Favorite blog posts, September 2025
- Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. (Doron Orenstein): How to Growl on the Sax Like a Pro
- earspasm – read. (Michael Lowenstern, bass clarinet): Steve Williamson Can Play a 5. You Can’t.
Similar Posts
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, 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, August 2019
- Bill Plake Music: Clarifying A Common Misconception About Your Lungs To Help You Breathe More Optimally
- ClarinetMike Blog (Michael Dean): ClarinetMike’s Top 10 Tips for Successful Private Lessons!
- Nicole Riner, flutist: Developing your Home Music Studio: A Worksheet
- LearnSaxophoneOnline.com (Jeffrey Cunningham): 6 Steps for Learning Music by Ear
Favorite blog posts, January 2020
- Rachel Yoder, clarinet: Clarinet Playing During the Postpartum Period: My Story
- bassoon blog (Betsy Sturdevant): The devil’s in the details (Columbus Symphony Russian Winter Festival II)
- Joffe Woodwinds: How to Approach a Lesson
- Clarinet Divas (Diana Haskell): Short List of Favorite Works for Clarinet by Female Composers
- Peter da Silva Music: At the Repair Shop: A Playtest Checklist for the Saxophone
- The Flute View (Caitlin Rose): Tools to Help Combat Burnout
- Bill Plake Music: When Practicing Is More Than Just “Practicing”
- ProneOboe (Jennet Ingle): Shaq and the Oboe
Favorite blog posts, July 2021
- Magic Reed (Kathy Sheinhouse): 10 Strategies To Make A Serviceable Oboe Reed In 20-30 Minutes. [update: dead link]
- The Flute View: On Vibrato by Laura Jellicoe
- Hodge Products, Inc.: Latest News (Ann Hodge): Student to Professional Oboe Reeds: “Which oboe reed should I buy?” [Inclusion here doesn’t constitute an endorsement of any of the products listed or this particular retailer, but I thought the methodology was interesting.]
- Jenny Maclay (clarinet): Quick Fix Friday: Breathe from the corners
Favorite blog posts, September 2017
- Flutist Jennifer Cluff offers advice on (not) playing with pain.
- Clarinetist Jenny Maclay invites you to enlist for Baermann Boot Camp starting October 1st.
- Cate Hummel shares tips on basic flute care.
- Flutist Jolene Harju discusses breaking the habit of playing “test notes.”
- Rachel Taylor Geier challenges you to test your flute knowledge with a quiz.
- Oboist Jennet Ingle finds inspiration in fancy fountain pens regarding “flourish.”
Each of these fine woodwind bloggers has been featured here repeatedly, so be sure to subscribe to their RSS feeds and/or social media streams. And get in touch to let me know who else I should be following! (You, maybe?)