Just one favorite to share this month:
- Hodge Products, Inc. (Rebecca Watson): Bassoon Wire Gauge: Does It Make a Difference?
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
Interpretation at small and large scales
When I ask my students about their interpretation of a piece of music, their answers are often about shaping phrases. The phrases should have some kind of beginning, middle, and end, often expressed in some kind of dynamic shape, like starting softer, growing to a louder peak, then gradually getting softer again. That isn’t wrong, … Read more
Favorite blog posts, October 2020
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, October 2020 edition.
Giving feedback in masterclasses and competitions
As a graduate student and younger professional I started to get opportunities to teach in masterclass/workshop settings and to adjudicate competitions. I had taught private lessons for many years. But sometimes I found it challenging to give effective feedback in these newer situations, where I was hearing someone play for the first time and needed … Read more
Advice on multiple-woodwinds graduate degrees and teaching careers
I often have university students bring up the idea of graduate school and a university teaching career, and I have previously given general advice about that. Perhaps since my graduate degrees and a teaching career are in multiple woodwinds, my students sometimes wonder if that’s a path they should take. Here are a few thoughts: … Read more
Fingering Diagram Builder, version 0.82
Here’s a new minor release of the Fingering Diagram Builder with a few small improvements: Bug fixes and other minor tweaks The French bassoon diagram now supports the Ducasse bassoon. Set “Instrument” to “Bassoon (French)” and “Key set” to “Ducasse.” Thanks to Daryn Zubke for assistance with this.
Favorite blog posts, September 2020
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, September 2020 edition.
Stop teaching clarinet and saxophone embouchures like this
As a ten-year-old beginning saxophonist, I was taught to form an embouchure like this: Put your top teeth on the mouthpiece Let your lower lip sort of roll or squish over your lower teeth Close your mouth That’s how I played for years. As I advanced and started to practice more, I would sometimes hurt … Read more