- Jennet Ingle | Oboist: On FLOW
- Indy Flute Shop (Erin Nichols): Flute history crash course
Transcription: Stan Getz, tenor saxophone on Huey Lewis and the News “Small World (Part Two)”
Get the transcription (PDF) Huey Lewis tells the story in Kansas City Magazine (strong language edited): Well, my dad was a jazzer and Zoot Sims died. And when Zoot Sims died, they had a benefit in San Francisco at Kimball’s or somewhere. … So I take him and sit down … and then I get … Read more
Should I buy something new?
Changing your instrument, mouthpiece, headjoint, reeds, etc. on a frequent basis isn’t productive, but sticking with the same equipment forever isn’t a virtue either. Here are some questions to ask yourself (or a trusted teacher or colleague) when you start feeling the itch to spend money on shiny new things: Does this new equipment make … Read more
Fingering Diagram Builder, version 0.83
Here’s a new minor release of the Fingering Diagram Builder with a few small improvements: Bug fixes, administrative improvements, and other minor tweaks. The Kingma flute diagram now has an option for a left-hand C-sharp-up key (thanks to Carla Rees). Dig around in the Keywork details menu to find it. The Akai EWI diagram now has an … Read more
Favorite blog posts, December 2020
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, December 2020 edition.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Factors in woodwind instrument response
Response is how readily the equipment/player combination produces sound. “Good” response generally means that the player-plus-instrument are able to produce a sound that starts precisely when intended, with clarity and with no unwanted additional noise. Many factors affect the quality and reliability of the response: Instrument condition. An instrument with leaks, cracks, problematic dents, etc. … Read more
Using “borrowed” fingerings in EWI mode
The Akai EWI series’ “EWI” fingering mode is powerful and flexible. It bears a resemblance to basic saxophone fingerings (while wisely eschewing saxophoney compromises like rollers and palm keys). But with a little imagination EWI players can “borrow” a number of useful fingerings from other woodwinds, too.
Favorite blog posts, November 2020
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, December 2020 edition.
Do woodwind instruments have similar fingerings?
I get lots of emails and search traffic from people trying to find the answer to questions about woodwinds and “similar” fingerings: Do they use the same or similar fingerings? Which instruments are the most similar? Can I use fingerings from _____ instrument on _____ instrument? I’ve addressed before why these questions might be coming … Read more
Teaching with your ears
We have this conversation often in my woodwind methods classes: Me: What do you hear in so-and-so’s playing?Student: Their embouchure is too tight?Me: Can you hear their embouchure muscles?Student: …?Me: Not directly, right? But what are you hearing that makes you think their embouchure is tight?Student: Well, it looks like it could be kind of … Read more