Update: COVID-19 wind playing resources

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In a recent blog post I offered a few personal thoughts on wind playing and the COVID-19 crisis, and began listing some articles and resources related to the topic. I have now moved those to a separate and freshly-updated page.

If you are aware of other resources, feel free to bring them to my attention and I will consider including them. I don’t have firm criteria for what to include, but I’m generally leaning toward scientific papers and other primary sources that appear to be written in good faith and with a responsible approach to accuracy.

I am not outright rejecting articles that are funded or otherwise promoted by businesses that might stand to profit from the information presented, but I am noting those potential conflicts of interest. (A well-regarded global company whose products I use recently shared one of the articles I’ve included, with their own headline affixed that I found misleading and reductive.)

My best understanding at this point is that there’s still a lot we don’t know about the safety of playing wind instruments during a highly-contagious outbreak that targets the respiratory system. Please be as smart and safe as you can, so we can all make music together again soon.

Articles on COVID-19 and wind playing

Understanding response and stability

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For most players and situations, some kind of middle ground is the right choice: enough response to articulate notes at pianissimo, but enough stability that you don’t have to devote all your attention to keeping things in tune.

Wind controllers as “practice” woodwinds

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Can you use a wind controller, like the Akai EWI, the Yamaha WX, or the Roland Aerophone, as a convenient and/or quiet way to practice a “real” woodwind instrument, like the saxophone or the flute? No, not really. You can practice some very limited aspects of woodwind playing. For example, each of those wind controllers … Read more

Should I tighten the screws on my woodwind instrument?

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For many household items, screws should be tightened if they seem loose. But for woodwind instruments it’s a little more complicated. Woodwind instruments (flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and saxophones) have many screws on them. They are usually the slotted type, for which you would use a standard (“flat-head”) screwdriver. And some of them need to … Read more

Favorite blog posts, May 2020

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, May 2020 edition.

Let audiences applaud at your classical music concerts. Or don’t.

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The question of when to permit applause at a classical music performance has already been discussed to death. In summary, some people believe that you should encourage applause only after a complete work is finished, because: It allows the piece to be heard as a unified whole It’s respectful to the musicians and/or audience It’s … Read more

Interpreting wind articulation markings

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It’s easy to think of articulation markings as being black and white (and not just literally). But sometimes the instructions aren’t completely clear. For example, I think most people would see this marking… …and understand it to mean that the D gets some extra length, perhaps so much that there’s no silence between the D … Read more

Do I have to practice over the summer?

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As I send my students off to their summer plans, I know many of them are asking themselves the same question I used to ask: Do I have to practice? Your teacher might give you a summer assignment. I feel like I really can’t give my students official, enforceable assignments when they aren’t enrolled in … Read more

Favorite blog posts, April 2020

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, April 2020 edition.