Here are handouts from the lecture I gave at the 2010 Biennial Conference of the North American Saxophone Alliance. The lecture was entitled, “Woodwind Doubling for the 21st-century Saxophonist: Increasing Versatility without Sacrificing Virtuosity.”
I decided to leave a space in the survey for general comments, and many of you took the time to remark on a variety of subjects. Many of them were directed to me personally or seemed otherwise non-public in nature, so I’m not going to list them all, but I’ll share a few and summarize the rest.
Some of you politely made suggestions on how the survey could be better:
- There’s a big gap between “casual dabbler” and “semi-pro”. I suggest an additional category: “serious amateur” or something like that.
- It would be good to have a skill level between casual dabbler and music major (something along the lines of “good amateur”). As the poll currently is, it suggests that I play recorder to the same standard as sax. I would consider my recorder and flute playing better than “not at all” but my sax and clarinet playing not to be at the level of “music major”, hence they all closest to “casual dabbler”. I guess it’s too late to change the poll now, but I thought I’d offer my opinion anyway :).
- maybe ask music arranging abilities. Small ensemble writing for different woodwinds is necessary in my working fields.
- Not sure what your intent is with this data, but I do think that there are some fields that would be nice to have/know of (of course maybe for the next time you do this)… For example,
-“what do you consider your strongest/primary instrument”,
-consider having three columns in the instruments section like: own/play/don’t own- Didn’t know how to answer some of the questions because I’m still a high school student
I think these are all good suggestions, and ones that I would probably take if I could do the survey over. (At this point I have no specific plan for future surveys, but haven’t ruled the idea out, either.) Read More “Woodwind Doubler Census results, part 8: final comments”
I teach a woodwind methods class as part of my graduate assistantship (and was the teaching assistant in the class for several years before teaching it on my own). In this class music education students get a crash course in playing and teaching the woodwind instruments, in preparation (too little!—but that’s another blog post) for careers as school band directors. My class is made up of woodwind players, brass players, percussionists, keyboardists, and even vocalists. It is interesting to see how to woodwind players fare in comparison to the non-woodwind players. Read More “Learning to play a woodwind: is previous woodwind experience a disadvantage?”
Ideally, a trill is done with one finger, and preferably a finger that is nimble and independent, like an index or middle finger:
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In many cases that isn’t possible. When two fingers (or more!) are needed, it’s best if they can be fingers of the same hand, moving in the same direction (moving down onto keys/holes simultaneously).
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If the most obvious trill fingering involves more than one finger, try moving them each individually and see if you can produce something that works. If the pitch of the trilled note isn’t quite right, many woodwind players lean toward a sharper upper note rather than a flatter one.
There are good fingering charts available online and in print that offer possible trill fingerings for when common/standard/obvious fingerings don’t work. If you find you need to invent a fingering, a good starting point is to finger the lower note on your instrument, and see what holes there are that you could open with a finger or two to possibly produce the upper note. Try each of them, and some combinations, until hopefully you find one that produces the right pitch. If you have a good understanding of your instrument’s registers, you may also find that you can borrow fingerings for one or both notes from other registers.
Sometimes the tone, pitch, or response of the trill fingering isn’t good when you sustain it as an individual note, but will work acceptably in the context of a trill.
The two notes of the trill should be about equally balanced, so that if you were to record it and slow it down you would hear that the individual notes of the trill are equal in duration and volume. Trills should also fit volume-wise into the context of the musical phrase; use strong and consistent breath support, as though you were playing a single long note.
Trill speed is an artistic decision. Generally trills should be fast enough to give the impression of an effect applied to a single note, rather than a sequence of separate notes. They usually shouldn’t be so fast as to sound jarring or unnatural. The speed of the trill can change for musical effect, and when it does it usually starts slower and accelerates. The best way to learn appropriate trill speeds is by listening to great performances and recordings.
Thanks to all who participated in my 2021 woodwind doubling survey, and to those who helped spread the word. I’m releasing the results in installments, so be sure to use my social media links, RSS feeds, etc. to keep up.
I got 284 responses, an improvement over 2011’s 187. The numbers for each of these questions don’t necessarily add up to exactly that number, since not everybody responded to every question.
I provided more options for gender identity than in 2011’s survey. Here’s the breakdown. (Percentages are of those who answered the question.)
| 2021 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 222 | 78% |
| Female | 49 | 17% |
| Female, Transgender | 1 | ~0% |
| Nonbinary/nonconforming | 10 | 4% |
| Transgender, Nonbinary/nonconforming | 1 | ~0% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Male | 146 | 78% |
| Female | 41 | 22% |
As was the case 10 years ago, the numbers skew toward the younger end. I’m not sure if this is affected by the survey being distributed primarily online. No respondents claimed to be younger than teenaged or older than in their 70s.
| 2021 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Teenage | 22 | 8% |
| 20s | 72 | 25% |
| 30s | 67 | 24% |
| 40s | 40 | 14% |
| 50s | 41 | 14% |
| 60s | 35 | 12% |
| 70s | 6 | 2% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Younger than 20 | 19 | 1% |
| 20s | 54 | 10% |
| 30s | 31 | 29% |
| 40s | 36 | 17% |
| 50s | 33 | 19% |
| 60s | 12 | 18% |
| 70s | 1 | 6% |
I provided options for this that broke down by continent. A few of you island dwellers responded with “other” and specified locations in Oceania and the Caribbean. I probably need to rethink this question for 2031, but for purposes of data reporting I have lumped everyone together into continents for now.
The continued absence of responses from Africa and South America may be related to language barriers and/or other factors. I did get a few responses from Asia this year, which I didn’t in 2011.
| 2021 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 3 | 1% |
| Australia | 11 | 4% |
| Europe | 20 | 7% |
| North America | 249 | 88% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 11 | 6% |
| Europe | 12 | 6% |
| North America | 162 | 87% |
The “city, but not a ‘major’ one” option was added based on feedback from the 2011 survey. A few of you used the “other” option to explain more complicated living situations (such as multiple locations), and for reporting purposes I’ve taken the liberty of lumping those into the categories I thought were the closest match.
| 2021 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| major city or metropolitan area | 127 | 45% |
| city, but not a “major” one | 69 | 24% |
| suburb or exurb | 63 | 22% |
| rural or remote area | 24 | 8% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| major city or metropolitan area | 93 | 50% |
| suburban area | 66 | 35% |
| rural or remote area | 23 | 12% |
| other | 5 | 3% |
“Less than high school diploma” is a new option this yea. The categories in the graph are abbreviated; the full text from the survey is in the data table.
| 2021 dATA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Less than high school diploma | 8 | 3% |
| High school diploma or equivalent | 6 | 2% |
| Some college | 33 | 12% |
| Bachelors degree | 70 | 25% |
| Some graduate school | 18 | 6% |
| Masters degree | 103 | 37% |
| Doctorate | 38 | 13% |
| Other degree type or comparable certification | 6 | 2% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| High school diploma or equivalent | 8 | 4% |
| Some college | 28 | 15% |
| Bachelors degree | 59 | 32% |
| Some graduate school | 16 | 9% |
| Masters degree | 53 | 28% |
| Doctorate | 16 | 9% |
| Other degree type or comparable certification | 6 | 3% |
Thanks again for your participation and stay tuned for more survey results.
I observe that many woodwind players, when learning a new fingering—whether a beginner learning a standard fingering or an advanced student learning a new alternate fingering—tend to think of them as sequences: “This finger plus this finger and this finger and this key over here.” Sometimes my students even want to recite the fingering aloud as they add one finger at a time, and then finally play the note. The problem with this is that there is obviously no time for such a procedure when playing music.
I now occasionally find that I have the opposite problem: a student will ask about a fingering, and I will discover that I am not prepared to verbalize it. I need to pick up the instrument, do the fingering, and then explain which keys I am pressing. My fingers know how to make the right shape, even if I can’t immediately recall the list of keys involved.
To learn new fingerings in the most efficient and practical way, move as quickly as possible to the “shape” stage. I suggest this method:
Practice hard smart!
Thanks to all who participated in my 2021 woodwind doubling survey, and to those who helped spread the word. I’m releasing the results in installments, so be sure to use my social media links, RSS feeds, etc. to keep up.
I got 284 responses, an improvement over 2011’s 187. The numbers for each of these questions don’t necessarily add up to exactly that number, since not everybody responded to every question.
| 2021 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| flute | 37 | 13% |
| oboe | 13 | 5% |
| clarinet | 106 | 38% |
| bassoon | 6 | 2% |
| saxophone | 119 | 42% |
| none of these apply | 1 | ~0% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| flute | 22 | 12% |
| oboe | 10 | 5% |
| clarinet | 77 | 41% |
| bassoon | 5 | 3% |
| saxophone | 73 | 39% |
| 2021 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| school band/orchestra program (high school or younger) | 262 | 93% |
| private lessons outside of school | 248 | 88% |
| summer camps | 188 | 67% |
| university band/orchestra program | 241 | 85% |
| university/conservatory bachelors degree with formal concentration(s) in multiple woodwinds | 27 | 10% |
| university/conservatory bachelors degree with single-instrument or other music concentration | 182 | 65% |
| bachelors-level study on secondary instrument(s), but not as part of a formal multiple-woodwinds program | 111 | 39% |
| university/conservatory masters degree with formal concentration(s) in multiple woodwinds | 35 | 12% |
| university/conservatory masters degree with single-instrument or other music concentration | 75 | 27% |
| masters-level study on secondary instrument(s), but not as part of a formal multiple-woodwinds program | 31 | 11% |
| university/conservatory doctoral degree with formal concentration(s) in multiple woodwinds | 10 | 4% |
| university/conservatory doctoral degree with single-instrument or other music concentration | 24 | 9% |
| doctoral-level study on secondary instrument(s), but not as part of a formal multiple-woodwinds program | 6 | 2% |
| other university/conservatory music degree or certification | 14 | 5% |
| self-taught on one or more instruments | 167 | 59% |
| 2011 Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| school band/orchestra program (high school or younger) | 175 | 94% |
| private lessons outside of school | 170 | 91% |
| summer camps | 131 | 70% |
| university band/orchestra program | 143 | 76% |
| university/conservatory bachelors degree with formal concentration(s) in multiple woodwinds | 27 | 14% |
| university/conservatory bachelors degree with single-instrument or other music concentration | 97 | 52% |
| university/conservatory masters degree with formal concentration(s) in multiple woodwinds | 13 | 7% |
| university/conservatory masters degree with single-instrument or other music concentration | 37 | 20% |
| university/conservatory doctoral degree with formal concentration(s) in multiple woodwinds | 4 | 2% |
| university/conservatory doctoral degree with single-instrument or other music concentration | 5 | 3% |
| other university/conservatory music degree or certification | 12 | 6% |
| self-taught on one or more instruments | 118 | 63% |
Besides the provided answers, several of you included personal anecdotes of influences including boredom, norms of the early music scene, orthodontia and injuries, career aspirations like instrument repair and studio work, and the Lawrence Welk Show.
| 2021 data | ||
|---|---|---|
| just interested in more than one instrument | 202 | 72% |
| required/helpful for a jazz (or other improvisatory music) group you played in or wanted to play in | 139 | 49% |
| had or wanted opportunities to play for musical theater | 196 | 70% |
| influenced by a teacher or role model | 136 | 48% |
| wanted to improve employability | 138 | 49% |
| an ensemble you were in (or wanted to be in) needed someone to play a specific instrument, and you were willing to learn it | 118 | 42% |
| an ensemble you were in (or wanted to be in) didn’t include the instrument you already played and you needed to learn another | 46 | 16% |
| your training/experience as a teacher required you to branch out | 56 | 20% |
| 2011 Data | |
|---|---|
| just interested in more than one instrument | 40 |
| required/helpful for a jazz (or other improvisatory music) group you played in or wanted to play in | 37 |
| had or wanted opportunities to play for musical theater | 35 |
| influenced by a teacher or role model | 23 |
| wanted to improve employability | 19 |
| an ensemble you were in (or wanted to be in) needed someone to play a specific instrument, and you were willing to learn it | 19 |
| your training/experience as a teacher required you to branch out | 9 |
Besides the provided answers, nine of you wrote in something to the effect of “lessons” or “teachers,” which I didn’t include as an option because I covered formal training in other questions. A few of you also wrote in “YouTube,” which I have lumped in with “social media sites.”
Thanks again for your participation and stay tuned for more survey results.
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Hi there – both links are dead
Fixed. Thanks!