Keeping your fingers “close”

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There’s a common idea with woodwind players and teachers that it’s important to keep your fingers close to the keys. Keeping the fingers within a certain reasonable distance does have benefits:

  • It’s easier to keep track of where the keys are and not “miss,” especially for beginners
  • Allowing the fingers to rise too far can introduce tension into the hands

But I think finger-closeness is a concept that gets over-taught and over-stressed. It seems to be motivated by a desire for finger speed (or some euphemism like “fluidity”).

Assuming the fingers are within a reasonable range, I think working toward extreme closeness probably doesn’t offer much if any speed increase, but does make tension more likely. It’s a micro-optimization only worth thinking about when you’ve solved every other problem with your technique, and even then your results may differ on whether it’s productive (or even counterproductive). Definitely don’t stress out your beginning students over it.

Try this if you like: bring a finger down onto a key from, say, 1-2mm above the key (about the thickness of a couple of credit or ID cards). Then try from ten times that distance, 1-2 cm (the width of a fingernail or two). What do you notice about speed? How about tension?

Keep the fingers close enough to stay in position and not bend backward, but don’t worry too much about dialing in extreme closeness.

Clarinet vibrato

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The question of whether the clarinet should use vibrato has been argued to death, and I won’t pursue the question further here. Suffice it to say that it’s a matter of taste and a matter of tradition. American and European classical clarinetists usually don’t use it. Why that particular quirk of taste and/or tradition has … Read more

Should I buy a “step-up” instrument?

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Should you buy a “step-up” or “intermediate model” woodwind instrument? In most cases, I think the answer is no. For flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, or saxophone, I think the wisest course, if you can afford it, is usually to start with a high-quality, best-in-class student-model instrument. The advantages of this are: Lower price range (though … Read more

Favorite blog posts, July 2020

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

Starting at the right tempo

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For me it’s an ongoing challenge to start a piece of music at the right tempo. Here are a few tricks I have used.

Don’t say this to your beginning oboists

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Here is a version of a handout I provided recently to graduate students at the American Band College, a summer program for school band directors. Band directors, don’t say this to your beginning oboists: “Shh.” As a university oboe teacher, I routinely meet young oboists who play like they are terrified of making a sound. … Read more

Update: COVID-19 wind playing resources

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In a recent blog post I offered a few personal thoughts on wind playing and the COVID-19 crisis, and began listing some articles and resources related to the topic. I have now moved those to a separate and freshly-updated page. If you are aware of other resources, feel free to bring them to my attention … Read more

Favorite blog posts, June 2020

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

Understanding response and stability

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For most players and situations, some kind of middle ground is the right choice: enough response to articulate notes at pianissimo, but enough stability that you don’t have to devote all your attention to keeping things in tune.

Wind controllers as “practice” woodwinds

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Can you use a wind controller, like the Akai EWI, the Yamaha WX, or the Roland Aerophone, as a convenient and/or quiet way to practice a “real” woodwind instrument, like the saxophone or the flute? No, not really. You can practice some very limited aspects of woodwind playing. For example, each of those wind controllers … Read more