Jennifer Cluff Archives | Bret Pimentel, woodwinds

The International Clarinet Association blog provides an introduction to Kornel Wolak’s research on clarinet articulation.
Érik González shares five tips to improve the oboe reedmaking process.
Saxophonist Andy Austin does postmortem on a disappointing performance.
Clarinetist Denise Gainey shares a personal experience with anxiety and self-care.
Saxophonist Bill Plake takes a deep dive on warming up.
Bassoonist David Pierce reflects on 35 years of growth as a teacher [update: link dead].
Jennifer Fraley shares some alternate fingerings for E-flat clarinet.
Flutist Jennifer Cluff reveals a favorite resource for study of ornaments.
Stephen Caplan examines the connection between oboe playing and some gastric phenomena.

Favorite blog posts, September 2017

January 1, 2018September 30, 2017 by Bret Pimentel

Flutist Jennifer Cluff offers advice on (not) playing with pain.
Clarinetist Jenny Maclay invites you to enlist for Baermann Boot Camp starting October 1st.
Cate Hummel shares tips on basic flute care.
Flutist Jolene Harju discusses breaking the habit of playing “test notes.”
Rachel Taylor Geier challenges you to test your flute knowledge with a quiz.
Oboist Jennet Ingle finds inspiration in fancy fountain pens regarding “flourish.”

Each of these fine woodwind bloggers has been featured here repeatedly, so be sure to subscribe to their RSS feeds and/or social media streams. And get in touch to let me know who else I should be following! (You, maybe?)

Favorite blog posts, April 2017

July 19, 2022April 30, 2017 by Bret Pimentel

Bassoonist Anna Norris suggests showing up for auditions.
Michael Shults switches between jazz and classical saxophone.
David Freeman transcribes recorder parts for Stairway to Heaven (but plays them on an electric keyboard…).
Michael Lowenstern addresses a bass clarinet reed question.
Flutist Vanessa Breault Mulvey discusses squeezing’s detrimental effect on flute playing [update: link dead].
Saxophonist Bill Plake discusses tone imagination.
Flutist Jolene Harju shares ideas for getting the most out of your lessons. I also liked her “Fundamentals Workout Planner.”
Jennet Ingle learns something about disappointing performances.
Saxophonist Jay Brandford shares an Eric Dolphy anecdote about dedication to detail in practicing.
Matt Stohrer shares his procedure for “setting up” a new saxophone. This is sort of a commercial post, but instructive about what a new instrument might need to play to its best potential.
Flutist Jennifer Cluff explains anchor tonguing.

Favorite blog posts, February 2016

July 20, 2022March 1, 2016 by Bret Pimentel

Some woodwind blog posts I liked in February:

Bassoonist Barry Stees shares an interesting idea about reed autopsies, plus a method for practicing the Rite of Spring solo.
Oboist Patty Mitchell has some advice for students who think they have unfixable technique problems.
Rachel Taylor Geier has some suggestions if you need more flute etudes to work on.
Saxophonist Andy Austin discusses the role of passion in pursuing a musical career.
Specific instrument brand/model recommendations should always be taken with a grain of salt, but woodwind doubler Josh Johnson discusses the importance of backup instruments, plus some of the issues involved with choosing instruments for situations where crack-proofness is important.
Clarinetist Meri Dolevski-Lewis shares a process for developing sight-transposition skills [update: link dead].
Flutist Jennifer Cluff offers some ideas on increasing success on the problematic high B.
Jolene Harju plays the flute with her feet. (Okay, it’s really a post about having “a grounded, rooted connection between the feet and the floor.”)
Gaenor Burchett-Vass discovers some favorite treasures of the English horn repertoire [update: link dead].
Clarinetist Sandy Herrera seeks a new balance between a musical career and family life after having a baby. (Congratulations, Sandy!)

Favorite blog posts, July 2015

July 20, 2022July 31, 2015 by Bret Pimentel

Patty Mitchell shares insights on oboe finger placement.
Betsy Sturdevant gives a behind-the-scenes look at playing principal bassoon on Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony and Brahms’s 1st piano concerto.
Sam Sadigursky explains why saxophonists should play the flute. (I would add to his list of reasons that the flute is a lovely instrument and playing it is a rewarding pursuit on its own merits.)
Jennifer Cluff gives good down-to-earth advice for beginning flutists.
The new The Clarinet: Online blog, the digital companion to the International Clarinet Association’s print journal, did some coverage of this year’s ClarinetFest® in Madrid, Spain. Here is day one.
Christopher Jones shares detailed information about clarinet left hand position.
The Adventures in Woodwindland blog examines the old question about “how many” instruments doublers play [update: link dead]. (Here’s my take from the early days of this blog.)

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.