Favorite blog posts, July 2022

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

Teaching a college woodwind methods course

teacher giving instructions not to cheat

If you’re scrambling to prepare a new woodwind methods course, here are a few resources.

Make your musical lines sing and dance

man wearing blue jeans doing pirouette spin

In “classical” and related kinds of music, we are often asked to make our instrumental music sing or dance. In fact, most music of this type should do one or the other. Here’s how to make that happen.

Favorite blog posts, June 2022

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, June 2022 edition.

Review: Griff Musical Products EWI Stand

A few years back I posted my attempt at building a stand for my Akai EWI4000s. That stand has served me reasonably well since then, but I’m pleased recently to have found a much superior solution. The EWI Stand from Griff Musical Products’s Etsy store is a 3D-printed product (of durable PETG plastic) at a … Read more

What to listen for (or ignore) in cane vs. synthetic reed comparisons

selective focus photography of gray stainless steel condenser microphone

With the recent release of the second-generation Venn clarinet and saxophone reeds from D’Addario Woodwinds, there’s a new rush of YouTube videos and social media posts comparing them to cane reeds (and/or to other synthetics). Here are a few questions raised by those kinds of comparisons that you should be cautious of: “Do synthetic reeds … Read more

Favorite blog posts, May 2022

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, May 2022 edition.

What to expect in your first semester studying music in college

books file on shelf

Jumping in the deep end. In some college majors, you will spend your first couple of years doing “general education” courses (like writing, math, history, and science), and not take many “major” classes until later on. But with music, you usually start on day one with a lot of music classes. A thorough and varied … Read more