- Clarinetist/doubler Gentry Ragsdale-Szeto finds ways to squeeze in practice on multiple instruments.
- Oboist Patty Mitchell discusses the energy musicians put into playing, teaching, and listening to themselves.
- Clarinetist and saxophonist Andrew Allen explores some difficulties and benefits of playing and teaching multiple instruments.
- Flutist Jolene Harju shares tips on keeping double-tongued notes resonant.
- Clarinetist Jenny Maclay doesn’t play rests, but does observe silences.
Patty Mitchell
Favorite blog posts, December 2016
- Saxophonist Bill Plake discusses the relationship between strength and coordination in instrumental technique.
- Jenny Maclay lists some important clarinet repertoire, in a festive format.
- Clarinetist Denise Gainey shares a funny and relatable gig story.
- David Pierce offers exercises for upper-register bassoon playing in sharp keys. I also liked this mini-etude for dealing with some common in-the-staff issues [update: links dead].
- Khara Wolf compiles some information on making English horn reeds.
- Oboist Patty Mitchell reminds us about posture and practicing.
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, November 2015
Lots of interesting woodwind blog posts this month. Here are some favorites:
- Flutist Roderick Seed is doing a nice series offering commentary on the Andersen Op. 15 etudes.
- Michael Lowenstern addresses the idea of bass clarinet as a college major. (This one is from very late October but I didn’t catch it in time.)
- Saxophonists Sam Newsome and Ben Britton each offer exercises for improving low register tone production.
- College freshman flute major Hannah Haefele shares what she is learning in her transition from high school practicing to college-level practicing.
- Clarinetist Michael Dean shares his pre-performance checklist.
- Oboist Patty Mitchell distinguishes between knowing your music and knowing your music.
- Flutist Rachel Taylor Geier explains the practicing technique of chunking.
- Cate Hummel recommends against the old flute “kiss and roll” trick.
Favorite blog posts, July 2015
- 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, June 2015
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, April 2015
Enjoy:
- Oboist Patty Mitchell wrote so many good posts this month that I just couldn’t decide, so here’s one about getting over reed stress, one about not making excuses, and one about half-hole technique.
- Saxophonist Bill Plake discusses a problem with teaching and learning music.
- Clarinetist Sandy Herrera dares to set the metronome aside, sometimes.
- Barry Stees suggests a do-it-yourself fix for the problematic low D on bassoon.
- Clarinetist Rachel Yoder describes a system for quantifying practicing progress.
- William Short shares some lesser-known bassoon high note fingerings (with very attractive diagrams).
- “Vintage Clarinet Doctor” Jeremy Soule explains the difference between a re-pad and an overhaul.
Favorite blog posts, February 2015
I’m running a little behind, but here are some of my favorite woodwind blog posts from last month:
- Jean-Francois Charles provides a roundup of some interesting music using saxophone with electronics in various ways.
- Bassoonist William Short (of the Metropolitan Opera) focuses on fundamentals, but just for a few minutes.
- Saxophonist Sam Newsome discusses mouthpiece obsession.
- Cate Hummel shares a few thoughts on the flute’s low register.
- Patty Mitchell deals with oboe reeds and attitudes.
- Lynne Krayer-Luke of Flying Flutistas discusses inclusive attention in practicing and performance [update: link dead].
Favorite blog posts, October 2014
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.
Favorite blog posts, August 2014
From the woodwind blogs in August:
- Reports on the International Clarinet Society’s 2014 “ClarinetFest” (held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA) by Josh Johnson and, of course, on the ClarinetFest blog. (My own brief general report is here, plus a report on my own presentation on woodwind doubling.)
- Reports on the International Double Reed Society conferences (New York City) by Jennet Ingle, Patty Mitchell, and Robin Tropper (parts one and two).
- A sort-of-report (sort-of-advertisement) on the National Flute Association conference on the Powell Flutes blog.
- “TFox” examines the issue of ivory bassoon bell rings.
- Oboist Jennet Ingle comments on the maturity that comes with experience. In, I think, a sort of related vein, she also discusses perfectionism and “mistakes.”
- Clarinetist Heather Roche gives some tips on double tonguing.
- Saxophonist Jeff Cunningham suggests some guidelines for determining the right reed strength for you. His site is geared toward less-experienced players, but in my opinion a number of “advanced” players could use a refresher on this.
- Saxophonist Sam Sadigursky explains an approach to help with mastering scales.
- Adam Berkowitz shares and comments on a very cool video of some bleeding-edge electronic bass clarinet playing and technology (most of the playing is by Matthias Müller).
- Saxophonist Jody Espina shares his “squeak-be-gone” exercise.
- Saxophonist Bill Plake compares routine and process in practicing.