Favorite blog posts, February 2016

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, August 2015

Favorite blog posts, August 2014

From the woodwind blogs in August:

Favorite blog posts, January 2014

Here’s what’s worth reading from the woodwind blogs in January:

  • Woodwind doubler Steve Moffett suggests taking a break now and then.
  • Oboist Patty Mitchell reminds us that playing with a pianist means needing to know your own part and his or hers.
  • Helen Bledsoe weighs in on the debate about how register changes are made on the flute. I don’t entirely agree with her, but she makes some interesting points, as do the flutists in the videos she shares. (For more on this, see my previous post and accompanying PDF cataloging some of the, er, hot air surrounding this topic.)
  • Clarinetist Adam Berkowitz takes practicing to the next level.
  • Bassoonist Christin Schillinger shares some ideas about ongoing development as a musician, plus some metronome games.
  • Woodwind doubler Josh Johnson does a review of the Ridenour Lyrique bass clarinet. I’m sharing this one because I think it’s a well-written and thoughtful review, and because I think high-quality instruments made from alternative materials are a welcome next wave in woodwind manufacture. As a side note, I recently purchased one of these basses for my university clarinet studio and have spent some time playing it, and my experience with the instrument basically matches Josh’s.
  • Oboist Cooper Wright seeks to raise standards in his teaching studio.
  • Woodwind doubler Michael Grant concludes(?) a 12-part marathon of long posts describing his experience playing in the pit orchestra for a local musical theater production [update: link dead].

Just when I think I’ve got every single woodwind-related blog in my feed reader, I stumble onto a dozen more. If you’re writing good stuff and think you might have escaped my notice, let me know!