.
- Josh Johnson shares in exhaustive detail the flutes he tried out at the NFA conference. For gear junkies only.
- Heather Roche demonstrates some extended techniques specific to the “paperclip”-style contrabass clarinet.
- Saxophonist Bill Plake discusses some benefits of practicing with a drone.
- The unnamed mom at How About Oboe? gets her 10-year-old oboist to practice difficult things for just two minutes at a time.
- Cate Hummel brings things back to Earth about the flute and the so-called lip “teardrop.” (I also hinted at that topic in a recent post.)
Favorite blog posts, June 2014
- David Wells has updated his excellent bassoon fingering charts.
- Oboist Cooper Wright discusses shaper tip widths.
- Clarinetist Victoria Soames Samek suggests there are better options than just circling problem notes in your sheet music.
- Bassoonist Kristopher King explains the usage of the little finger whisper key. (Warning: auto-plays music. If you have a website, don’t do that.)
- John Witt reports on the Carolyn Hove English Horn Masterclasses, days 1 and 2 and days 3 and 4.
- Bassoonist Betsy Sturdevant warns about carrying musical instruments onto airplanes.
- Jennifer Cluff offers tips for cleaning a flute (spoiler alert: she suggests letting a professional do it).
- On the WindWorks Design blog, J. D. Smith shares a do-it-yourself modification for the Yamaha WX5 wind controller.
- Christa Garvey does some facial stretches for a tired oboe embouchure.
- Bassoon professor Christin Schillinger offers advice for musicians choosing a college.
- Saxophonist Anton Schwartz recommends “back-chaining” as a practice technique.
- Oboist Patty Mitchell muses on her choice to be a musician.
Favorite blog posts, May 2016
- Saxophonist Michael Shults advocates a thoughtful approach to musical versatility (doubling, playing jazz and classical music, etc.).
- Wistam Boustany discusses power vs. economy in flute playing.
- Oboist Jennet Ingle compares methods of ensuring playable performance reeds.
- Saxophonist Sven Seebeck suggests tips for trying out mouthpieces.
- Rachel Taylor Geier explains the flute’s C-sharp trill key.
Favorite blog posts, April 2015
Enjoy:
- Oboist Patty Mitchell wrote so many good posts this month that I just couldn’t decide, so here’s one about getting over reed stress, one about not making excuses, and one about half-hole technique.
- Saxophonist Bill Plake discusses a problem with teaching and learning music.
- Clarinetist Sandy Herrera dares to set the metronome aside, sometimes.
- Barry Stees suggests a do-it-yourself fix for the problematic low D on bassoon.
- Clarinetist Rachel Yoder describes a system for quantifying practicing progress.
- William Short shares some lesser-known bassoon high note fingerings (with very attractive diagrams).
- “Vintage Clarinet Doctor” Jeremy Soule explains the difference between a re-pad and an overhaul.