In what is turning out to be an approximately biannual roundup, I present the third installment of woodwind-related blogs that I’m enjoying, and you will too. If you’re late to the party, check out episodes 1 and 2. (In each case I picked at least one excellent blog that shortly thereafter stopped publishing new content, so take a look at today’s picks and see if you can guess which is getting the “Bret Pimentel, woodwinds” curse. Bwahahahaha.)
Tammy Evans Yonce
Tammy is a former classmate of mine (go ‘Dawgs), and a flutist and educator to keep an eye on. Her blog, just a few months old, is outstandingly good: important topics, carefully thought out, and clearly and elegantly written. Tammy writes about flute performance and pedagogy, with a special interest in making practice time really effective. A must-read.
Also check out Tammy on Twitter, and at her other new blog, the collaborative Music Collective.
Robin Tropper (Born Again Oboe)
Robin’s quirky blog chronicles his renewed pursuit of the oboe, after finishing a music degree and then spending a few years working on other interests. Robin’s expertise in engineering shows through in his posts, which often describe his methodical, quasi-experimental approach to improving his playing, and sometimes include technical illustrations and schematics. Robin is a genuine polymath, and is also very open about his struggles with chronic pain.
David Pierce (Dr. Pierce’s Bassoon Studio)
David teaches bassoon at Eastern Michigan University. He seems to use this blog mostly as a way of sharing good bassoon stuff with his students, but it’s a public blog, so you can pretend that you’re in Dr. Pierce’s studio, too. Quality pedagogical resources.
Doron Orenstein (Best Saxophone Website Ever)
Doron has chops and experience both as a saxophonist and as a web professional. His blog is polished and slick, but the most impressive thing is the participation of some of the genuine top pros in the saxophone-playing business. Saxophonists of the stature of David Liebman, Joe Lovano, and Walt Weiskopf have stopped by for interviews, some available in podcast form. Doron’s posts mostly take the position of a busy person with a day job, who approaches the saxophone as a serious creative outlet; topics include gear reviews, technique tips, and reflections on advice from great players. Note that Doron also features occasional posts from guest authors, which are by saxophonists of varying stature and expertise.
- Through the Eyes of Dave Liebman
- Category: Reviews
- And this one of course caught my eye: Do Saxophone Players Really Need to Double?
No clarinet love?
Missing from today’s list: a really excellent clarinet blog. There are a number of them in my feed reader, but none I’m in love with at the moment. Let me know if you’ve got something I should be checking out!
Thanks for the review Bret!
I’m really flattered because I like your blog quite a lot. In particular, your world of the multi-instrumentalist is quite different from anything I know and it’s really cool to get the insight of someone not cooped-up in the cares and worries of just making oboe reeds and nothing else!
I’ll definitely keep an eye on Tammy’s blog: looks like it can help me get my endurance back.
Doron’s blog seems good for other than sax players too! Oboes, clarinets and saxes like to scoff at each other, but in fact I like them all in their own right. It’s not a matter of different repertoire for different instruments (I can show the oboe playing fantastic jazz), but rather different voices of the soul!
Thanks again and keep it up!