Favorite blog posts, April 2018

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The flute bloggers were especially busy in April.

Students and gig pay

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Over a year ago I wrote about responding to free or underpaid gig “offers.” A commenter asked a fair question, which has haunted me since: I was wondering how much of this still applies when taking on gigs as a student. I’ve wrestled with this a bit and I’m not sure I have a real answer, … Read more

Review: D’Addario Reserve alto saxophone mouthpieces

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If you have read my reviews of the D’Addario clarinet and jazz alto and tenor saxophone mouthpieces, you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of their new classical alto saxophone mouthpiece, too. (As with the last several reviews, D’Addario sent me some mouthpieces at no cost, with the possibility but not … Read more

ReedCast™ scientific reed forecasts on Alexa

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I was hoping to announce this a week ago, on the anniversary of the ReedCast™’s debut, April 1, 2015,but things got a little delayed. Anyway, you can now get your guaranteed-accurate, highly scientific ReedCast™ on your Alexa device. Check it out! You can, of course, still get your classic ReedCast™ on the web.

Favorite blog posts, March 2018

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

Grading student practicing

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When I was a first-year undergraduate music major and not yet fully convinced of the importance of practicing several hours per day, a nudge/threat scared me into changing my ways. But the sudden “motivation” to apply myself a little better soon started paying off. It’s exciting to see my students making that same transition.

Avoiding clarinet undertones: published techniques

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Clarinet “undertones” or “grunts” are the unpleasant low sounds that happen usually at the beginning of tongued upper-clarion-register notes (about written G to C, above the staff). My sense is that there isn’t a lot of consensus or clarity among clarinetists about how exactly to prevent this.

A minimal Little-Jake electric bassoon setup

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Be sure to check out my recent interview with Trent Jacobs, the inventor of the Little-Jake bassoon/woodwind pickup. During the past year I got myself a Little-Jake to experiment with some electrified bassoon playing. I didn’t know much about using electronics in this way, and it took some research and trial-and-error to figure out exactly … Read more

Favorite blog posts, February 2018

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

Interview: bassoonist and inventor Trent Jacobs

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Last summer I finally got myself a Little-Jake setup so I could experiment with some electric bassoon playing. The inventor of the Little-Jake, Trent Jacobs, is a performer, educator, and reedmaker, and I’ve linked to his blog posts on a number of occasions. Trent was kind enough to answer a few questions about himself and … Read more