What are the best instruments, mouthpieces, reeds, headjoints, method books, and other products for woodwind doublers?
I often see this question asked on online message boards (“I’m a saxophone player, so which clarinet mouthpiece should I buy?”) or answered in advertising copy (“The perfect flute headjoint for the woodwind doubler”).
When aspiring doublers ask this question, I think often what they are really asking is, “What product can I purchase that will save me having to really learn a new instrument?” If you’re serious about playing the flute, you’ll want to use the kind of flute that a good flutist would use. If you’re serious about the clarinet, you’ll seek out the kinds of reeds, mouthpieces, and instruments favored by fine clarinetists. In other words, the best clarinet for a woodwind doubler is… the best clarinet.
To double successfully, you have to abandon the idea that you can double on flute and clarinet (and so forth) without having to commit to being a flutist and a clarinetist. There are no shortcuts!
Many doublers start out as clarinetists or saxophonists, and many doublers would say that the flute is particularly challenging as a double. These phenomena are related. Let’s look at some of the issues woodwind doublers have with the flute. I’ll offer a sort of glib, inadequate tip or two for each situation, but the real solution here is to learn the flute right, with lots of patience, years of dedicated practice, and a well-qualified and longsuffering flute teacher.
Lightheadedness, inability to play long phrases, fuzzy tone, weak low register. These are products of a too-large aperture (the opening in your lips). Single-reed players tend to have a mental image of a relatively large clarinet or saxophone mouthpiece held in their embouchures. Think instead of the actual opening between the tip of the reed and the tip of the mouthpiece—this is much closer to the size of opening you need to create in your lips. (Think especially of a high-pitched instrument like a clarinet or soprano saxophone, and a mouthpiece with a narrow tip opening.) Or try this: close your lips and relax them as much as possible, then blow gently until a tiny “needle” of air pokes through the center of your lips. That’s how much smaller your aperture needs to be.
Thin/shrill tone, weak low register. The saxophone uses a medium voicing, and the clarinet uses a high voicing, but the flute uses a very low voicing. (Flute doublers coming from a double reed instrument or even a brass instrument have an advantage here.) Keep your airstream very warm, even in the highest register, to give your tone depth.
Uneven intonation and tone. If you are counting on similarities between flute fingerings and clarinet or saxophone fingerings, then you are likely committing a number of flute crimes. F-sharp uses the right third finger, not middle finger. And you must master the ballet between the left index finger and right pinky finger, especially in the transition from first to second octave. (If middle-finger F-sharp and a lazy right pinky sound fine to you, it’s because your tone production technique and tone concept aren’t well developed yet.)
No dynamic control. The typical problem is loud third octave, medium-loud second octave, and very soft first octave. This is a sure sign that you are trying to change octaves by blowing harder or softer. Your “octave key” on the flute is your flexible, well-trained embouchure. Instead of cranking up to gale force for the higher octaves, try pushing gently forward with your lips. (As a side note, if you find in doubling situations that your embouchure is tense and swollen when switching from reeds to flute, that’s a sign that you are playing reeds with too much tension.)
Sluggish technique. There are two main problems here that doublers bring to the table. The first is the habit of moving relatively large, heavy, stiffly-sprung keys. A flute’s keys are small, light, and move with a feather touch. The second issue is insecurity in holding the instrument. It can be hard for a beginner to get the instrument properly balanced (laziness about fingerings can contribute to this, too), and that will slow you down. If the flute keeps trying to roll out of your hands, rotate it a few degrees so the bulk of the keywork sits right on top of the instrument.
Sight-reading disasters in the third octave. Flutists play way up in the ledger lines as a matter of course. If you want to hang in the flute section, it’s time to learn to read those notes fluently. Stumbling around above the staff is also a sign that you haven’t really payed your dues technique-wise yet: you’re getting by within the staff because the fingerings are similar enough to saxophone and clarinet, but above the staff is a different story. Practice your scales and arpeggios.
Good flute playing doesn’t come from casual “dabbling.” Take the flute seriously, study it diligently with good instruction, and it will be a joy to play and a boon to your doubling career.
One of the first “technical” things I wrote on this blog was about playing in tune. I ran across that now-embarrassing post recently and decided it is time to revisit that topic since my thinking about it has crystallized a bit more.
To play a woodwind instrument in tune, there are five factors to address:
Ears. If you don’t know what “in tune” sounds like, you probably won’t do it by accident. I still like the Tuning CD (now available as a download) for this. Follow the instructions for your instrument and do a few minutes every day over the long term. Sing, too. Electronic tuners have some uses but ear training doesn’t happen to be one of them.
Equipment. Play the best instruments, mouthpieces, etc. you are able to get. If you are picking out new equipment, intonation should probably be your top priority over sexier things like “tone,” which is both more subjective and more malleable. (Incidentally, this is one of the best arguments for playing new woodwind instruments rather than “vintage,” since, generally speaking, incremental improvements mean that each generation of instruments plays better in tune than the one before.) Sure, you can “play” a lesser instrument in tune, but let your equipment do as much of the work for you as possible.
Playing technique. This includes, for starters, consistent and powerful breath support, accurate and stable voicing, and a well-formed embouchure. Even small weaknesses in any of these areas makes your pitch less steady and predictable, and more significant weaknesses can make good intonation virtually impossible.
Adjustment of the tuning mechanism(s). This means pulling something in or out to slightly adjust the instrument’s length, but it could also include, say, selecting a clarinet barrel or a bassoon bocal. Assuming good equipment and solid playing technique, there will be a “spot” where the mouthpiece/barrel/headjoint/etc. should go for the instrument to play optimally in tune at its intended pitch level (A=440? A=442? etc.). Any deviation from this should be a carefully-considered compromise. For example, if you are playing with an ensemble that tunes a little sharper than you’re used to, you can “push in” to make it a little easier to get up to pitch, but you will find that the instrument’s intonation characteristics change: some notes will get a little sharper, some a lot sharper.
Adjustment of individual notes. Even on the best instruments, some notes have undesirable pitch tendencies. And sometimes you have to play a note a little “out of tune” to match another musician’s pitch, to meet the demands of “just” intonation, for expressive purposes, or for a variety of other reasons. These adjustments are best made by using alternate fingerings or by making slight temporary changes in voicing. Be wary of using any other technique, including things like “rolling” the flute or making any embouchure changes (“dropping the jaw”), which are unwieldy and compromise other aspects of tone production.
Development of good intonation is a cycle of revisiting each of these elements again and again: each improvement to your ears, each equipment change, each change in your technique, each adjustment of a tuning mechanism, and the needs of each individual playing situation may require further refinements of all the other areas. If intonation isn’t something you have tackled seriously before, then start by working on your ears, and be patient.
This is a technique I recommend often to students who are struggling with notey passages. I can’t remember where I picked it up, or whether “anchoring” is my own name for it or someone else’s. No doubt credit for this belongs to somebody smarter than I.
The problem that I sometimes see with my students (and, okay, occasionally with myself) is that fast passages are uneven and panicky. The student sees a long string of notes and frantically dives in, to the detriment of meter and tempo, and with notes accidentally omitted or added.
It’s a challenging passage—shifting harmony, intervallic motion, awkward fingerings. This is a recipe for frustration using the old standby method of playing slowly with the metronome and gradually increasing the tempo. Instead, let’s set the metronome aside for a few minutes, and play the passage in an intentionally uneven way:
with added tenuto-accent-fermatas
Put lots of weight on the metric pulses (the “anchor” notes): play them long, loud, and with emphasis. Hold each fermata long enough to scope out the next four notes, then move through them as quickly as you accurately can, coming to rest again on the next fermata. Repeat the passage in this way as many times as you can stand.
Here’s what this accomplishes:
It makes you think about logical groups of notes, rather than trying either to process each note individually or to deal with the whole phrase as an overwhelming sea of notes. It’s the sweet spot between too much mental chatter and too little focus.
It encourages effective phrasing by treating the notes as leading toward downbeats.
It trains your ears to hear the notes in fours (at least in this 2/4 passage—try threes instead if the situation calls for it). Now as you return to playing the passage evenly, you are more likely to notice if you are omitting or adding notes.
To transition from this technique into a more performable approach, gradually decrease the duration of the fermatas and the weight of the accents, while continuing to mentally emphasize the anchor notes and place them carefully in tempo (time to get the metronome back out). Also try spacing the anchors farther apart as an intermediate step—one at the beginning of each measure, for example, or every few measures as appropriate.
In general, I’m not that concerned about keeping fingers close to instrument keys. A lot of woodwind players and teachers seem to believe that “close” fingers mean more speed, which I haven’t found necessarily to be the case. To me, a much larger factor is tension: if my fingers are tense (because, for example, I’m trying really hard to keep them close to the keys), they move more slowly.
But when I work with beginning clarinetists (whether first-time instrumentalists or doublers), many of them seem to have a great deal of trouble with squeaks and with notes responding sluggishly—problems that I think in most cases can be traced to fingers not completely covering toneholes, or not covering them in a synchronized way. And one of the major reasons that this happens is that the fingers are too detached from from the keys. It’s not a question of distance, per se, but one of awareness.
One reason this is such an issue for clarinetists in particular is that so many fingers have multiple jobs. The left thumb operates a tonehole/ring and a key, which must sometimes be pressed individually and sometimes together. The left index finger has a tonehole/ring and two keys. The right index finger has a tonehole/ring and four “side” keys. And the pinky fingers have responsibilities exceeded only by the bassoonist’s thumbs. Throw in a couple of sliver keys, and you’ve got a lot of fingers constantly in transit from one key to another. Read More “Staying connected to the clarinet”
Many musicians are eager to tell you what equipment they use. They list their equipment on their websites, in the signature lines of their forum postings, and so on. I don’t.
I’m rarely impressed with what I see on fellow woodwind players’ lists. Ownership of impressive equipment (assuming the gear is, in fact, paid for?) does not make a fine player. Ownership of unimpressive equipment seems, well, like it’s not worth boasting about.
Some musicians seem to see their equipment listing as a service to the musical community, as though others will benefit from knowing what instruments they play. Buying instruments, mouthpieces, reeds, and so forth just because another player uses them—even a truly fine player—is much like buying the same shoes your favorite basketball player wears. No doubt they are fine shoes, but they might not suit your feet, your ability level, your playing surface, or your personal sense of style. Equipment listings are especially hazardous to younger beginners, who may be easily convinced that owning certain equipment will solve their problems, or who may ill-advisedly buy equipment that isn’t a good fit for them. Read More “Why I don’t list my equipment”
I remember as a young college student attending a masterclass by a world-class musician. He was scornful of students spending a lot of time in practice rooms playing scales. He urged us instead to get outside and watch a sunset, and then “play the sunset.”
Advice like that has its place. But I was doing exactly as my teacher assigned: spending a lot of time in practice rooms playing scales. My teacher assigned that because it was what I needed at that stage in my development. I wouldn’t have had much success trying to “play the sunset” because I hadn’t yet learned the technique I needed.
I have my university woodwind methods students do an assignment evaluating pedagogical articles. They use a few criteria, including appropriateness for teaching beginners. The articles’ authors don’t always make that clear. In fact, I suspect many of the authors would resist the idea that their advice is level-specific. “Oh, no, my ideas apply to all students.”
I understand the appeal of that viewpoint, that good woodwind pedagogy is made of unassailable truths. But here’s a counterexample. With beginner and intermediate students, I teach that voicing is stable; you learn the “correct” voicing and then stick with it. But with more advanced students I teach that voicing is a tool to adjust tuning, response, and tone. Their technique, ear for pitch, and expressive requirements have reached a higher level, and they are ready. (I’ve addressed this two-phase approach to voicing previously.)
Masterclasses like the one I attended are often taught by very high-level performers. Their own teaching studios are filled with advanced, high-achieving graduate students. With those students, it may be productive to discuss heady philosophical or creative ideas. But the less-elite students really do need to hit a practice room and learn their scales. For them, high-level advice is pointless, frustrating, and condescending.
Consider carefully the needs of those you teach. When necessary, be clear that your teaching may be geared toward students at a particular level.
Same is true for the quality of the instrument. Just because it is a second or third instrument, don’t consider getting a cheap instrument. I have tried to get many vintage and used instruments to work such as with the bass clarinet.
This didn’t work. Got a new top of the line bass clarinet and suddenly I could play from top to bottom of the range.
I really appreciate this topic. I am not serious doubler, by that I mean I still have one very strong instrument and then weaker instruments, but I do want to sound like I know what I am doing. With some of the equipment I’m playing on it makes it difficult, and this article made me realize, yes if I’m going to play clarinet it’s time to break down and buy one that is worthwhile.
Bret, I agree with the assertion that there’s really no substitute for time spent practicing your second or third (or fourth or fifth…) instrument but there are some ways to make the your life easier. For myself, as a flutist, I have a real issue with the pressure needed to get a good tone on the clarinet. I recently got a Walt Grabner K14 (his ‘Klezmer/jazz’ style mouthpiece) which has made a world of difference for me. Not as robust as the Backun, but it has made tone production, articulation and just plain embouchure comfort much better for me. I would also agree with Gandalfe that a high quality instrument makes a world of difference. While I don’t feel it’s completely necesary to get an absolute top line instrument, I would highly recomend finding a good repairman (or woman!), nothing can make your life worse than an instrument that’s out of adjustment.
So basically my advice would be to get the best instrument you can afford, get a good quality (and easy blowing) moutpiece or headjoint, and make sure the darn thing works. Then practice!
I’m glad you found a mouthpiece that makes things easier for you. But why should “easier” equipment be reserved for doublers? If a mouthpiece makes the instrument easier to play, wouldn’t clarinetists-only also benefit from it? Or have you selected this mouthpiece because it lets you recycle elements of your flute technique, rather than learning proper clarinet technique (“pressure”)?
I agree 100% with your advice—buy the best you can afford, then practice—for doublers and non-doublers alike.
I’d like to add that equipment works differently for everyone, headjoints, reed/mouthpiece combinations, instruments, are all subject to everyone’s individual standards. Because we all have different bodies, each piece of material will react different for us. I play on a setup that both my teachers probably wouldn’t play on, but they both say that it works for me.
A lot of this will be trial and error, and working with someone else on how it sounds, whether it’s a teacher, or a colleague.
Bret, I really love what you’re saying about equipment here. I think mindset should be added also. To double on flute, you should think and approach it like a flutist, not like a clarinetist who plays flute. I strive, in all my doubles, to get the characteristic sound of that instrument, rather than an oboist playing clarinet. I think we should all strive for that same characteristic in sound.
Same is true for the quality of the instrument. Just because it is a second or third instrument, don’t consider getting a cheap instrument. I have tried to get many vintage and used instruments to work such as with the bass clarinet.
This didn’t work. Got a new top of the line bass clarinet and suddenly I could play from top to bottom of the range.
I really appreciate this topic. I am not serious doubler, by that I mean I still have one very strong instrument and then weaker instruments, but I do want to sound like I know what I am doing. With some of the equipment I’m playing on it makes it difficult, and this article made me realize, yes if I’m going to play clarinet it’s time to break down and buy one that is worthwhile.
Bret, I agree with the assertion that there’s really no substitute for time spent practicing your second or third (or fourth or fifth…) instrument but there are some ways to make the your life easier. For myself, as a flutist, I have a real issue with the pressure needed to get a good tone on the clarinet. I recently got a Walt Grabner K14 (his ‘Klezmer/jazz’ style mouthpiece) which has made a world of difference for me. Not as robust as the Backun, but it has made tone production, articulation and just plain embouchure comfort much better for me. I would also agree with Gandalfe that a high quality instrument makes a world of difference. While I don’t feel it’s completely necesary to get an absolute top line instrument, I would highly recomend finding a good repairman (or woman!), nothing can make your life worse than an instrument that’s out of adjustment.
So basically my advice would be to get the best instrument you can afford, get a good quality (and easy blowing) moutpiece or headjoint, and make sure the darn thing works. Then practice!
I’m glad you found a mouthpiece that makes things easier for you. But why should “easier” equipment be reserved for doublers? If a mouthpiece makes the instrument easier to play, wouldn’t clarinetists-only also benefit from it? Or have you selected this mouthpiece because it lets you recycle elements of your flute technique, rather than learning proper clarinet technique (“pressure”)?
I agree 100% with your advice—buy the best you can afford, then practice—for doublers and non-doublers alike.
I’d like to add that equipment works differently for everyone, headjoints, reed/mouthpiece combinations, instruments, are all subject to everyone’s individual standards. Because we all have different bodies, each piece of material will react different for us. I play on a setup that both my teachers probably wouldn’t play on, but they both say that it works for me.
A lot of this will be trial and error, and working with someone else on how it sounds, whether it’s a teacher, or a colleague.
Bret, I really love what you’re saying about equipment here. I think mindset should be added also. To double on flute, you should think and approach it like a flutist, not like a clarinetist who plays flute. I strive, in all my doubles, to get the characteristic sound of that instrument, rather than an oboist playing clarinet. I think we should all strive for that same characteristic in sound.