Recital videos, August 2022

Here is a recap of some of my favorite stuff from the blog from 2013. Because hey, I’m on vacation too.

• The Fingering Diagram Builder got a new major release, plus a minor release. Development has slowed down a bit on this, not because I’ve stopped planning and working on improvements to it, but because it’s really working surprisingly well at this point and its popularity is growing in a satisfying way. I expect future releases to be on the deliberate side at least for the foreseeable future. (Don’t let that stop you from sending in your suggestions, feature requests, and bug reports.)
• My Woodwind Doubling in Musicals list got a long-overdue major overhaul. Check it out and share information about the shows you have played.
• I discontinued my “woodwind blogs you should be reading” series in favor of a monthly roundup of my favorite posts. I think it’s more interesting and useful, plus I can give regular shout-outs to woodwind bloggers who are consistently putting out good stuff, or highlight a diamond in the rough.
• I finally got most of my best advice about doing a multiple woodwinds degree all in one place.
• I ranted about why I think music education is important (spoiler: it’s not math skills).
• I gave a presentation and a recital.
• I want my students to show up, to be individuals but also embrace tradition, and to listen critically to themselves.
• I reviewed Butch Hall Native-American-style flutes, Hercules saxophone/woodwind stands, and some innovative new products from Vandoren (note the date on that one). Note to makers/sellers of woodwind products: I get a large amount of traffic to this site for my product reviews, and in more than a few cases my reviews get higher Google placement than the makers’ own websites. Drop me a line if you want to send me cool stuff to check out (even just on loan).
• I wrote about the flutist’s tongue, the clarinet’s break (part 1 and part 2),  the bassoon’s terrifyingly numerous high F-sharp fingerings, and clarinet-to-saxophone doubling or vice versa.
• For electronic-woodwind buffs, you special kind of nerds, you, I did a how-to on playing the Telemann Canonic Sonatas on wind controller with a delay pedal. You, too, can play duets with yourself.
• I gave unsolicited advice to high school and college students on auditioning and on buying new instruments.
• And I did my best to clear up some things for the Twitter generation of musicians.

Thanks for your ongoing support. Best wishes to you and your reeds for 2014.

Here are some of the things that went on here at your favorite woodwind blog during the past year, and some things to look for in 2017.

• My biggest “hits” in terms of site visits and social media response were Please stop telling you clarinet students to tighten their embouchures, A few thoughts on the new Roland Aerophone AE-10, Stuff bad music teachers say, Solo/chamber stage etiquette for first-year music majors, and Practicing and the two-minute rule.
• Some oldies that were popular during 2016: my posts about college music education majors and applied instrument study, jazz chord symbols, and automatic sharps, flats, and naturals for Microsoft Word.
• As always, some of the posts that felt most important to me didn’t get as much attention. Some that I wish would have sparked more discussion or been shared more widely were the articulation-related posts “Starting” notes with the tongue and Tonguing and language sounds, the tone-related posts The role of tone exercises and Achieving an ideal tone, and Things you need to cover in woodwind methods class.
• The Fingering Diagram Builder didn’t get any new features or improvements this year, but I have a new version in progress with some improvements I hope you will like. No promises at this point about release date. These days I’m seeing FDB diagrams pop up in virtually every issue of some of the major woodwind organization journals, plus I’m hearing at least a few times a month from people working on books, articles, dissertations, and other things. I love to hear from anybody who is finding the FDB useful (and of course I expect people working on for-profit projects to touch base). I did write a blog post about using created diagrams: Creating fingering charts with diagrams from the Fingering Diagram Builder.
• The big list of woodwind doubling in musicals continues to be a cool way for me to connect with woodwind players from all over the world. The list grows larger and more accurate on nearly a weekly basis. Thanks to all contributors, and I hope to hear from you some more in 2017.
• I shared a few professional achievements and activities, like some multiple-woodwinds recital videos, a woodwind doubling presentation, a visit to the IDRS conference and a presentation there, and my interview on the Clarineat podcast.
• I did another 12 months’ worth of my favorite posts from other blogs. I welcome tips on other woodwind-related blogs I should be following, including yours.
• It has long been an ambition of mine for the things I write on this blog to crystalize into a book on woodwind playing. I’m pleased to report that I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on that project, and am 85% on track to release it in the first half of 2017. It’s something that I am hoping will be useful for college woodwind methods classes, for school band directors and private teachers, and for woodwind players (especially doublers). If you’re interested, consider joining this mailing list so I can let you know when it’s available. Or make sure you’re following my blog posts on Twitter and/or Facebook for that eventual announcement, plus of course all my latest blog posts.

Thanks for reading, commenting, sharing, and otherwise connecting in 2016. See you next year!