Category: Articles

The following is a transcription of Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. I believe it is the finest statement I’ve encountered on how to live life while pursuing one’s true passions. Given that this is the time of year for college graduations, I felt that it was particularly important to consider these words of advice from one of the most successful entrepreneurs in American history. It is especially relevant to the aspiring and seasoned professional musician.

-Ed Joffe

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out, they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So, my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

Based largely on an article by Brad Behn
Additional Information based on writings by Ramon Wodkowski
Modified by Ed Joffe

The so-called “Golden Era” of French clarinet mouthpiece construction crystalized during the 1920s and 1930s. During that time, many mouthpieces were machined from high quality, super-resonant, Grade-A rod rubber. The best representations of that era were beautifully made hand-finished mouthpieces produced by the Chedeville and LeLandais companies. They existed alongside the more established Selmer, Buffet, Leblanc, and Vandoren factories as well as smaller manufacturers. The mere mention of a vintage Chedeville or Lelandais mouthpiece still manifests a sense of intrigue and excitement since they are truly prized possessions among woodwind aficionados.

by John Yoakum

Minor editing by Ed Joffe

Here you are, after years of toiling in the practice room on scales, long tones, etudes, and anything else that your teacher puts in front of you. You hope to become proficient and move up the ladder to perfection and a career. Endless hours of repetition on the same phrases or intervals and you are finally ready to make a splash on the studio scene! Once you get to a “professional level” in your playing, what’s next?

Well, keep in mind that studio musicians are some of the best players in the world and there is a reason for that. It goes without saying that they are extremely proficient on their instrument(s) as well as being able to interpret almost any style. If you are at a comparable level, here are some things to consider that every studio player knows or should know.

Musicians and athletes have much in common. There have been many famous musicians who were excellent athletes including Miles Davis, Benny Carter and Red Garland (boxing); Andy Fusco (football); Harold Wright (baseball); Julio Iglesias (soccer); and Kenny G (golf). Likewise, there have been many athletes who have been fine musicians. Basketball greats David Robinson (pianist) and Wayman Tisdale (bass player); baseball’s Bernie Williams and Bronson Arroyo (guitarists); and football’s Mike Reid (pianist/composer) are but a few of the many professional athletes with real musical ability.

By Kevin Kelly

Originally printed in The Instrumentalist, December 1983
Edited by Ed Joffe

At some time, every student of a wind instru­ment is instructed in the “correct” method of breathing. If one studies with two or three different teachers, he/she probably learns two or three different methods, all presumably correct. I studied with six horn teachers and learned five breathing meth­ods, each slightly different and none especially helpful.

This second article on equipment describes eight products, listed alphabetically, that I have found beneficial in my woodwind work and practice. With the exception of the instrument case covers, the remainder concern reeds and reed-related products.

The enforced stay-at-home time brought about by the pandemic has allowed me to examine my approach to music-making, equipment, repertoire, etc. One of the results has been to re-evaluate products that I have been using as well as investigate various new woodwind accessories. Listed below are eight such items, listed alphabetically. This is the first of two articles devoted to woodwind equipment.

The practice of borrowing and adapting musical materials has resulted in many of the very best pedagogical texts and works that have become standard repertoire for all musicians. When an exercise or composition is played on an instrument other than the one originally intended for, different combinations of intervals and fingerings emerge that can be quite demanding and educational in addition to the added benefit of playing an inspiring study or composition. There has been a long history of woodwind musicians performing works written for instruments other than their own. This article will examine several of the most popular woodwind treatises, formal compositions, and musical scenarios that have been created in this manner and suggest additional ones that are equally suitable for study by all woodwind instrumentalists. A brief list of other well-known works adapted for woodwind performance OR woodwind works that have been played by other instrumentalists are listed below.

By James Gholson

Originally published in the Australian Clarinet and Saxophone Magazine, March 1999
Edited by Ed Joffe

Robert Marcellus, one of America’s greatest and most influential clarinetists and teachers, died on March 31, 1996. He was principal clarinetist of the Cleveland orchestra under George Szell from 1953-1973. During his tenure in Cleveland, he was head of the clarinet department at the Cleveland Institute. After his retirement from the orchestra, he was Professor of Clarinet at Northwestern University from 1974-1994. His week-long masterclasses held at Northwestern each summer from 1974-1987 were one of the highlights of his teaching career. This interview was conducted during one of those summer sessions and is part of a series of interviews with a number of prominent American clarinetists and teachers conducted by James Gholson, Professor of Clarinet at the University of Memphis.

By Dr. Ron Odrich

An expanded version of an article in The Clarinet, September 2017
Minor editing by Ed Joffe

As woodwind players, we are all striving to find the best way to express ourselves musically. This means that the sound we produce must first inspire ourselves then hopefully those listening. To this end, there are as many pedagogical techniques as there are teachers. There are also as many unique mouths as there are students and performers and teachers. There are then many variables.

It is common to be exposed to a wide variety of rules to follow such as: “play with an open throat; support the column of air with the diaphragm; arch the tongue; blow like you’re blowing out a candle; hold the clarinet at this angle; push the jaw forward to meet the reed,” etc., etc., etc. A unique approach to producing the best quality sound for each player begins by applying scientific principles of fluid dynamics. This approach leads to a physical method that satisfies those scientific principles. Combining those principles with each player’s unique anatomic structures creates a specific “feel” that produces the best distinctive musical sound. Let’s see how.

Throughout much of the first half of the 20^th Century, musical knowledge was considered one of the important disciplines in a learned individual’s education. Every student had mandatory general music courses in elementary, middle and high schools. More importantly, students had the opportunity to participate in a band, orchestra, or a choir in grades K—12. In fact, during the 1950s and into the 1960s when the U.S. was engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union, the Arts in our country were given great priority (funding) since we needed to demonstrate superiority in this sector in addition to military might, space exploration, athletics, etc. There were also numerous jobs in the music industry during this period. Steady work could be found in symphony orchestras, opera and ballet companies, musical theater, choirs, television and motion picture studio orchestras, society dance bands, jazz bands, Latin music ensembles, touring groups, freelance recordings, as well as composing and arranging gigs. However, today we find ourselves in a radically different environment.

Renowned pianist/composer/musical director Billy Stritch recently posted a listing of the many ways that the musical community has been adversely affected by the ongoing Covid-19 virus pandemic. Since the Arts are not a politically sexy topic to discuss on mass media, we have been largely forgotten. Over 12,000,000 people work in entertainment production—not an insignificant group. This industry survives by shared live experiences which needs to attract audiences at near capacity attendance levels. Therefore, by definition, we will be among the last industries to resume in any “normal” fashion.

By Mel Martin

Originally published in the Saxophone Journal, Winter 1986
Edited by Ed Joffe

Music critic/historian Irving Kolodin writes in the Introduction to “The Unconscious Beethoven” by Ernest Newman: “…music exists only as a succession of impressions that must be correlated sequentially if a total impression is eventually to be derived.” I believe that the improvisations of saxophonist Stan Getz epitomize this description. His endless flow of creative melodic lines weaved together in the most logical fashion offer the discerning listener a landscape of everlasting beauty. This interview provides a brief glimpse into the mind of Stan Getz.

Mel Martin: The one question that is most important to me when I think of you and your music is your sound. Could you fill us in on how you conceived your sound and how you actually developed this concept?

Stan Getz: I never consciously tried to conceive of what my sound should be. I never said, “I want this kind of sound!” I believe it was because of the bands I played with from the ages of 15 to 22. The first one was Jack Teagarden, who we all know played trombone. But his sound was so great, so…(pause) sort of legitimate, and effortless. I never tried to imitate anybody, but when you love somebody’s music, you’re influenced. Then I was with Benny Goodman when I was 18 and I believe his sound had an influence on me. Such a good sound that he had in those days. And, in-between I heard Lester Young of course. And it was a special kind of trip to hear someone like Lester, who sounded so good and almost classical in a warm way. He took so much of the reed out of the sound. I really don’t know how I developed my sound, but it comes from a combination of my musical conception and no doubt the basic shape of the oral cavity. I did always try to get as much of the reed out of the sound as I could.

MM: You mean, hear more of the reed?

By Robert Bloom

Reprinted from Woodwind World, Jan/Feb 1959
Minor editing by Ed Joffe

“No, my dears, I am conscious of a flute and a bassoon. That’s not what I want. I want to hear a third instrument, the result of a happy marriage between the two.” The speaker is Arturo Toscanini and the phrase occurs in Debussy’s Iberia at the beginning of the third movement. Those few words of a great maestro contain the key to one of the secrets of fine solo and ensemble woodwind playing: the ability to vary the tonal color of one’s instrument at will for the purpose of blending with other instruments or voices. Many players think they are fulfilling their duty to music when they play with a pleasing tone, good intonation, finger dexterity, a good range of piano-forte, and a good feeling for rhythm. The foregoing is very necessary, but there are other important factors that distinguish the artist from the merely competent performer. Unfortunately, these other qualities are less tangible. They are difficult to teach and learn. Being closely allied with one’s personal talent and imagination, they belong in the category of aesthetics rather than mechanics.

By Daniel Bonade

Reprinted from The Clarinet, No. 6 (Summer, 1951)
Minor editing by Ed Joffe

Slurring on the clarinet has always been, in my estimation, the greatest problem for the artist wishing to phrase and sing beautifully on his/her instrument. The root of this problem [for clarinetists and saxophonists] is the “single” reed vibrating against the hard surface of the lay of the mouthpiece. Anyone can notice that players of the oboe or bassoon have more facilities for sustaining the tone while playing a phrase, without distorting the real sound of their respective instruments. When an oboe plays forte it sounds like an oboe. When the clarinetist plays very loud, it takes a lot of skill and flexibility of embouchure to keep the quality of tone true as in a mezzo forte. The single reed is a great help in fast passages. The pressure of the teeth on the upper part of the mouthpiece gives a solid grip and consequently steadies the embouchure when the fast motion of the fingers would otherwise unbalance the instrument in the mouth. But when it comes to slow phrasing passages, the upper non-vibrating part is a handicap that a good clarinetist has to overcome with his/her own skill.

Shown below are the 20 albums that I owned during my first 20 years that influenced and inspired me to become a professional musician. They are shown in the categories that I was most drawn to during that period—jazz, classical instrumental, orchestral, and pop. There were many other artists that influenced me during this period that I heard on radio & tv or listened to on cassette tapes including Phil Woods, Buddy DeFranco, Charles McPherson, Jackie McClean, Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Cannonball Adderley, The NY Philharmonic with Leonard Bernstein, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, and The Beatles.

Having taught privately for over 50 years, been involved in institutional music education for roughly 30 years, and a student of music for close to 60 years, I feel that I have a decent understanding of how to gain the most from a private music lesson. In this article, I will attempt to articulate an approach to taking a one-on-one music lesson that I have found most beneficial, both for the student and the instructor. While the intended student groups for this article are college music majors and young professionals, many of the suggestions presented here can be used at any level of study.

In music, there remains a rule of thumb to tread very carefully before bringing up any pitch discrepancies within an ensemble performance. This would be the musical equivalent of asking a stranger on which side of the political spectrum they tend to vote. One’s pitch-playing ability is among the most sensitive issues for any musician. My experience as a professional musician has given me a perspective on this topic that I wish I’d had as a younger player. To fully explore the nature of this subject, it is crucial to understand the evolution of harmony and scales in Western European classical music.

In the late 1970s the great saxophonist and woodwind artist, Ray Beckenstein, took me into the pit of the hit Broadway musical, Sugar Babies. There I encountered another wonderful woodwind legend, Dave Tofani, and I proceeded to ask both of them how they could continue to play the same music every night without going crazy. (I had not done a Broadway show at that point.) One of Dave’s responses proved extremely helpful throughout my years of playing in the musical theater. He told me that in order not to get bored, he would try to mentally transcribe what the other musicians were playing and thereby re-imagine the orchestration. That little bit of advice led me to think about and uncover other ways to improve one’s musicianship when doing a steady Broadway musical.

Day 1: Remove the reeds from their container(s) and let them sit belly up (the flat side facing the ceiling) on a flat surface for an hour. Do not play them or wet them. This allows the reeds to become acclimated to the temperature and humidity in which you will play them. Then, store them in a reed pouch with a 49% Boveda Reed Vitalizer pack.

Day 2: When you’re ready to begin the process of preparing the reeds to play, lightly rub the flat side (back end) of each reed in small circular motions on 3M polishing paper of 3000 grit until totally smooth. Be careful to apply light pressure with the 2nd/3rd/4th fingers of your hand above the stock (or bark) of the reed in order to move the reed over the polishing paper. This will help seal the flat side of the reed as well as correct any unevenness so that the reed can vibrate evenly on the mouthpiece table and side rails. The residue of the paper’s fibers fills in the spaces between the fibers of the reed. Put them back in the reed pouch with the 49% humidity pack. Do not play them yet!

Day 3: The next day, submerge the tips of the reeds into luke-warm water, making sure that the entire cut portion of the reed is wet. Be careful not to let the tips of the reeds touch any surface. Leave them in the water for no more than one minute. The reeds that are most porous may show that the water has reached the butt-end of the reed before the minute is up. When that occurs or when the minute is up, remove the reeds from the water and then briefly submerge the back ends of the reeds that had not been wet previously. Remove the reeds from the water and rub the excess moisture into the cut of the reed with your finger or a dull-edged metal object. This burnishing process will help seal the pores of the reeds. Wipe all remaining water from the reeds and lay them on their belly-side while allowing them to dry. After they have dried, repeat the process of rubbing the reeds on 3M polishing paper that you initiated in Day 2, but on 5000 grit this day. Put the reeds back in the reed pouch with the 49% humidity pack.

The opening verses to two compositions that were both #1 hits, seventy-five years apart, are shown below. While both sets of lyrics describe unsettled relationships, I believe the difference in the sophistication of the lyrics mirrors the “dumbing down” of America’s musical culture over that span of time. It has been reported that the United States is forty-ninth in the world in literacy. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has been involved in education for any length of time. Yet, the plain truth is that we have slid equally far down the music cultural ladder.

1. Play each instrument because you love that particular instrument!
2. Aspire to play each instrument as if it were the only one that you play.
3. Set up a disciplined daily practice routine.
4. Have a consistent set of warmups including tone, articulation and scale studies for each instrument.
5. Listen to recordings of an assortment of great artists for each instrument on a daily basis. Focus intensively on one artist each year. Choose their greatest attributes to emphasize—tone, vibrato, articulation, phrasing, technique, etc.
6. Study each instrument privately with teachers who have a similar philosophy with regard to breathing, phrasing, tone, etc. and are sensitive to a multi-instrumentalist’s role in the music industry.
7. Study with only one teacher at a time on each instrument.
8. Try to play in as many varied musical contexts as possible (especially helpful are saxophone quartets, woodwind quintets and jazz combo settings).
9. Buy the best instruments possible (and all the major ones of each family of instruments).
10. Buy instrument cases available that provide the best protection for each instrument and are ergonomically sound.
11. Find an excellent repair technician for each instrument and cultivate that relationship. Make sure that you always have someone to go to in an emergency.
12. Subscribe to all relevant professional journals and organizations.
13. Attend concerts, masterclasses, and instrumental conventions as often as possible.
14. Perform, rehearse and practice great music as often as possible.
15. Become an excellent sight-reader on all of your instruments in all styles of music.
16. *Developing an excellent sense of rhythm, pitch, stylistic knowledge and collegiality are essential for success in the music industry!

The following is a brief listing of notable soloists, recordings, and study materials with which a high school clarinetist should become familiar. This information will be particularly useful for those wishing to audition as music majors in college. In all cases, the young clarinetist should be encouraged to study with a professional clarinetist who also has formidable teaching experience. In addition, all clarinetists should become members of the International Clarinet Association.

Set Up

While the traditional big band setup is desirable for most rehearsals, it is very useful to occasionally establish alternate seating formations, including a box formation and triangle formation. This allows the players hear the music in a different way and proves beneficial when they are reseated in their usual fashion.

Instrumentation

The standard big band alignment calls for 5 saxophones (2 alto saxes, 2 tenor saxes and a baritone sax), 4 trumpets, 4 trombones (3 tenor trombones and a bass trombone), and a rhythm section (piano, bass, drums, and guitar). An additional trumpet can be added as well as Latin percussion instruments and a vocalist(s) and still maintain the traditional sound. There are also “flexible” arrangements published by Kendor (convertibles) and Smart Music that allow for reduced instrumentations that sound full. A typical reduced big band arrangement might include 4 saxophones, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones and 3 rhythm. Try to avoid doubling parts within the traditional alignment of instruments—i.e. having 2 alto saxophones play the lead part; having 2 bass players playing a bass part together; etc. There are numerous arrangements available from a variety of publishers for quartets—nonets if there are not enough instrumentalists for a full band program.

The following offers a list of historical big band arrangements that emphasize the saxophone section that can be used by high school jazz bands as well as college jazz ensembles. These charts will enhance the students understanding of different styles of big band orchestration as well as saxophone section performance. Also listed are a variety of materials that relate to saxophone ensemble playing, saxophone study and notable artists on the various saxophones.