Favorite blog posts, February 2020

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See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others!

Updated: Music for woodwind doublers

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As of February 2020, I’ve made some substantial updates to my catalog of music written for players of multiple woodwind instruments: Music for woodwind doublers There are a few pieces I have listed as currently being researched, mostly cases where I am awaiting responses from composers. And I now have a special section for pieces … Read more

Playing professional whole notes

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I have spent many hours of my life absorbed in difficult études and repertoire. Challenging music pushes the limits of my abilities. But when I actually get hired to play music, it’s almost never anything that complicated. Many of my workaday gigs are very easy—on paper. One part of my career is playing with a … Read more

Working less hard

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On some level it feels more like teaching if I can tell a student a new thing to do. Assign them an additional task. But the most productive and valuable lessons (or personal practice sessions) are often the ones when I can convince a student (or myself) to do one fewer thing.

Favorite blog posts, January 2020

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

Do I need a college degree for my instrumental music career plans?

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While college study may not be the right choice for every instrumentalist, it’s hard to beat for a well-rounded musical education (with performance study, music theory, music history, and more), plus life skills, networking, and enhanced employability in the general job market.

Woodwind doubling and saxophone problems

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It’s very common for woodwind doublers to be saxophonists first, and approach the other woodwinds later, often because of the demands of flute/clarinet doubling in jazz big band music. So advice for woodwind doublers is often really advice for saxophonists playing secondary instruments. But when players of other woodwind instruments pick up the saxophone, there … Read more

Favorite blog posts, December 2019

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, December 2019 edition.

Triplets don’t swing

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It’s common among non-jazz musicians to think of “swing” rhythms as having a triplet-like feel, and it’s equally common among jazz players to regard that as hopelessly incorrect. That conflict over swing style has been widely discussed elsewhere, so I won’t rehash it here. But there’s another layer to the swing/triplets issue: It’s important to … Read more