Quick flute switches and embouchure problems for woodwind doublers

Lots of woodwind doubler horror stories have to do with quick switches to flute or piccolo. (“Twenty minutes of hard-driving R&B tenor saxophone, then two bars to switch to flute and enter pianissimo in the third octave…”) Doublers in this situation often beat themselves up about perceived deficiencies in their flute embouchures, and commit to even more hours of Trevor Wye, but never quite seem to solve the problem.

While daily work on the flute embouchure is crucial, as is a good warmup, I think often the real problem is the reed embouchures. If playing clarinet, saxophone, or double reeds is leaving your embouchure too tired, tense, or numb to play the flute at your best, then consider improving your reed playing. Adjust your tone production to be less tense, adjust your setup to be freer-blowing, and adjust your mindset to be focused on efficiency rather than muscular effort. Keep up the flute lessons, but touch base with good reed teachers, too.

Favorite blog posts, April 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, April 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, March 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, March 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, February 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, March 2017 edition.

Review: “So You Want to Play in Shows…?” by Paul Saunders

I got a review copy of So You Want to Play in Shows…?, a new woodwind doubling etude book. The author, Paul Saunders, is a woodwind player in London’s West End. The book includes seven studies for doubler playing flute, clarinet, and alto saxophone. It also includes a piano accompaniment book, with piano part recordings available … Read more

Favorite blog posts, January 2017

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, January 2017 edition.

Favorite blog posts, November 2016

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, November 2016 edition.

Student-selected online woodwind pedagogy articles, 2016 edition

What I want my class to get from the assignment is a sense of how to sift through the information (“information”) available online, taking into account the author’s credentials or sources, a common-sense evaluation of ideas, and applicability to a particular teaching situation. Be careful out there.

Woodwinds and “altissimo” registers

I recently had a saxophone student perform a repertoire piece with some altissimo technique in it, and a non-woodwind-playing musician asked me afterward about the instrument’s extended range. This led to further questions about “altissimo” on other instruments. The answers are a little complicated, but here is some information: The term “altissimo” suggests an extreme high … Read more

Favorite blog posts, October 2016

Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, October 2016 edition.