Bob Reynolds Archives | Bret Pimentel, woodwinds

Favorite blog posts, October 2015

January 1, 2018October 31, 2015 by Bret Pimentel

Lots of great woodwind blogging this month!

Ben Britton shares some tips on jazz saxophone section playing. In a sort of related post, Bob Reynolds discusses note endings in section playing.
Roderick Seed gives advice on getting a good middle E on the flute.
Pauline at Cleonide discusses the (non?-)influence of instrument materials on tone. Unsurprisingly, the naysayers were quick to respond in the comments section with their unsupported arguments (as they have been on my own posts on this topic).
Bassoonist Barry Stees offers some ideas for playing pianissimo.
Clarinetist Jenny Maclay believes there is more to life than All-State auditions.
Flutist Helen Bledsoe has a request for composers about articulation markings.
Bassoonist Mike Macaulay shares thoughts on preparing orchestral parts.
Saxophonist Peter Spitzer muses on the “bis” key.
Bassoonist Jessi Vandagriff suggests raising your lesson fees.
Saxophonist Bob Reynolds (again) relieves stress by practicing fundamentals.

Favorite blog posts, June 2015

January 1, 2018June 30, 2015 by Bret Pimentel

Interesting things from the woodwind blogosphere in June:

Saxophonist Sam Newsome discusses slow practice and using clarinet reeds on the soprano saxophone.
Oboist Jennet Ingle shares some ideas about how mindset affects aspects of performance, specifically intonation and phrase shaping.
Saxophonist Bob Reynolds gives advice on professionalism.
Patty Mitchell examines the mythology of the oboe and college scholarships.
Kristopher King looks at some members of the bassoon family and why you might want them in your arsenal.

All of my favorite blog authors from June are ones I’ve featured previously, some many times. That’s fine by me but I’m always anxious to check out ones I haven’t been reading already. If you think I might be overlooking some, please get in touch! I’m in the process of updating my blogroll, and happy to add new woodwind-related blogs.

Favorite blog posts, October 2014

July 20, 2022October 31, 2014 by Bret Pimentel

Lots of very fine woodwind-related blog posts this month.

Barry Stees exposes a common bassoon technique weakness (even for players at the highest level) and begins to explore solutions (promising more to come).
Oboist Susan Laney Spector explains some of the difficulties musicians face in the highly-competitive world of orchestral auditions.
Jennet Ingle has a breakthrough with an oboe student just by teaching some vocabulary.
Saxophonist Bob Reynolds does some YouTube archaeology and shows the difference a couple of decades can make in musical maturity, even for a very accomplished player.
Anna Norris and Nicolasa Kuster each share their experiences auditioning for the Chicago Symphony principal bassoon vacancy.
Cate Hummel advises against the “kiss and roll” method of teaching flute.
Oboist Patty Mitchell comments on practicing quantity vs. quality.
Jennifer Cluff shares a methodical flute warmup.
Flutist Katherine Emeneth shares a roundup of tips for “potent practicing.”
Saxophonist Bill Plake explains how to approach technique a little less, well, technically.
David Pierce rounds up some editions and recordings of the Mozart bassoon concerto.
“The Phantom Clarinet” at the Adventures in Woodwindland blog explores the extended low register of the bassoon [update: link dead].
Saxophonist Ben Britton reviews a new weird gadget that, to my surprise, seems to be getting a number of positive reviews. (I haven’t tried it.)
On Powell Flutes’s Flute Builder blog: how a wooden headjoint is cut.