Woodwinds: World woodwinds

Favorite blog posts, December 2014

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Some highlights from the woodwind blogosphere in December:

ClarinetFest 2014 presentation: The 21st-century woodwind doubler

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I gave a presentation at the International Clarinet Association conference (“ClarinetFest”) last week on woodwind doubling, with a particular focus on the rising expectations on woodwind doublers to play more instruments at a higher level (including “world” and even electronic woodwinds). Here is the blurb from the program: The typical working woodwind doubler in the … Read more

The problem with “ethnic” woodwinds

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I am trying to get away from using the term “ethnic” woodwinds, one that I have used frequently in the past as a catch-all for the instruments I play that aren’t modern Western woodwinds. The term was problematic from the beginning, since, for example, I was using it to include instruments like recorders, which fall squarely under the umbrella of Western music traditions, but are arguably period or historical instruments. Additionally, I find that the term “ethnic” increasingly grates on my ear as too ethnocentric and limited a view, and incompatible with my real attitudes concerning music from cultures and traditions other than my native ones.

Dissertation: Woodwind doubling on folk, ethnic, and period instruments in film and theater music

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My doctoral dissertation is now available online through the University of Georgia library, entitled Woodwind doubling on folk, ethnic, and period instruments in film and theater music: Case studies and a practical manual.

The amazing shrinking woodwind section: increasing demands on woodwind doublers

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21st-century woodwind players need to be able to play a greater number of instruments, from a pool no longer limited to the orchestral woodwinds and saxophones, at a soloist level on each instrument.

Irish flute/whistle ornamentation symbols à la Grey Larsen, in Lilypond

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If you are nerdy/awesome enough to be into (1) the pedagogy of Irish traditional woodwind playing and (2) open-source text-based music notation software, then you may want to check out my set of symbols for Lilypond.

Favorite blog posts, March 2014

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Hand-picked high-quality woodwind-related blog posts from around the web, March 2014 edition.

Favorite blog posts, December 2013

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Here are the woodwind-related blog posts that made my “nice” list for December. (One from late November seems to have slipped in here, too.) On his new blog, Timothy Owen explains how he tunes his saxophone like an M-16 assault rifle. Bassoonist Betsy Sturdevant (of the Columbus Symphony) reveals her basic reedmaking method. Cooper Wright doesn’t just play … Read more

Farewell: Yusef Lateef

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Earlier this week jazz musician Yusef Lateef passed away at age 93. Lateef was known for his adventurous woodwind doubling, playing saxophone and flute, plus the oboe and a number of woodwinds from non-Western cultures. Here he is playing some tasty flute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Wqd-b0FRM I’ve seen oboists look a bit uncomfortable when the topic of Yusef … Read more