- The Flute Examiner (Kelly Wilson): A New Practice Strategy to Try
- Jennet Ingle | Oboist: Glorified Long Tones
Recital videos, August 2021
I’m pleased to share videos from my recent Delta State University faculty recital. I performed for a reduced in-person audience due to COVID-19 precautions. All the repertoire involves electronics of some kind: prerecorded tracks, a looper, an actual electronic instrument (the Akai EWI), and/or live signal processing. This was my first time doing something so electronics-intensive, and … Read more
Some woodwind problems with competition repertoire rules
Here are some repertoire-related problems I’ve encountered trying to get my woodwind students signed up for competitions. These range from significant national/international competitions down to small competitions within my own university music department. Some are competitions designed by woodwind-savvy folks and some aren’t. I mention these problems here in the hope that it will be … Read more
Review: Multiple-woodwinds works by Darren Lord
I heard recently from Paul Saunders, whose compositions and publications for multiple woodwinds I have previously reviewed. He called my attention to an astonishing number of recent multiple-woodwinds compositions by Darren Lord, a musical director, keyboardist, and more who has worked on London’s West End theater scene. At the time of this writing, Lord’s music … Read more
Favorite blog posts, August 2021
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, August 2021 edition.
How to behave at your first classical music concert, and why it’s so weird
I hope you enjoy your first classical music performance! Sometimes the etiquette can seem a little foreign. I’ll try to help you understand what to do, and why classical music fans do things that way. The most important thing is not to distract the audience and the performers. Some common concert etiquette “rules” include: Be … Read more
Becoming a professional musician
Sometimes when my students get paying engagements for the first time, I joke with them that they are now “professional” musicians. That’s true in a sense, but I think there’s more that goes into being a true professional. If you are a college student aspiring to be a professional musician, here are some things you … Read more
Preparing for a fatiguing performance
If you are practicing and concerned about fatigue during an upcoming performance, here are some (woodwind-centric) things to consider. Embouchure. The embouchure is a frequent site for fatigue, but it shouldn’t be. Embouchure pain or tiredness in a conventional performance situation is usually a sign of incorrect tone production technique. (Not a matter of needing … Read more
Favorite blog posts, July 2021
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, July 2021 edition.
Voicing for multiphonics
One of my favorite tips for producing woodwind multiphonics comes from J. Michael Leonard’s Extended Technique for the Saxophone. (Mine is an older edition, I think.) The book’s section on multiphonics gives two pages of instruction and and a one-page fingering chart with diagrams like this: The “aha” moment I got from this was the … Read more