Woodwind doubling

Musicianship

Dear 2000
ByBret Pimentel January 10, 2010June 22, 2010
I’ve been reading the “Dear 1999” blogging project started by the guys over at MusicianWages.com. The project, which launched last month, was to have musician-bloggers answer this question:

If you could go back to 1999 and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

I enjoyed the responses, including one from clarinetist Marion Harrington.

Although I was (*ahem*) not invited to participate, I’ve been thinking about the last ten years of my life and what brought me to where I am now. Over the last few weeks I’ve gotten a number of emails from musicians who are about the age I was ten years ago, who are interested in pursuing graduate school in multiple woodwinds, and so I’ve been in advice-giving mode already.

Since I missed posting at the end of 2009 anyway, I figure I can go ahead and change the format a little, as I think I’ve got more than one piece of advice for 2000 me.

Most of the “Dear 1999” bloggers are pursuing careers as performers, which I consider to be an important part of what I do, but my newly-begun main gig is as a university music professor. I am fortunate to be doing pretty much exactly what I love and what I’ve been aiming for for the past ten years, although sometimes it was hard to tell if I was headed in the right direction.

So here’s my advice, 2000 Bret: Read More “Dear 2000”
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Woodwind playing and pedagogy

Quick quote: woodwind doubling in the 17th and 18th centuries
ByBret Pimentel December 19, 2009July 24, 2022
From Bruce Haynes’s The Eloquent Oboe: A History of the Hautboy, Oxford University Press, 2001:

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a wind player was an hautboist who might by circumstance be led into a concentration on some other type of instrument. The modern idea of a musician who would limit himself to one instrument, and become a virtuoso on it, took hold at the Dresden court at about the beginning of the eighteenth century, perhaps as a result of the numerous Italian musicians who worked there, and who tended to specialize. But it remained unusual in Germany for some time.

More insight from the footnotes:

Based on archival evidence, Oleskiewicz (1998: 49) believes woodwind doubling ‘completely disappeared sometime between 1717 and 1719.’

And:

There is evidence that hautboy players in bands in the early 18th c. could not necessarily switch to bassoon.
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Woodwind playing and pedagogy

Joseph Phillips and Ben Kono on woodwind doubling
ByBret Pimentel October 26, 2009July 24, 2022
In a blog post from last week, New York City composer Joseph Phillips discusses his ensemble Numinous and his decision to use woodwind doublers instead of a conventional orchestral woodwind section.

Joseph Phillips. Photos stolen from Joseph’s post.

When I started Numinous back in the fall of 2000, I knew I wanted flexibility of colors in the woodwind section. Even though I’m a saxophone/woodwind player, I didn’t want a saxophone dominant sound to the section. I also didn’t want to have 10 woodwind players to cover saxophones, oboe, English Horn, flutes, clarinets, and whatever woodwinds I happen to write for. So the most natural solution was to have woodwind doublers who would be able to play multiple instruments. Of course with the demands of my music, I didn’t want or need a typical jazz saxophone doubler: someone that plays maybe passable flute or clarinet but not well enough to match their saxophone abilities. In addition to being able to improvise well on all of the instruments, I really need musicians whose abilities on the other woodwind instruments are all fairly equal and could move easily between jazz, classical, and popular genres.

One of Numinous’s woodwind players is Ben Kono, who currently plays the reed 1 book for Jersey Boys on Broadway. In Joseph’s blog post, he interviews Ben about his woodwind abilities: Read More “Joseph Phillips and Ben Kono on woodwind doubling”
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Woodwind playing and pedagogy

Taking your doubles to the next level
ByBret Pimentel August 7, 2009June 22, 2010
I think that as a doubler it’s easy to consider your ability level “good enough” on a secondary instrument. Check your doubles below, and ask yourself what you can do to raise the level of your playing. I’ve given just a few examples of “next level” techniques on each instrument.
- Flute
  
  Can I play up to the highest notes (4th octave C, C-sharp, and D, for example) with delicacy?
  
  Can I play the lowest notes with power and confidence?
  
  Can I double and triple tongue fluently and without having to think about it?
- Oboe
  
  Has my tone progressed past the “duck” phase? Is it rich, dark, and flexible? Even in the high register?
  
  Am I thoroughly comfortable with the various F fingerings—right, left, and forked—and prepared to choose the right ones even while sightreading? How about E-flat fingerings?
  
  Do I depend on others for reeds, or am I capable of making (or at least adjusting) my own? Read More “Taking your doubles to the next level”
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Web reviews

The Usual Suspects – Los Angeles studio musicians
ByBret Pimentel July 27, 2009January 3, 2018
If you’re not familiar with Dr. Gio Washington-Wright’s web site, The Usual Suspects, you really ought to cancel all your plans for the next two or three days and thoroughly check it out. Dr. Washington-Wright, a reed player himself, profiles many/most/all? of the top studio musicians on the L. A. scene, with tons of bios, interviews, photos, videos, and audio clips.

Most of the major L. A. woodwind doublers get at least a mention here, but check the menu for specific instruments, as well as individual pages for especially notable players.
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Announcements and news

Woodwind players on the web
ByBret Pimentel June 24, 2009January 2, 2018
For several years, I’ve maintained what I believe to be a fairly comprehensive list of woodwind doublers’ homepages. I’ve been scouring the web lately for the homepages of woodwind players of all kinds, and have put together several new lists from what I’ve found. Now you can browse lists of:
- Flutists
- Oboists
- Clarinetists
- Bassoonists
- Saxophonists
- Players of folk, ethnic, or period woodwinds
- And, of course, woodwind doublers
Read More “Woodwind players on the web”
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Education

More thoughts on multiple woodwinds degrees
ByBret Pimentel June 15, 2009March 16, 2017
I often get email from people who are considering pursuing a college or conservatory degree in multiple woodwinds. Now that I’ve completed two of them myself, here are a few thoughts.

If you want to enter a multiple woodwinds degree program, you should already have at least a basic technical command of each instrument to be included on the degree. This really should include a background of good private instruction on each instrument. In my experience, self-taught players on any instrument are rarely very well prepared for the rigors of college-level study.

Bachelor’s-level programs are rare, and I think that’s with good reason. For most woodwind players, I think, diving right into college-level study of three or more instruments is ill-advised. You will do much better to spend those years focusing on your strongest instrument, developing your musicianship, learning good practicing techniques, and hopefully racking up some achievements like contest awards or high placement in top university ensembles. All of those things benefited me very much (my bachelor’s degree is in saxophone performance), and it’s likely I wouldn’t have been able to achieve as much if I had been dividing my practice hours between multiple instruments (plus completing music coursework AND general education coursework). Read More “More thoughts on multiple woodwinds degrees”
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Woodwind playing and pedagogy

Common doubling combinations from the Broadway doubling list
ByBret Pimentel May 25, 2009March 16, 2017
The most popular thing on my website is the Woodwind doubling in Broadway musicals page, which brings in visitors from around the world. I’ve even been lucky enough to hear occasionally from major woodwind doublers who are working on Broadway.

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the most common combinations of instruments called for. I’m including a table at the end of this post that shows every combination that occurs 10 or more times on the current version of the list. The first column numbers the rows for convenience in referring to specific data; the second column indicates how many times that particular combination occur. Read More “Common doubling combinations from the Broadway doubling list”
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Announcements and news

200+ woodwind doublers’ websites
ByBret Pimentel April 14, 2009January 1, 2018
I just finished updating my list of woodwind doublers on the web, which as of right now lists just over 200 valid websites (201, to be precise).

I am happy to include on the list woodwind doublers of any skill level, as long as their website gives some indication of their inclination toward multiple woodwind instruments.

Check out the list, and click the email link if you want your site included or know of one I’ve missed.
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Web reviews

Videos: John Miller, Broadway music contractor
ByBret Pimentel March 17, 2009January 3, 2018
I’ve been really enjoying these videos of John Miller. Mr. Miller (not to be confused with the eminent bassoonist) does much of the contracting of the musicians who play in Broadway shows. In these videos, he is addressing a group of his fellow bass players, but everything he has to say is highly applicable to woodwind players and anyone else who wants to make money playing their instrument(s).

John Miller, bassist and NYC contractor

He talks about what kind of musicians he likes to hire, what is expected of a professional musician on the New York City scene, and lots more. Read More “Videos: John Miller, Broadway music contractor”
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