Favorite blog posts, December 2017

Betsy Sturdevant brainstorms some (tongue-in-cheek) reasons not to sharpen her bassoon reed profiler blade.
Woodwind doubler Ed Joffe shares some practical advice about subbing on gigs.
Flutist Nicole Riner explores some lessons about focus learned during an artist retreat.
Joan Martí-Frasquier lists some repertoire for baritone saxophone.
Oboist Jennet Ingle considers some ideas about motivation and doing difficult things.
Clarinetist Michael Dean offers some small but useful performing tips.
Flutist Jessica Quiñones shares some ways to build a private studio.
Saxophonist Larry Weintraub recalls a day spent with Michael Brecker.
Khara Wolf suggests solutions for oboe reeds with too-wide tip openings.

Favorite blog posts, March 2017

Saxophonist Kristen McKeon auspiciously launches her blog with a post on mindfulness in rehearsal.
Flutist Jolene Harju uses a custom warmup sheet.
Gentry Ragsdale-Szeto shares her journey as a woodwind doubler.
Matt Stohrer offers some tips on navigating the modern saxophone market.
Flutist Cynthia Ellis has an epiphany about the much-fretted-over “teardrop” lip.
Jeff Cunningham gives advice to beginners about the “spitty” saxophone sound.
Flutist Deanna Mathews Kilbourne suggests what to practice first.
Joan Marti-Frasquier shares a quarter-tone fingering chart for baritone saxophone.

So many great woodwind blog posts in September. The flute bloggers are on fire!

Deanna Mathews Kilbourne offers some fingering tips for the flute’s notoriously sharp C-sharp.
Oboist Jennet Ingle explores quarter tones. Also, an open letter to her students about making their own reeds.
Flutist Nicole Riner shares some creative practice tips.
Ed Joffe discusses the history of woodwind doubling.
Flutist Angela McCuiston gets into some nuts and bolts of teaching lessons remotely via internet.
Bassoonist Jolene Mason experiences burnout.
Flutist Andrée Martin warns against mindless, repetitive practicing.
Joan Martí-Frasquier provides an annotated list of amateur/student-appropriate baritone saxophone repertoire.
Flutist Rachel Taylor Geier offers some suggestions on lesson scheduling.
Viviana Guzman reports on the National Flute Association conference.

Some nice work from woodwind bloggers in January:

Some good advice on Matt Stohrer’s Open Source Saxophone Project on inspecting a used saxophone.
Bassoonist Barry Stees suggests using multiple senses to improve technique.
Joan Martí-Frasquier shares a thorough altissimo fingering chart for baritone saxophone, including quarter tones.
Some good stuff from the D’Addario Reserve Method Program blog, including one from clarinetist Nick Councilor on some basics of ensemble etiquette and one from clarinetist Bradley Grasl on being your own teacher.

Don’t see your favorite blog here? (Your own, perhaps?) Make sure I know about it.