Discount on book and new t-shirts

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I’ll keep this short: there are new bretpimentel.com t-shirts available, and everything in the store (shirts and the PDF of my book, Woodwind Basics) is priced at 1/3 off through Christmas Eve 2018 if you use coupon code reeds2018. Your purchases help pay for hosting and other site costs, and otherwise support what I’m doing on the site.

Happy holidays!

Planning breaths

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When learning a new étude or repertoire piece, it’s common to practice at first with focus on the notes, often playing them at a slow tempo and/or divided into chunks. This is a good approach for mastering the needed finger technique, but it may neglect one of the crucial parts of a performance: breathing. In … Read more

Using sticky notes to focus my performance thinking

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I might put in weeks or months preparing for a high-pressure performance. But all of that can fall apart pretty quickly if my head isn’t in the right place.

Favorite blog posts, October 2018

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, October 2018 edition.

Bassoon jaw movement: survey of published opinions

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I was under the impression that there were advocates of jaw movement in bassoon articulation. A skimming of some pedagogical materials at hand seems to debunk this.

Hi, come on in, you’re right on time for your lesson.

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I have lots on things on my list for you today: we should double-check your rhythms on that etude, review those melodic minor scales that were giving you trouble last week, and discuss some finer points of vibrato. But something about your sunken eyes when I met you at the door, the way you slouched … Read more

Favorite blog posts, September 2018

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, September 2018 edition.

Recital videos, August 2018

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Here are some videos from my recent Delta State University faculty recital. I enjoyed tackling Brett Wery’s challenging Sonata for multiple woodwinds (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone) and piano, plus some little oboe pieces and the André Previn bassoon sonata. As always, the goal was to challenge myself, so, as always, the performance had some hiccups. But … Read more

Recording: Claude T. Smith Suite with Delta State Wind Ensemble

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A few months ago I got to perform Claude T. Smith’s Suite for Solo Flute, Clarinet, and Alto Saxophone with the Delta State University Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Erik Richards. It’s a fun showpiece for a woodwind doubler with band, which I’ve had a few opportunities to perform over the last 10 years. The … Read more