Here are some videos from a guest recital I did at the University of Tennessee at Martin a few weeks ago. Among other things, I played Ástor Piazzolla’s Tango Etudes, originally for solo flute, in my own arrangement for multiple woodwinds soloist.
Favorite blog posts, October 2014
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, October 2014 edition.
Isolating problem spots
Earlier this month I posted about a fundamental practicing concept that sometimes escapes my less-experienced students. Here is another: Me: Play your D melodic minor scale. Student: [Begins D minor scale, plays a wrong note in the second octave.] Me: Whoops, remember to play B-natural. Student: Okay. [Starts over, makes same mistake.] Me: Please start … Read more
Slowing down
I can’t tell you how often I have had this happen in lessons, especially with my younger students: Me: Play your E-flat major scale. Student: [Begins scale at breakneck speed, plays 3-4 notes, makes a mistake, stops. Begins again at the same speed, makes a different mistake, stops.] Me: Wait— Student: [Begins again at breakneck … Read more
Review: ReedGeek “Universal” reed tool
I’m a little late to the party on this, as the ReedGeek has been around for a number of years now and has been widely reviewed, but I finally picked one up (at ClarinetFest) after a long conversation/demonstration with inventor Mauro Di Gioia. I have been using mine for a few months now and wanted … Read more
Favorite blog posts, September 2014
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, September 2014 edition.
Saxophone hand position
There are a number of advantages to careful hand positioning, and on a well-designed instrument it’s also really easy: just put the tips of the three middle fingers of each hand on the corresponding key touchpieces.
Internet forum field guide: the all-too-frequently asked questions
Welcome to the third installment of the Internet Forum Field Guide, a look at the wildlife that inhabits woodwind-related online message boards and forums. (Be sure to check out the first and second episodes as well.) Today we look at common questions that are asked on the message boards. The diverse and varied answers as … Read more
Basic tuplet math
A young music student with some basic competencies might be comfortable with these kinds of rhythms: But these are a little trickier to pull off well: Divisions of the pulse into twos and threes is simple enough conceptually, but in most cases we really learn those kinds of rhythms better by ear—we just learn what … Read more
Favorite blog posts, August 2014
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, August 2014 edition.