My Not-So-Brief Introduction
To break ice, I've been reading these forums for quite awhile, but this will be my first post. In my young adult life (a decade ago or more ago), I played reeds professionally for a short time (I use the term "reeds" rather than "woodwinds" since I've always been a supremely lousy flutist) before my inexperience got the better of me, leading to some foolish decisions that resulted in the end of any hope of a performance career.
After a few disappointments and some life changes (changing schools/majors, moving and getting married), I found myself practicing far less and, after a year or two, packed everything up where it stayed for nearly five years while I focused on a more mundane career. After getting my career off the ground and established, I finally had time to slow down and reflect. When I did, I noticed a void in my life. for awhile, I tried to fill it with other things. Some of those things, such as film and photography, I still l love; however, I soon realized that they were not what was missing. I started to let music trickle back into my life and that void started to fill up.
About three and a half years ago, I started practicing sporadically again. I've now been practicing regularly, and semi-intensely, for over a year and finally feel like I've once again reached the level that I was at when I let everything fall apart.
Anyway, enough of the melodrama about my past... These days, I still have my boring desk job to pay the bills. However, I'm fortunate enough to also be a music educator part-time and to teach privately on a number of instruments. Traditionally, Bb Clarinet was my specialty but I've always had a fascination with low saxes and clarinets and played Bari Sax and Bass Clarinet as much as possible. As such, I've made low reeds, particularly bass and contra clarinets, my focus more recently.
Anyway, I'm glad to be here and looking forward to learning from all of you and sharing what I can.
