- Saxophonist Kristen McKeon auspiciously launches her blog with a post on mindfulness in rehearsal [update: link dead].
- Flutist Jolene Harju uses a custom warmup sheet.
- Gentry Ragsdale-Szeto shares her journey as a woodwind doubler.
- Matt Stohrer offers some tips on navigating the modern saxophone market.
- Flutist Cynthia Ellis has an epiphany about the much-fretted-over “teardrop” lip.
- Jeff Cunningham gives advice to beginners about the “spitty” saxophone sound.
- Flutist Deanna Mathews Kilbourne suggests what to practice first.
- Joan Marti-Frasquier shares a quarter-tone fingering chart for baritone saxophone.
Woodwinds: Saxophone
Review: D’Addario Select Jazz tenor saxophone mouthpieces
I’ve already done thorough reviews of the D’Addario clarinet mouthpieces (twice) and alto saxophone jazz mouthpieces, both of which immediately replaced the competing Vandoren products I was previously using. So, naturally I’ve been very anxious for the release of the hard rubber tenor saxophone jazz mouthpiece, and I got my hands on some samples earlier … Read more
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, December 2016
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, December 2016 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.
Favorite blog posts, September 2016
Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, September 2016 edition.