- Steve Neff Music Blog (saxophone): An Inside Look into the Joe Allard Approach of Saxophone Playing: Memories of the First Three Lessons
- The Flute View (Paul Edmund-Davies): Why I Left the London Symphony Orchestra
- Joffe Woodwinds: Pedagogical “Doubling”
- The Flute Examiner (Jessica Dunnavant): Silver Linings and a Daily Routine
- Bill Plake Music (saxophone): An Important Thing To Notice The Instant You Prepare To Play
- Jennet Ingle | Oboist: Why Do We Practice?
- oboeinsight (Patty Mitchell): Teaching
Review: Characteristic Etudes for the Woodwind Doubler by Gene Kaplan
I’ve previously reviewed a couple of Gene Kaplan‘s publications, sets of duets for woodwind doublers. Recently Gene was kind enough to send me a copy of his latest, Characteristic Etudes for the Woodwind Doubler. Unlike his previous doubling-duet books, this is intended for a lone woodwind doubler to use in developing his or her doubling … Read more
Don’t work for exposure for brands, either
It’s a common rallying cry among freelance musicians that you shouldn’t play gigs that pay in “exposure.” Exposure doesn’t pay the bills, and playing for free devalues your skills and others’. But there are more ways that musicians become convinced to work for someone else’s bottom line and get nothing back but maybe a little … Read more
Favorite blog posts, January 2021
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, January 2021 edition.
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.