Favorite blog posts, February 2024

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See the woodwind blogs I’m following, and suggest others!

What would go wrong if you played louder?

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black smoke coming from fire

My university students are often, at least at first, quite timid about playing loudly. (This is probably a side effect of learning the instrument in a school band program. They learn to play quietly because their section is too loud. Or, they get the hand from a band director who doesn’t have the time or … Read more

Favorite blog posts, January 2024

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, January 2024 edition.

How to do long tones (and why)

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Long tones are at the core of most woodwind warmup routines. The most simple and obvious version is this: Simple sustained notes are good for developing consistent breath support, which is required to keep the long tone steady in pitch, volume, and tone color. (Some teachers also suggest them for developing “embouchure strength,” one of … Read more

Pedagogy appropriate to students’ level

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little boy playing his flute on red background

I remember as a young college student attending a masterclass by a world-class musician. He was scornful of students spending a lot of time in practice rooms playing scales. He urged us instead to get outside and watch a sunset, and then “play the sunset.” Advice like that has its place. But I was doing … Read more

Woodwind technique and conservation of energy

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windmill farm against cloudy blue sky

That people prefer to move in energetically optimal ways has been established for decades and now represents a central principle of movement science. … Energy optimization may also occur over the course of a lifetime, as years of experience could allow people to learn the optimal way to move in familiar situations and allow training … Read more