Favorite blog posts, March 2022

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

Woodwind trill technique

Ideally, a trill is done with one finger, and preferably a finger that is nimble and independent, like an index or middle finger: flute bassoon clarinet In many cases that isn’t possible. When two fingers (or more!) are needed, it’s best if they can be fingers of the same hand, moving in the same direction … Read more

Making every marking audible

music notes

When my students work on études (musical pieces intended for study but not performance) I stress with them the idea of making everything on the page audible. That means that if I were unfamiliar with the étude but a skilled transcriber, I could listen to my student play, and write down with confidence every: Pitch … Read more

Practice fewer notes

printed musical note page

I can’t remember where I picked up this tip, but it has been a game-changer in how I practice technically-challenging passages. (If you know a source, please let me know!) The idea is this: practice only as many notes as you can keep in your head. So, if I’m practicing an unfamiliar passage, and can … Read more

Favorite blog posts, February 2022

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

A woodwind player’s introduction to: Native American flutes

There are many Native American flute traditions, but the one commonly called the “Native American flute” today is the endblown Lakota-style flute, native to the Dakotas. It is a duct- or fipple-type flute, which means it easily produces sound, like a recorder or pennywhistle, though the construction is different. Many of the commercially-available flutes are … Read more

The wallpaper effect

white capsules on yellow background

Sometimes I see “challenges” similar to this posted on social media sites: can you find the letter J in the image below? Of course you can. It’s not at all difficult. (But if someone online can convince you that it is, and that you’re one of the “special” few who can do it, then maybe … Read more

List collection: Woodwind music by composers in underrepresented groups

I’ve added a new resource, Woodwind music by composers in underrepresented groups. This is a collection of lists other people have assembled. The object is to pull together some high-quality links for my own use and hopefully the use of others. If you maintain or know of a well-researched list that should be included, please … Read more

Jazz education and the “ya gotta listen” cop-out

brass drums

It’s an article of faith among jazz musicians and educators that listening to jazz is crucial to learning to play jazz. This seems obviously true to me about jazz and about any style of music. (Doubtless one of the reasons the jazz-initiated like to bang this drum, so to speak, is because most of Western … Read more