- DoctorFlute (Angela McBrearty): You Can’t Have a Good High Register Without Having a Really Good Low Register
- oboealli (Alli Gessner): A new perspective on teaching oboists to play softly
- The Flute Examiner (Keith Hanlon): Getting in Shape When You’re Out of Shape
- Meerenai Shim (flute): How to choose a good recording engineer/studio
Do I really need…
For woodwind doublers and lots of other musicians, the shopping list can go on and on. Do I need a clarinet in A? In E-flat? Do I need an alto flute? A contrabassoon? A bass saxophone? Clearly there’s no one-size-fits all answer, but here are some things to consider. It’s hard to predict which instrument … Read more
Principles for teaching woodwind methods
If you are teaching a woodwind methods course, you might be interested in my book.I teach a woodwind methods course at my university. This class (sometimes known as “woodwind techniques” or “class woodwinds”) is for music education majors. It’s a kind of crash course in the woodwind instruments (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone) in … Read more
Favorite blog posts, March 2023
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, March 2023 edition.
Experiments with electric woodwinds
I’ve been having fun with woodwinds enhanced with pickups or microphones. (If you’re interested in natively-electronic instruments like wind controllers, I’ve written about those elsewhere.) I still have a lot to learn about working with electronics. But here are a few observations in case anyone finds them helpful. Which instrument(s) to use? I find lower-pitched … Read more
Switching between clarinets: tone production
Switching between any two instruments, even two closely-related ones, is a challenging prospect. You must practice for many hours to do it well. But often people switching between clarinets (such as between B-flat clarinet and bass clarinet) are making larger changes than necessary. The fundamental concepts in clarinet tone production are breath support, voicing, and … Read more
Favorite blog posts, February 2023
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, February 2023 edition.
Clarinet glissando
There are few more coveted clarinet techniques than the smooth glissando, as heard in the famous opening to Rhapsody in Blue. But the technique isn’t intuitive, and lots of questions persist about how to do it. (Incidentally: the Rhapsody in Blue score doesn’t call for a smooth portamento-type effect, but a scale with discrete notes. … Read more
Favorite blog posts, January 2023
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, January 2023 edition.
Out-of-tune accents
Young woodwind players often have trouble playing elegant, well-controlled accents. Accented notes are too often thumpy and out of tune. The most common manifestations are accented notes that are too flat, or that scoop up to pitch. This is usually a side effect of the mistaken idea that accented notes should be tongued “harder.” The … Read more