Woodwind Doubler Census results, part 1: demographics

ByBret Pimentel

First things first: thank you thank you thank you to all who participated in the survey, and especially those who Tweeted, Facebooked, and otherwise spread the word. I was bowled over by the number and diversity of woodwind doublers who responded: top professionals, rank amateurs, and everyone in between, for a grand total of 187 responses. Wow! It has been fascinating to see your answers and read your comments. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be revealing what I’ve learned in installments. If you’re not already subscribed in some way, you can grab the RSS feed, sign up for updates by email, or follow me on Twitter. And you can see all related posts in one place, tagged as .

And now, with no further ado, I give you:

Woodwind Doubler Census results, part 1: Demographic background

Gender

Although a number of talented and versatile ladies responded, as a group we are mostly of the male persuasion.

Age

We represent a variety of vintages, with those in their 20s forming the largest group. And I was surprised at the number of under-20s who chimed in. It’s possible that the strong youthful contingent represented here has something to do with the survey being distributed via Internet, but I’d like to think that it also reflects a resurgence of interest in doubling among the rising generation of woodwind players. One web-savvy septuagenarian also stood up to be counted.

Continent

A large majority of respondents hail from the North American continent, though not-insignificant numbers responded from Europe and Australia/New Zealand. There were no respondents from South America, Africa, or Asia; it’s possible that this had something to do with the survey being available in English only.

(These numbers don’t add up to 100%, since not everyone answered this question.)

Residence type

About half of respondents make their home in a major city or metropolitan area.

Of those that claimed “other,” some explained that they live in small cities, in “exurbs,” or aboard cruise ships (really).

Location (free-form answer)

Some respondents gave more specific responses about where they live; I’m going to just dump them all here, sorted alphabetically but otherwise unedited:

  • 29301
  • Seattle, WA
  • Albany, NY
  • Albany, NY
  • Armidale, Australia
  • atlanta
  • Auburn, ME
  • Austin, TX
  • Australia
  • Australia, NSW, Newcastle
  • Birmingham, UK
  • Boston
  • Boston
  • Boston metro area
  • Bridgewater, MA
  • Brisbane, Australia
  • Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Central Arizona
  • Central Florida
  • Champaign IL
  • Charleston, WV
  • Chicago
  • Chicago
  • Chicago area
  • Chicago, IL
  • Christchurch, New Zealand
  • Cleveland, MS
  • Cleveland, MS
  • Collingswood,NJ
  • Cotati, CA
  • Dallas
  • Dallas
  • Dallas, TX
  • Denton, TX
  • Denton, TX
  • Derbyshire, UK
  • Durango, CO
  • East Coast (NY,PA,NJ)
  • East/South Bay Area, CA
  • Easton, PA
  • Essex/East London UK
  • Florida
  • Florida
  • florida
  • Gainesville FL
  • Gaithersburg, MD
  • Germany
  • Greater Seattke area
  • Greeley, CO
  • Greenville, SC
  • Grove Hill, Alabama
  • GTA, Ontario, but currently working on a ship embarking from Fort Lauderdale and Civitavecchia (Rome)
  • Hampton Roads, VA
  • Honolulu
  • Houston metro area
  • Indiana
  • Jupiter, FL
  • Lancaster, PA
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Leipzig, Germany
  • Los Angeles
  • Los Angeles
  • los angeles
  • Los Angeles CA
  • Macomb, Illinois (currently in grad school) – usually NYC
  • Macungie, PA
  • Mansfield, MA, USA
  • Marietta, GA
  • Melbourne
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Miami, FL
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin area
  • Minneapolis
  • Moscow, ID
  • Nampa Id
  • Nashville, TN
  • near NY City
  • New Brunswick
  • New England
  • New England
  • New England
  • New England
  • New York
  • New York City
  • New York City
  • New York City
  • North Mississippi
  • north of Manhattan, NY
  • Northern Illinois
  • Nova Scotia
  • NW Suburban Chicago
  • NYC/NJ area
  • Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma City (for graduate school) otherwise I’m from Minnesota
  • Omaha/Lincoln, NE
  • on the southern side of a valley in frankston
  • Oxford, MS
  • Perth, Western Australia
  • Phoenix, AZ
  • Pittsburgh
  • Portland, OR area
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Rhode Island
  • Sacramento
  • Salem, MA (near Boston)
  • San Diego
  • San Francisco
  • San Francisco Bay area
  • San Jose
  • Sarajevo, Bosnia
  • SC
  • Seattle
  • Seattle
  • SF Bay Area
  • South Dakota
  • South Florida
  • South Florida
  • South Florida
  • South Mississippi, USA
  • South UK
  • South Yorkshire – England
  • Southern Ohio
  • Spokane WA
  • Spokane WA
  • Spokane, WA
  • Spokane, WA, USA
  • Staten Island/Dorm in Jersey City, NJ
  • Stratford, Canada
  • Tampa, FL
  • Toronto, Canada
  • Utah
  • Virginia
  • Washington DC
  • Washington DC area
  • Waukesha, WI (greater Milwaukee area)
  • West Virginia
  • Western US
  • WI
  • WI
  • Winder, GA
  • Winston Salem, NC

An interactive map of this data is available for your amusement. It’s generated automatically from the above data and has some errors and omissions.

Education

On the whole we’re pretty well educated, with nearly half having education beyond a masters degree. Note that this reflects education in any field, not just music.

Identity

Out of 187 respondents, 116 of you (62%) identified yourselves by name. I recognized many of your names because you have commented on my blog posts or otherwise communicated with me, and I recognized others of your names because I’m a fan of your work. 103 of you (55%), mostly the same crowd, indicated your main gig or school affiliation. The variety is impressive and fascinating. I’ll be keeping your names and affiliations private, but I appreciate hearing from you and it has been cool to see who’s out there.

Web presence

An impressive 48 respondents (26%) provided a website address. I’ll be checking those out and adding links, as appropriate, to my blogroll and lists of woodwind players’ websites in the coming weeks. Incidentally, you are welcome to send in that information at any time for possible inclusion at bretpimentel.com.

Stay tuned…

There’s much more data from the Great Woodwind Doubler Census of 2011 to come!

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      Silk is preferable for pull-through swabs (oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone) because it is absorbent and compressible, so it’s less likely to get stuck inside the instrument than a cheaper felt swab. Even for a student instrument, it’s worth a few extra dollars to get silk.

      "headjoint swabs"
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      For flutes, avoid “headjoint swabs” that are little oddly-shaped pieces of chamois (or a synthetic version), unless you want to have to fish them out of the headjoint every time you try to use them. Instead, use the cleaning rod that came with the flute, plus a strip of fabric cut from an old bed sheet.
      The fuzzy “cleaning” brushes that look like giant pipe cleaners, that you insert and leave inside the instrument, do exactly the wrong thing by keeping all the moisture inside the instrument, instead of wiping it out like a good swab does.

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    • Reed guards/cases. Yes! Keeping reeds in one of these generally keeps them intact and in playing condition for longer than the disposable ones that the reeds come in. Those little plastic or cardboard sleeves that clarinet and saxophone reeds come in don’t keep them flat when they dry. And oboe and bassoon reeds often come in tubes that are too flimsy for regular use, or hinged plastic cases that come apart in the instrument’s case, leaving the reeds to bounce around unprotected.
    • Mouthpiece brushes. These are basically little vegetable brushes, with scratchy synthetic bristles and the dreaded twisted-wire core, much too aggressive for cleaning clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces. Instead, try a gentle rinse with room-temperature water and a drop of mild dish detergent. Stephen Howard’s vinegar-and-cotton method is good for occasional deeper cleanings.
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    • Key-dusting brushes. Gently removing some dust from the instrument’s mechanism isn’t an all-bad idea, but be advised that it’s easy to knock springs and things out of place. The brushes in these kits usually have twisted-wire cores, which can scratch instruments’ finishes. Instead, consider using cheap kids’ watercolor paintbrushes. Or, even better, make sure the instrument gets professional maintenance and cleaning at least once a year.
    • Key oil. No, no, no. This is a job for a professional to do. Besides, the kind in these care kits is usually cheap 3-in-1-type oil. Even if applied properly, it tends to drip back out of the keywork onto fingers, or worse, pads.
    • Bore oil. Absolutely not. Using this at all (only in wooden instruments) is controversial. When you bring it in for its annual maintenance, your repairperson can apply bore oil properly and safely if they deem it necessary. (My opinion: if in doubt, don’t bother.)
    • Care manuals. These are generally provided to justify the other items in the care kit.

    Skip the care kit—they are a way for retailers to squeeze a few more dollars out of you at purchase, and then more when you bring the instrument back in to fix the damage you have done with your brushes and oils and screwdrivers.

2 Comments

    1. P.s. Thanks for linking to my site! Sorry to everyone that tries to visit… I didn’t install the WP update properly so I’ll be down for a couple of days :o(, but it will be back up ASAP! I’m currently somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean so internet is a bit dodgy/expensive!

      Cheers!

      Reply

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