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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  • Clarinet glissando

    ByBret Pimentel

    There are few more coveted clarinet techniques than the smooth glissando, as heard in the famous opening to Rhapsody in Blue. But the technique isn’t intuitive, and lots of questions persist about how to do it.

    (Incidentally: the Rhapsody in Blue score doesn’t call for a smooth portamento-type effect, but a scale with discrete notes. But the portamento became tradition early in the piece’s life and is now more or less required.)

    How the clarinet glissando is done, technique-wise

    One key thing to understand is that finger movement is the smallest part of the clarinet glissando. It’s not possible (or at least I’ve never seen it done) to achieve the full effect by simply uncovering toneholes gradually. The real work here is done with voicing.

    Let’s break the technique down. We’ll use Rhapsody in Blue as an example, but the principles can be applied to other repertoire (or improvisations).

    First, let’s look at what’s called for in the score:

    clarinet glissando notation from Rhapsody in Blue

    Glissandos that cross register breaks are a particular challenge, so most clarinetists avoid that, opting to play a scale in the lower register, and beginning the glissando at the lower-clarion B or C.

    High C is the destination note. Start by playing that note and using your voicing (think of blowing warmer air) to bend the pitch downward. Resist the urge to “lip” it down with your embouchure muscles or to let your breath support sag.

    Bend it down absolutely as far as you can, until the note quits. It can take some practice to get a wide pitch bend range. Don’t strain; play around with it for a few minutes, then try again tomorrow.

    Once you’re able to bend it fairly far, try kicking in some extra breath support. The air column is reluctant to vibrate when it’s bent too far (I’m fudging a little here on the acoustics). Use powerful air, even more powerful than usual, to make it keep vibrating, and see if you can bend even farther.

    Now go to the lower part of the glissando, B or C in the staff. Try to bend it. You probably can’t bend this long-tube note, with lots of closed toneholes, nearly as much as you could bend the short-tube high C.

    Now play the note, and gradually let your fingers lift, just a little bit, off the toneholes.

    Notice that with the toneholes just slightly vented, the note becomes much less stable—or more bendable. Play around with the pitch to get the feel of it.

    Now play the lowest note of the glissando (I’m using C here for simplicity). Move the fingers a little off their toneholes (all of them, except the left thumb, which stays in position for high C) while simultaneously bending the pitch down hard with voicing. (Remember to keep breath support strong.) While gradually moving the fingers farther off the toneholes, bend gradually upward with voicing. As the fingers finally completely clear the toneholes, the voicing arrives at its standard high position, and the pitch settles in on high C.

    It takes practice to get the fingers and voicing coordinated, and to gain enough control to shape the bend just how you want it.

    To execute the Rhapsody in Blue opening, play a scale in the lower register, then switch as seamlessly as possible to a glissando just above the register break. Some players play the scale portion as written, but some attempt to make it sound more glissando-like by turning it into a chromatic scale. Sometimes they also start the scale on chalumeau F-sharp rather than the written G.

    How the clarinet glissando is done, taste-wise

    Mastering the technique of the glissando, like mastering any technique, is only the first step. The next and perhaps more important step is to learn to do it with good musical taste.

    When performing a glissando, carefully consider the shape of the pitch bend. How long is the bend overall? Should the pitch move in a straight line from one pitch to another? (Unlikely.) Should it have more of a curve, staying low at first and then rising at an increasing rate? Should there be a moment at the beginning or end at which the pitch remains stable, or is it constantly in motion?

    These are fine distinctions, but important to the character of the glissando. Careful, detailed listening is crucial to the process—be sure to check out as many good recordings as you can, and note the differences in approach. If your intention is for the glissando to sound jazz-like, make sure you are listening to jazz players who use that effect, not just classical players who may or may not have done their homework.

    Why it’s a clarinet-specific effect

    The clarinet, unlike any of the other major modern wind instruments, uses a very high voicing for general playing. This leaves room to lower the voicing considerably for this special glissando effect. Flutes and double reeds (and brass instruments) use a very low voicing, which theoretically can be raised, but a raised voicing on a low-voicing instrument doesn’t cover as much territory pitch-wise; in other words, it’s harder to raise the pitch with voicing than it is to lower it. The saxophones, with an in-between voicing, have some flexibility here, but also have to contend with large keys on large toneholes, which are not as precise for hole-uncovering as fingertips on small clarinet toneholes. (The keys situation also explains why the larger clarinets aren’t nearly as agile with glissandos, even though those instruments are properly played with a high voicing.) In short, the technique lends itself particularly to the high clarinets, and may be much more difficult on other woodwinds.

    Practice smart!

  • Physical factors and beginning woodwind players

    ByBret Pimentel
    Ideal flute embouchure?
    Ideal flute embouchure?

    A disturbing amount of flute pedagogical literature includes drawings or descriptions of what types of lips are good for flute playing and what types aren’t. Usually the lips deemed flute-appropriate are perfectly symmetrical and not too thin, not too wide. I tend to think that those kinds of distinctions are garbage, as are the descriptions of the “right” lips for clarinet or oboe playing or the suggestion that students with natural overbites are born bassoonists.

    I also object to the instrument-assigning days that I understand happen in many beginning band programs, at which students are allowed to try several instruments, and assigned based on the “aptitude” that they show in their first 30 seconds holding the instrument. Read More “Physical factors and beginning woodwind players”

  • Oboe reedmaking resources

    ByBret Pimentel
    One of mine.
    One of mine.

    There’s no way around it—if you’re going to be a serious oboist, you have to learn to make your own reeds. Even fine handmade reeds purchased from an excellent reedmaker can’t compete with reeds made to your own personal specifications, suited to your highly individual combination of embouchure, instrument, playing style, and performance situation. A reed is in a constant state of change, from initial scraping until eventual retirement, and needs the daily ministrations of a skilled reedmaker to keep it playing at its best.

    Woodwind doublers who take up the oboe as a secondary instrument will need to learn at least basic reed adjustment techniques in order to have reeds they can count on in professional situations. But if you’re going to learn the mysteries of fine-tuning “finished” reeds, you’re most of the way toward learning the whole process—consider at least learning to tie blanks from cane that you purchase already gouged and shaped. Starting from tube cane gives you even more control over the finished product, but requires the use of gouging and shaping equipment ($1200+, all told).

    There’s no real substitute for learning reedmaking at the feet of a skilled oboe teacher, but here are some of my hand-picked favorite guides and tutorials online. These can serve as a good introduction for a beginner, and more experienced reedmakers may like to cull a few new ideas from the wide variety of opinions and approaches represented here. Read More “Oboe reedmaking resources”

  • Bad ideas woodwind doublers get

    ByBret Pimentel

    Some, but fortunately not all, of these are mistakes I have made myself. Read More “Bad ideas woodwind doublers get”

  • Using “borrowed” fingerings in EWI mode

    ByBret Pimentel

    The Akai EWI series’ “EWI” fingering mode is powerful and flexible. It bears a resemblance to basic saxophone fingerings (while wisely eschewing saxophoney compromises like rollers and palm keys). But with a little imagination EWI players can “borrow” a number of useful fingerings from other woodwinds, too.

    For clarity, I’m considering any fingering that appears in the EWI 4000s’s Reference Manual under “EWI Fingerings” as a basic, non-borrowed fingering. Some of the fingerings I’m listing do appear in the manual for other fingering modes (saxophone, flute, and oboe). Some of the fingerings aren’t great-sounding fingerings on the “real” (non-electric) woodwind instruments, but work beautifully on the EWI, which of course isn’t subject to the acoustical problems of air-filled tubes.

    And of course these fingerings work in any octave, which is not always the case with “real” woodwinds. I have arranged them octave-wise here in ways that will mostly look familiar to woodwind players.

    Right C-sharp
    Borrowed from: oboe, clarinet
    Provides a useful alternative in left-hand-pinky-heavy passages.

    Left E-flat
    Borrowed from: oboe, some clarinets
    In the example, prevents having to “jump” the right pinky from one key, over another, to another.

    Side F-sharp
    Borrowed from: saxophone, clarinet
    Similar to using the saxophone’s side F-sharp key or clarinet’s side F-sharp(/B-natural) key (shown here in the wrong octave for clarinet), except using the right pinky rather than the ring finger. Useful for avoiding the right index-middle flip-flop.

    Right G-sharp
    Borrowed from: oboe
    Provides a useful alternative in left-hand-pinky-heavy passages.

    1+1 B-flat
    Borrowed from: flute, saxophone, clarinet
    Similar to a standard flute fingering, or to a problematic saxophone or clarinet alternate fingering (shown here in the wrong octave for clarinet). Of course on the EWI there are no pitch, timbre, or response issues with this (or any) fingering.

    1+2 B-flat
    Borrowed from: saxophone
    A slightly lesser-known alternate fingering for saxophone (which, on saxophones, often sounds better than 1+1). Useful for transitions such as F-sharp to B-flat.

    Right B
    Borrowed from: clarinet
    Similar to the sensation of using the clarinet’s right B(/E) key, but in this case you must use the right pinky to press two keys at once. In the example, this allows you to keep the movement in one hand, rather than having to coordinate both pinkies.

    Side C
    Borrowed from: saxophone
    Useful in chromatic passages and trills for avoiding the left index-middle flip-flop.

    These fingerings of course only scratch the surface of what’s possible with the EWI-mode fingering system. But because of their familiarity and time-tested usefulness to players of “real” woodwinds, they can be adapted easily and fruitfully to EWI playing.

  • Synthetic reeds are probably the future

    ByBret Pimentel

    I was pleased to receive recently some samples of D’Addario Woodwinds’s new “Venn” synthetic clarinet and saxophone reeds. In an upcoming post, I’ll share some thoughts about and demonstrations of the specific products. But here are a few thoughts to set the stage:

    • I’m thrilled to see a major cane reed manufacturer like D’Addario take on this challenge. My hunch is that other major reed makers are either close at their heels or betting on musicians’ provincial thinking about modern materials. Let’s hope it’s the former.
    • I am a strong believer that synthetic reeds are the future. Modern science has invented amazing materials for clothing and smartphone screens and space travel; we can invent something that works great for reeds. Natural cane isn’t sacred or magical—it’s a material with upsides and some very clear downsides.
    • It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying something like a synthetic reed and asking the question, “does this synthetic material sound as good as cane?” And, if the reed doesn’t play as well as one’s usual cane reeds, to answer the question with a no, and perhaps to further opine that nothing can ever sound as good as “real” cane. But that knee-jerk reaction fails to take into account all the other things we already know about reeds, such as that their geometry matters a great deal, and that their match to the mouthpiece is equally crucial. We’ve all found the reed-plus-mouthpiece combinations that work for us, and introducing any random new reed (cane or synthetic) isn’t especially likely to improve the situation. The better question to ask is, “Is this a viable reed?” In other words, does it function like a reed should, when paired with an appropriate mouthpiece: with appropriate response, stability, and characteristic tone, regardless of whether it is my new personal favorite?
    • Assuming there are viable synthetic reeds available, it may make sense to adopt them and claim all the potential benefits (consistency, longevity, resistance to warping, reduced waste, cost savings), and, if necessary, seek out new mouthpieces that are well suited to them. I have mouthpieces I like, but if I can replace them and never have to deal with the problems of cane again, that seems like an option well worth considering.

    Zealous loyalty to “traditional” materials isn’t a virtue. (If you’re a woodwind player like me, there’s a good chance your equipment already includes materials that are “new” since the instrument’s invention anyway.) Keep an open mind!

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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