Woodwinds: Woodwinds with electronics

Recital videos, August–September 2024

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I’m pleased to share videos from my recent recital mini-tour, performed at Delta State University, Mississippi State University, and East Mississippi Community College. The program was five works for five different woodwind instruments, all using live electronics.

My electronic setup was a Shure SM58 microphone (for flute and oboe), a PiezoBarrel clarinet pickup, a Little-Jake bassoon pickup, and a NUX B-6 saxophone microphone, all connected to a Yamaha MG10XU mixer. From there the signal was routed through a Boss GT-1000CORE multieffects unit and a Boss RC-600 looper.

Here’s the program and video playlist:

2024 pimentel recital programDownload

Review: PiezoBarrel “Wood” clarinet pickup

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I’m a little late to the party here after Chris Mothersole’s recent article in The Clarinet, but I recently acquired a “PiezoBarrel” wind instrument pickup and wanted to share my experience. The PiezoBarrel pickup is a way to electrify wind instruments, for amplification and for the application of electronic effects, such as guitar effects pedals. … Read more

Using electronic harmonization with woodwinds

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In a recent recital I performed my own arrangement of Ravel’s Boléro for multiple woodwinds soloist using electronics, with piano and snare drum. I used electronics to try to approximate some of Ravel’s harmonies (and timbres), and used what in my mind are three different techniques, which I’ll try to outline here. In performance, I … Read more

Recital videos, August 2023

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I’m pleased to share videos from my recent Delta State University faculty recital.

Experiments with electric woodwinds

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I’ve been having fun with woodwinds enhanced with pickups or microphones. (If you’re interested in natively-electronic instruments like wind controllers, I’ve written about those elsewhere.) I still have a lot to learn about working with electronics. But here are a few observations in case anyone finds them helpful. Which instrument(s) to use? I find lower-pitched … Read more

Recital videos, August 2021

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I’m pleased to share videos from my recent Delta State University faculty recital. I performed for a reduced in-person audience due to COVID-19 precautions. All the repertoire involves electronics of some kind: prerecorded tracks, a looper, an actual electronic instrument (the Akai EWI), and/or live signal processing. This was my first time doing something so electronics-intensive, and … Read more

Recital videos, August 2020

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I’m pleased to share videos from my recent Delta State University faculty recital. I performed for a very small in-person audience due to COVID-19 precautions. All the repertoire is unaccompanied. The program begins with multiple-woodwinds repertoire by Samuel Adler, Kyle Tieman-Strauss, and Nicole Chamberlain (a world premiere of a commissioned piece), followed by some odds … Read more

A minimal Little-Jake electric bassoon setup

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Be sure to check out my recent interview with Trent Jacobs, the inventor of the Little-Jake bassoon/woodwind pickup. During the past year I got myself a Little-Jake to experiment with some electrified bassoon playing. I didn’t know much about using electronics in this way, and it took some research and trial-and-error to figure out exactly … Read more

Interview: bassoonist and inventor Trent Jacobs

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Last summer I finally got myself a Little-Jake setup so I could experiment with some electric bassoon playing. The inventor of the Little-Jake, Trent Jacobs, is a performer, educator, and reedmaker, and I’ve linked to his blog posts on a number of occasions. Trent was kind enough to answer a few questions about himself and … Read more