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This is where I tout one of my favorite teaching tools. Back when I took in private students (mostly on bass clarinet, but quite a few on clarinet as well), I worked towards playing "recognizable...

This is where I tout one of my favorite teaching tools. Back when I took in private students (mostly on bass clarinet, but quite a few on clarinet as well), I worked towards playing "recognizable...

The reed strength that will work for largely depends on the mouthpiece facing. When I was young (but not gay), I used to play everything on a 3 1/2 Vandorne (sic). Since that time, I have learnt that...

I've played on chipped reeds that were adequate, but never were they optimal. In the heat of battle (so to speak), you may have to use a damaged reed until you have the opportunity to replace it....

If pain is needed for a life, then I've already got more life than I can deal with...

This afternoon, the local PBS station aired what had to be the oldest Lawrence Welk episode that I have seen to date.

It was so far back (in the sponsorship by Dodge Motors days) that none of the...

All of my two piece horns have serials on both joints; all of the unibody instruments have only one such stamp.

None of the barrels or bells have a serial. However, the A clarinet barrels...

Sadly, if you want a proper, like original to the instrument, repair, you are going to have to settle for some lacquer damage. As stated above, a good technician can fix this with minimal damage to...

I've commented elsewhere about how having a pet is setting yourself up for grief. I understand the feelings towards dogs, cats and the like, but having to put down a loved pet every eight years is...

Closed. That way they maintain alignment with the tone holes. If a pad gets damaged, it's easy enough to replace, but a set of perfect pads on keys that are out of alignment is a bigger repair...

Assuming that this is the resin body instrument, packing the void full of cushioning (peanuts, excelsior, whatever) couldn't hurt.

(The last time I saw any amount of excelsior (wood worms, for...

Just do what I did - work as a bricklayer for a few summers, save your money, and buy one at retail...

So that's how they make Vito Dazzlers...

No matter how hard you try, the "set up" of a business operation is never, ever, EVER done.

And, I managed to find a source for the bulbs, at $1.97 a piece. There was also an alternative that would fit, a "flame-shaped" bulb with the normal larger screw in base. They were cheaper too,...

"Thread hijack" is something that I don't think applies here. Free association is an interesting thing, and kept within bounds, does no harm to the website/blog/whatever this thing is.

We do it as a duet, with the girls hamming it up through the verses, then coming together for the choruses. Lots of gestures, posturing and "vogueing" to communicate the meaning. The big finish at...

I always limit it to one solo - too much of tenor or trumpet may be great for the jazz crowd, but I've watched as people lost interest on the second solo pass. It's a great set opener, though -...

...will land you one of these:

http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/7783/photofif.jpg

Although it's really a stadium seat cushion (or part of one), it provides me with a safe and well-protected...

This past Saturday, I finally encountered the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. We had a typical benefit job, but with a twist - we could only get into the room at 3:00 PM. As the...

Push comes to shove, even the elite of the musical world (think country stars riding around the country in a tour bus) have many conflicts between their well compensated career and their standing as...

Which leads me to comment that the arrangement of the Theme From 'The Naked Gun' that we have is one kick ass piece of a swing tune, spoiled only by way too much time spend on solo passes.

...and then he goes out to yell at the neighborhood kids to get off of his lawn.

Seriously, this is a two component problem. One is the condition of your lower teeth (and upper teeth, for that...

I might be missing something, but perhaps it is just too obvious. By "MDF", I assume that it is meant some sort of random direction wood fiber material, glued together and compressed. (It sounds like...

When I play my full "Boehm" horns, I never use the "long Bb" unless it's in an otherwise awkward passage. While the effect to the listener may be minimal, it sounds "bad" to me, the operator. The...