Maintaining direction in staccato passages

ByBret Pimentel

In my last post, I pointed out that staccato notes are not always exactly “detached,” even though they may give that impression. Now let’s consider how this sense of detachment, real or false, can disrupt a phrase.

To make a legato phrase sound like a unified idea, all I have to do as a minimum is make sure my air doesn’t stop: my fingers and tongue delineate individual notes, but the sound is continuous. But with a staccato phrase, the sound stops (at least sort of). We could perhaps visualize it this way, with each box representing a note:

staccato notes

There’s not a clear sense of continuity—each note is an island.

But I can make the notes sound like they belong together, without eliminating the space between them. For example, suppose I give the passage a subtle crescendo:

staccato notes, with crescendo

The space between the notes is the same, but now there is a clear relationship. It’s obvious that the individual notes, though detached, make up a single structure and not six separate ones.

A bit of crescendo is a reliable and tasteful way to do this in many cases, but really any variable aspect of musical expression could ostensibly be used: decrescendo, change in tone color, change in vibrato, accelerando or ritardando, or just about anything else that can be varied continuously across a group of notes. Make sure each note you play serves a larger phrase!

Similar Posts

  • Saxophone vibrato

    ByBret Pimentel

    What is vibrato?

    Carl Seashore, in his In Search of Beauty in Music, defines “good” vibrato as “a pulsation of pitch usually accompanied by synchronous pulsations of loudness and timbre, of such extent and rate as to give a pleasing flexibility, tenderness, and richness to the tone.”

    Debate over saxophone vibrato

    Saxophone vibrato is a controversial topic for several reasons. In fact, some have questioned whether vibrato should be used at all. Paul Berler, in a 1996 Saxophone Journal article, notes that wind instrumentalists have only made serious study of vibrato in the last century. Robert Luckey points out in a 1983 article in Woodwind, Brass, & Percussion that “prominent saxophone teachers have equated their instrument with the human voice,” and that, since vibrato is accepted as a natural embellishment of the human voice, it should be accepted as a natural part of the saxophone tone. Read More “Saxophone vibrato”

  • Woodwind Doubler Census 2021 results, part 5 (final): self-identification

    ByBret Pimentel

    Thanks to all who participated in my 2021 woodwind doubling survey, and to those who helped spread the word. I’ve released the results in installments, so be sure to check out the rest.

    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.

    In the final section of the survey, I gave respondents the option to identify and tell me a little about themselves, including their names, locations, affiliations, websites, and other comments. I’m not sharing personally-identifiable information here, but I’ll respond in a general way to each question.

    What is your name?

    Almost 180 of you identified yourselves by name. It was lots of fun to scroll through see musicians I know and have worked with, who I have connected with online, and even some of my heroes and role models. And it was also very cool to see lots of names I didn’t know (yet). If you’re out there and would like to connect, I hope you will feel free to reach out.

    Where do you live?

    I’m sharing these sorted alphabetically and lightly edited.

    19047
    Ada, OK
    Ada, Oklahoma
    Archer City, Texas
    Arizona
    around Boston
    Around Raleigh, North Carolina
    Asheville, NC
    Ashland, KY
    Atlanta
    Auburn, ME
    Austin TX
    Austin, TX
    Australia
    Baltimore, MD area
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Berlin, CT
    Birmingham, England (studying)
    Bolivar, MO
    Boston
    Boston
    Boston-area
    California
    Cambridge, UK
    Canada
    Centra Michigan
    Charlotte, NC
    Chatham, Ontario, Canada
    Chicago
    Chicago Suburbs
    Chicago suburbs
    cincinnati
    Cleveland OH
    Coburg, OR (but still gig in San Jose, CA, my previous residence)
    Colorado
    Comerío, Puerto Rico.
    Connecticut
    Conroe, TX (40 miles north of downtown Houston)
    Coopersburg, PA
    Corvallis
    Covington, LA
    Currently in Tampere, Finland; usually SoCal/ SF Bay Area
    Dallas – Fort Worth Area
    Dallas, Texas
    Dallas, TX
    Dallas/Fort Worth region
    Darien, IL
    DC area
    Durant, Oklahoma / Las Vegas, Nevada
    East Bay of SF Bay Area
    East Lansing, MI
    Eastern Mass
    Eastern North Carolina
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
    Eugene, Oregon
    Fargo ND
    Fargo, ND
    Finger Lakes region of New York
    Florida
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Fresno, Ca.
    Germany
    Germany
    Grand Rapids, Michigan
    Greater Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Greensboro, NC
    Greensboro, NC
    Greensboro, North Carolina
    Hamels, Braughing, Hertfordshire, England
    Hampton Roas, VA
    Harrisburg, PA
    Hong Kong
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Houston
    Houston TX
    Houston, TX
    Ihio
    Indiana
    Indianapolis
    Indianapolis
    iowa
    Iowa USA
    Jersey City
    Kanagawa, Japan* (originally from Maine)
    Kansas
    Kansas
    Kansas City metro area
    Lancaster area PA
    Lancaster, CA
    Las Vegas
    Las Vegas
    Little Rock, Arkansas
    Liverpool, NY
    London
    London
    London and Cape Town
    Long Beach, CA USA
    Los Angeles
    Los Angeles
    Los Angeles/Orange County, CA
    Madeira Beach, FL
    Manhattan and Connecticut
    Melbourne, Australia
    Melbourne, Australia
    Melbourne, Australia
    Memphis
    Memphis
    Memphis, TN
    Memphis,TN USA
    Metro Atlanta
    Miami, FL
    Miami, Florida
    Michigan
    Middleton Massachusetts
    Midwest U.S.
    Milwaukee
    Milwaukee
    Milwaukee
    Milwaukee WI
    Minneapolis
    Minneapolis, MN
    Minnesota
    Mississippi
    Mississippi
    Montgomery, AL
    Murfreesboro
    Myrtle Beach, SC
    Nashville, TN
    Nashville, TN
    Nashville, TN
    Near Eugene Oregon
    Nebraska
    Nevada
    New England, USA
    New England, USA
    New Jersey
    New Jersey
    New Jersey, US
    New Orleans
    New York
    New York City
    New York City
    New York City
    New York City Metro area
    New York, Montreal, and Florida
    New York, NY
    North Kingstown, RI
    North Texas
    Northeast Ohio/Western PA
    Northeast Tennessee
    Northeast U.S.
    Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania
    Northern California
    Norway
    NY
    NY area
    NYC
    NYC
    NYC
    Ocean Reef, Perth, Western Australia
    Ohio
    Ohio
    Oklahoma City
    Oregon
    Oregon
    Orlando, Florida
    Oxford, UK
    Pennsylvania
    Perth
    Perth, Western Australia
    Pickering, ON Canada
    Piedmont Triad Area of North Carolina
    Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh, Pa.
    Preston, UK
    Queensland, Australia
    Reno, NV
    San Antonio
    San Antonio TX
    San Antonio, TX
    San Francisco
    San Fransisco Bay Area
    San Jose
    San Jose, CA
    San Jose, CA
    San Jose, CA
    San Jose, CA
    San Jose, CA
    San W
    Saskatchewan, Canada
    Scenic Martin, TN
    Scotland
    Scotland
    Seattle, WA
    SF Bay Area
    SF Bay Area
    SF Bay Area
    SF Bay Area
    SF South Bay Area
    SF South Bay Area
    Singapore
    SLC Utah
    South Eastern Wisconsin, USA
    southern Virginia
    Springfield, MO
    St Andrews
    St Paul/Minneapolis
    St. Louis area
    St. Louis, MO
    State College PA
    Sussex, Wi
    Tampa Florida
    Teaneck, NJ
    Tennessee
    Toronto
    Toronto
    Toronto CA -> Greensboro,NC
    Toronto, Canada
    Troy, AL
    Trumansburg, NY
    UK
    Urbana, IL (& Springfield, IL)
    Va Bch, VA.
    Washington, DC
    Washington, DC
    Washington, DC metropolitan area
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Will be moving to Denton, Texas
    Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada

    What is your main gig, performing group, teaching institution, etc.?

    I have edited a number of these (the asterisks are mine) in cases where, based on my best judgment, I felt strangers might be able to identify you through web searches.

    *** Big Band
    *** College/*** Community College/*** College/private studio/*** Festival Orchestra/*** Philharmonic
    *** County Schools, Freelance musician
    *** Ensemble, Broadway shows, recordings, *** College of Performing Arts
    *** Episcopal School
    *** High School (band director)
    *** Jazz Band
    *** London West End
    *** Middle School (Teacher)
    *** Musician
    *** Quartet, Goodspeed Musicals, Playhouse on Park, etc.
    *** Symphony Orchestra (Assistant Principal Bassoon/ Contrabassoon and much of the Saxophone work), teach at the University of ***, lots of studio recording sessions.
    *** Symphony Orchestra, Bassoon
    *** University graduate teaching assistant
    *** Videogame Symphony
    *** Winds, Ballet *** Orchestra
    ***Winds, ***, ***
    2nd Alto Sax, US Navy Band *** Jazz Ensemble
    6-12 band director
    A school big band
    ABRSM
    Air Force, formerly with a regional band, but now assigned a non-music job
    Alabama State University
    Band Director – High School
    Band instrument repair
    Bar gigs w/ a combo
    Before the pandemic I was regularly doing musical theatre work 3/4s of the year and also was doing a fair bit of big band playing as well. The big band and various offshoots of it play pre 1940s swing music and some smaller “Dixie” stuff so there’s a lot for me to do on clarinet. I also teach privately at a school system and a music store and was leading an after school ensemble and doing sectional work with the other bands at the school system. Those ended up being fairly evenly split, and then I would pick up various odd work at studio sessions or local bar gigs
    Big band jazz
    Broadway
    Broadway and Lincoln Center
    Broadway pits
    Certified bad*** (jk, picking up jobs when I can/doing musicals)
    Church and Various community bands
    Church Music Director
    Church of ***, Music Director and keyboardist
    Coastal Carolina University
    Community band/ musicals
    Community bands
    Community Bands – 4 of them.
    community orchestra
    Community theater
    Community wind ensemble
    Cruise ship musician (saxes, flute, piccolo, clarinet)
    Currently all virtual – mostly with the Royal Canadian Naval Reserves at ***.
    Currently RSO/VVGO/various guest player roles at Chinese orchestras in Singapore
    Currently teaching orchestra.
    DMA student at the University of ***
    Elementary Music Teacher
    Everywhere 😂
    Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre
    Free-lance musician
    Freelance
    Freelance
    Freelance musician around the west end and London
    Freelance teaching and performing
    Freelance woodwind specialist, director of local volunteer big band (Ensemble Swing Time), Singer
    Freelancer / university adjunct
    Going to the *** College of Music and Drama for Oboe Performance (with a touch of Woodwind doubling) this september
    High School
    High School Teacher
    Home based teacher
    I am a high school student at *** High School
    I attend Brandon University
    I play the flute family for the *** Symphony Orchestra
    I primarily teach private students.
    I work at *** full-time during the days, and sub regularly on Broadway on nights and weekends (under normal circumstances)
    I’m in high school so this doesn’t apply
    Instrument repair
    Instrument Repair at ***
    Jazz Big Band
    Just freelance
    Local high school and regional theater
    Local theatre groups
    Mainly in undergrad jazz band and concert band
    Mars Hill University
    Mid-*** Symphony, *** Jazz Band
    Middle school music teacher, play in local symphony and a collegiate wind orchestra
    Military Band
    Military musician and private teacher
    Missouri State University
    Music bachelors student
    Music education undergrad
    Music teacher/Teaching artist
    Musical instrument repair/orchestral oboe.
    Musical theater, church
    My band, The ***
    My online business as a content creator and educator
    National or international tours.
    No main gig during The pandemic.
    No main gig.
    None, teach at *** College, produce concerts at ***, run the *** Saxophone Quartet,
    North Carolina State University
    Nowadays it’s mostly University ensembles in Cambridge
    Performing
    Performing
    pit orchestra
    playing in musical orchestras/ bands
    Playing in musical theater pits
    Playing on Broadway
    Playing: Civic Theater and the *** Jazz Orchestra. Clarinet teacher for local school district.
    Private instructor, various big bands, west coast style combo and various pits when they come up
    private lessons at *** Music
    Private lessons teaching
    Private Studio
    Private Studio
    Private teacher & reed maker out of my home
    Private teaching studio
    Private woodwind teacher & freelance musician
    Prof. of Music, The University of ***
    Professional and community theatre pits. Too many to list.
    Professional orchestra librarian
    Professor at *** University
    Professor at NDSU
    Put work
    Recent college graduate, premed, member of *** (funk group), and jazz musician/woodwind instrumentalist
    Regional big band & GB
    Regional Broadway caliber theater productions and local hire for national tours.
    Regional theater, private lessons
    Retired
    Rockland County Concert Band
    Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (studying)
    Sam Houston state
    Saxophone with ***
    School band
    Schriener University
    Self-employed
    senior in college, about to student teach
    simpson college
    Six Flags
    Small School Band Director
    Software Engineer
    solo jazz performer
    Southwest *** Community College
    Stockton CA
    Student
    Student
    Student right now
    Substitute teacher specializing in music
    Teach at ***. Play gigs w/my jazz combo.
    Teacher (Elementary)
    Teaching and free lancing.
    Teaching and instrument repair
    Teaching at a school(still a uni student)
    Teaching Bassoon Lessons
    Teaching middle school band
    teaching private lessons
    Teaching the reed studio at *** University.
    Teaching: *** Music (lesson studio and music store) | Playing: *** (amusement park) Dixieland Band
    The *** Quartet (baritone chair), freelancer/soloist, Orchestra of ***
    Theater
    Theater Musician
    Theatre
    There are several
    Touring Musician (Broadway shows)
    UNC Charlotte
    Univ. of ***, *** Technical College
    University adjunct professor, Broadway touring shows (local hire) and local theater company.
    University as a student
    University New Music Ensemble
    University of *** *** Society (the musical theatre society)
    University of Nevada, Reno
    University of North Carolina School of the Arts
    University of Oregon
    University of Texas at San Antonio/private lessons (self employed)
    University Professor an conductor
    University student with some private teaching and freelancing
    US Army Musician
    US Navy Pacific Fleet Band
    Varies
    VVGO, RSO, UFB – virtual ensembles.
    WAAPA – Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
    Weddings
    Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
    Will be attending UNT
    Youngstown State University

    What is your website address?

    Lots of you shared websites. In cases where I could locate a relevant and reasonably-fresh RSS feed, I’ve added them to my feed reader, which also puts them on my public blogroll.

    Any other comments you would like to share?

    Some of you took this opportunity to share some general thoughts about woodwind doubling, to expand upon your biographical details or musical experiences, or to offer critique/commentary on the survey itself. Many of you were also kind enough to express appreciation for the survey, my blog, and other resources on my website. It was deeply gratifying and also super weird to hear from a few of you that you drew inspiration from my website as kids and are now working musicians, graduate students, etc. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to say hello or share a few thoughts.

    In conclusion, thanks once again to all for your participation, readership, and friendship. It was great to hear from so many of you, and I hope to do it again in 2031.

  • Thumb position for oboe, clarinet, and saxophone

    ByBret Pimentel

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

    Proper position of the right thumb for oboe, clarinet, and saxophone can affect player comfort, ease of technique, and risk of injury. (Thumb position is important for flute and bassoon as well, but I find the issues different enough that I won’t lump them in here.)

    For oboe and clarinet, the right thumb supports the weight of the instrument. There’s a temptation to place the thumbrest near the base of the thumb, since it feels like a stronger, more stable position.

    But this puts the fingers in a cramped and awkward position (upper joints removed for visibility):

    Instead, the thumbrest should be positioned at or near the base of the thumbnail, which allows the right hand to be in a much more open and natural position.

    If this feels too heavy, and especially if it causes pain or tension, the instrument can be supported with a neckstrap. This takes some of the weight off the thumb. Some oboe and clarinet thumbrests have rings for this purpose. There are also neckstraps available that can connect directly to the thumbrest itself, using a small leather tab.

    For the saxophone, the main weight of the instrument is not supported by the thumb, but by a neckstrap. However, the right thumb should exert some forward pressure to help establish the correct angle between the mouthpiece and the embouchure. As with the oboe and the clarinet, the thumbrest should contact the thumb approximately at the base of the thumbnail to encourage a natural, relaxed position for the fingers.

    As always, adaptations should be made as necessary to accommodate hands of varying shapes and sizes, but natural, unstrained position should be a priority.

  • Breath support

    ByBret Pimentel

    Quick: define “breath support.”

    I fear that to many woodwind players (or wind players in general, and maybe singers too) breath support is something mysterious. I have often had teachers stress to me the importance of breath support, but I can’t remember ever having one explain clearly what it is. Read More “Breath support”

  • Learning fingerings as shapes

    ByBret Pimentel

    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.

    Photo, Bassonist26
    Photo, wfiupublicradio

    To learn new fingerings in the most efficient and practical way, move as quickly as possible to the “shape” stage. I suggest this method:

    • With instrument in hand, think through the fingering, referring to a fingering chart if necessary. If you need to, think in sequence about each finger that will move and where it will go, but don’t move yet.
    • When ready, move the fingers all at once, in a crisp and snappy way.
    • Freeze, and think through the fingering again. Did you form it correctly? If it is incorrect, don’t fix it “in place,” by moving a finger or two into place; release all fingers and start over. Fixing it in place habituates a sequence of events, rather than a single shape.
    • Put the fingering into context (a scale, a musical passage, etc.) using a metronome set on a very slow tempo. The object at this point is to succeed at forming the fingering shape accurately and on cue. Speed up only as you are certain that you can maintain 100% accuracy. If your fingers don’t move simultaneously, you are wasting time cementing a sequence.

    Practice hard smart!

  • Switching between saxophones

    ByBret Pimentel

    If you are an alto saxophone player and pick up a tenor or baritone for the first time, it’s pretty common to have a thin, weak tone, to be on the sharp side, to struggle with low note response, and to have issues like the top-of-the-staff G and G-sharp squeaking.

    If you are a tenor player having your first alto experience, or an alto or tenor player newly picking up soprano, you might find that your tone is tubby, your pitch unstable and tending toward flatness, and your palm key notes unreliable.

    There are a couple of key things to check as you make the switch from one saxophone to another:

    1. How much mouthpiece you are taking in. I like this trick as a starting point for finding the correct position: gently insert a piece of paper between the mouthpiece and reed. The point where the paper stops is approximately the place where your lip should contact the reed.
    2. Voicing. The best way to check this on saxophones is by playing a note on the mouthpiece alone. These are the concert pitches you should produce: If you aren’t producing these pitches, adjust by blowing warmer air to lower the pitch, or cooler air to raise it. Don’t adjust by biting or by shifting the mouthpiece in your embouchure. (It takes some practice.)

    Getting mouthpiece position and voicing right for each saxophone helps you achieve good tone, pitch, and response no matter which you are playing. If you are actively playing multiple saxophones, check both of these things on each instrument as part of your daily warmup, and then follow up with overtone exercises and full-range scales and arpeggios. On a gig, I find it helpful to be conscious of mouthpiece position and voicing as I put one saxophone down and pick up another.

    Happy practicing!

One Comment

  1. The idea is not to think in terms of each individual note, but rather think of the entire phrase…. it just happens that the notes are played short, that’s all. It’s like impressionist painting with dabs versus long brush strokes, you still look at the whole canvas, not each dot in turn.

    Reply

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