For more information on various areas of interest in doubling please go to these links:
John has performed as a woodwind doubler for 15 years in New York City. At RCMH he has played the clarinet chair since 1985 which includes Bb, Eb, A, Bass clarinets, tenor saxophone, and flute. At Cats which he has played the piccolo chair from 1992-2000 which includes flute, piccolo and tenor saxophone. John presented a Woodwind Doubling clinic at the 1999 NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) educator's conference as well as at numerous schools through the New York City area.
History of Doubling
Woodwind Doubling grew out of the need for players to cover parts on more than one instrument in the Big Bands of the 1920's 30's and 40's. Also players who played Broadway shows and played in the Television Staff bands like the NBC and CBS staff bands around the country in the 1950's. Usually saxophone players were called upon to play clarinet, flute, oboe, or bassoon parts. Sometimes the big bands needed the players to play various saxophones like soprano and alto or alto and baritone.
Today in 1999 there are still Woodwind Doublers working and playing at a very high caliber. In fact, because many of today's younger players have learned from the experiences of the players who came before them, the younger Woodwind Doublers today play with a very high level of skill and musicianship. Though there are not many big bands around today like there were in the 1930's and 1940's, there is still a thriving Broadway Show business in New York City which keeps many players working both as regulars and as substitutes.
Doublers still do recording work in the metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles. And orchestras often need clarinet players to play a saxophone part here and there. I think the main difference between now (1999) and the hay day of work (the 1940's-50's) is that since there is less work available, not as many people are taking the time to learn their doubles to as high a level of proficiency as their main instrument. So the accomplished players that are around today are usually kept somewhat busy.
Advantages for Students and Teachers
Advantages for Band Directors to have their students play multiple woodwind instruments:
Advantages for Students to play multiple woodwind instruments:
Making careful use of practice time
The basic idea to strive for in doubling is to continually raise one's level of BASIC playing. I like to think of the analogy of how we would sound if we were asked to play our instruments when we had a high fever. We wouldn't be feeling well and certainly not able to concentrate to our fullest extent. So our ingrained habits and instincts would take over. We essentially would do things by habit - without much thought.
This basic level is what we want to gradually, yet continually raise. So that eventually whenever we pick up our instruments, no matter what the circumstance, we'll sound good on them. This process of gradual yet constant improvement should be the basis for the doublers approach to playing.
We can't do everything at one practice session. We must continually remind ourselves that real progress only happens gradually and is when one practices daily progress is actually almost undetectable. This is why a good practice log is important-keeping track of how much time spent with certain areas of practice as well as a record of metronome markings.
Since we're dealing with more than one instrument, we try to find warm up exercises and scale exercises which help us to both maintain our level of playing, as well as progress to a slightly higher level each time we practice, while making efficient use of our precious time. Remember the value of 5 minutes ... it's a long time and quite a bit can be accomplished in that time. A good reminder is to sit in a chair with a watch and wait for 2 minutes and not do anything. After about 20 seconds we start to get fidgety and after the first minute we realize how many things have gone through our minds in that short time. And we also realize that there is still an entire minute to go. This precious value of time is the most important thing for doublers to keep in mind.
Teaching and Playing Techniques:
There are basics to playing any woodwind instrument, and because of the similarities of woodwind instruments, we can have a similar Warm Up for each instrument which will help the student develop a practical understanding of these basics. They are: Tone, intonation, embouchure, breathing, finger technique and tonguing/articulation. Remember, we are not discussing the basics of musicianship here which might include an understanding of harmony and chords or a well trained ear. For this discussion we will stick to the topic of techniques of playing the actual instrument.
The term Warm Up is a misnomer because a good warm up is not only doing what it says - getting the muscles, fingers and air warmed up and moving for the day, but it is also helping the player to move forward and develop these skills to a slightly higher degree through consistent daily practice. So really the term should be Warm Up then Progress.
Technique #1 - Learning the basics:
The best way to maintain and develop these aspects of playing is to have a warm up routine which encompasses them in one or two simple exercises. So first I'll describe each of the basic aspects of playing and then along with the descriptions I'll give some warm up exercises to develop these aspects.
Embouchure:
The embouchure is the formation of the lips while playing the instrument. The embouchure, ears and breathing all work together when producing a sound. They are not separate entities.
Basic Embouchure Exercise: Long tones:
Put the metronome on 60. Then have the student play each note of a
chromatic scale, holding each note for four counts. The dynamic should be
mezzo forte (mf). As the student plays they
should be very conscious of the vibrations and general feel of each note
as well as the feel of the air blowing through the mouthpiece or across
the lip plate of the flute. The goal is the make the three areas
connected, the embouchure, air and ears. This happens when the student
can put the instrument to their lips and imagine in their mind what the
note will feel like in their lips before it is played and eventually hear
and sing the note before it is played.
Flute Embouchure:
Blow air across the hole. Draw the corners of the mouth back slightly so
the shape of the aperture (the hole that the lips form) is slightly
elongated. One can think of the corners being pulled slightly downward.
The upper lip can be a little firmer than the lower lip. Generally the
flute embouchure is somewhat loose feeling.
As a doubler, the flute may take some time to master if one started on the clarinet or saxophone. The embouchure is quite different from the saxophone or clarinet. In the beginning only play for short periods of time. The most important thing though is to have a concept of the sound in one's mind and ear. This comes from listening to live performances and recordings of excellent artists.
Saxophone Embouchure:
Joe Allard, the famous saxophone and clarinet teacher who played with
Toscanini and the NBC Symphony has the finest grasp on the formation and
function of the embouchure, use of the teeth, air and understanding of
the throat in saxophone and clarinet playing. In talking with numerous
people who studied with him, each person's interpretation is a little
different. But I listed the basic ideas here and they can be experimented
with to find what works best for the student.
The embouchure consists of the upper and lower lips and the upper and lower teeth. One should think about placing a fair amount of the inner part of the lower lip over the lower teeth. The top teeth should rest on the tip of the mouthpiece with very little pressure downward. The top lip then comes downward to form a seal so no air escapes. This top lip seal should feel somewhat loose-simply tight enough to close the air leaks.
The next thing to consider is the angle of the head. Try to think of being a marionette with a string attached to the top back part of the head. By pulling on this imaginary string, your posture is straightened up immediately. The chin and head should be looking forward rather than pointing downward. This will help any throat restriction which would close the sound up.
Another item to consider is the bottom teeth. One should try to feel the reed against the teeth through the lower lip. This doesn't mean to press the reed hard against the teeth but there does need to be enough pressure against the teeth to keep the seal of air and the embouchure in place.
Breathing
Two Breathing Exercises:
First Exercise:
Student should lie on their back on the floor. They should place a small
book on their stomach area. Next they should raise their hips about 5
inches off the floor so they are on an incline with their head being the
bottom. Finally they should hold this position briefly while breathing
normally. What they should notice is how the book moves up and down and
how the breathing in our diaphragm/stomach area just happens naturally if
we let it.
Second exercise, Long Tones:
When playing the long tones take a large breath, filling up with as much
air as possible. Then play the long tones with the metronome on quarter
note=60 and see how many notes you can play without taking a breath. With
consistent practice the student will see increased endurance very
quickly.
Finger Technique
The precise movement of the fingers from one note to the next, without little notes in between (unintended grace notes) is a skill which is developed by the practice of scales. This may sound obvious but including these in a basic warm-up routine this is the quickest way to develop clean finger technique.
Finger Exercise:
Play a scale, such as a G or C scale slowly. Start on the tonic note and
play to the top range of the instrument (of course this means to the
highest note the student can play). Have them play the scale very slowly
with the metronome. If they can not execute the scale without mistakes,
break the scale into sections for them, such as the root through the
fifth. As they perfect each section of the scale they can move on. When
they've mastered playing the entire scale the full range of the
instrument, have them gradually increase the speed by one metronome notch
at a time, always reminding them to be aware of making the transition
from one note to the next as smooth as possible.
Articulation
Articulation is the separation of notes through the use of the tongue. This seems to be the most important part of a warm up and development of one's technique on the instrument. Somehow practicing tonguing brings together the breathing, fingers and tongue. I find if I have very limited time to practice I tongue scales slowly through the entire range of the instrument - paying particular attention to the steady air stream and the tongue action.
Articulation exercise:
Set the metronome to a comfortably slow speed such as 50 or 60. Play a
single note and then rest for two beats. Repeat this on one note until
the attack and ending of the note are clean.
Tonguing on the saxophone or clarinet:
Place mouthpiece in mouth and close off the opening of the tip of the
mouthpiece and reed with the area of the tongue about one eight of an
inch back from the tip of the tongue.
Blow air, but no sound is produced because the reed is closed off.
Release the tongue to let the sound produce.
Replace the tongue so the sound stops.
Tonguing on the flute:
Place flute on lower lip. The easiest way I find to explain tonguing on
the flute is to describe it as saying the syllable doo or too. The syllable
doo gives a little softer sound. Try to
think of blowing a steady stream of air while the tongue interrupts the
air steam. But the air pressure should never let up. It should be
constant. And remember that when we articulate we should always prepare
with a full breath.
Tonguing exercise for any instrument:
Play a chromatic scale from the lowest note on the instrument up to the
highest note on the instrument first slowly then gradually faster. You
can also do variations on this like articulating each note two, three or
four times as you go up the scale. Remember to always use a metronome
even at slow tempos because it helps to ingrain a steady sense of rhythm.
Intonation
Technique #1
With an electronic tuner sounding one note out loud, play a unison with
that note for four counts of quarter note equals 60 on the metronome.
Then play the next note up chromatically and hold out for four counts.
Continue to do this for all the interval up through the octave. Then
start it again on the next octave. Listen for the intervals and start to
get the feeling of an in tune interval in your embouchure and the sound
in your ears.
Technique #2 - Ensemble Experience
This is crucial to the development of any musician and it's
importance can not be stressed enough. The process of learning music is
essentially trial and error, along with some guidance from a teacher. But
if the student doesn't try things, make mistakes, then try again
until they 'figure it out for themselves', they won't really
ingrain what ever it is they are trying to learn. Learning to play music
is not a matter of memorizing and repeating. It is a never ending process
of development through examination and refinement of details. Teachers
suggestions can help avoid the development of bad habits and can also
notably speed the process of learning up, but the hands on
experience is truly when the learning occurs.
Ensemble experience offers this opportunity to the student because they must play in rhythm, in tune and blend well with the others players of the ensemble in order to play their instrument and thus the music convincingly.
Technique #3 - Making use of technology
In this day and age of lightning speed technology developments, there is
no reason for teachers and students not to take advantage of the new
tools available to them which will shorten the time it takes for a
student to learn something, offer the student tools to practice more
efficiently by themselves and offer both the student and teacher a means
of assessing development and advocating that development to the
community, parents and other students and teachers.
Equipment Resource List
Two good companies to buy equipment are:
General Comments:
Properly adjusted instruments are crucial to woodwind doublers. An
instrumentalist who plays a single instrument can develop a feeling
for or a sense of their instrument. In other words certain
aspects of playing can be second nature, like the feel of a note in the
embouchure or the feeling of creating a sound with one's air stream.
A woodwind doubler usually takes a longer time to develop this second nature feeling for each instrument they play.
To make playing easier, the instruments MUST be of the highest quality affordable and in tip top working condition. This eliminates a large barrier towards learning to playing the instruments because the player doesn't have to use their energies to compensate for an inadequately working instrument.
This being said there are some more specific equipment recommendations which will make playing easier.
Equipment Tips
A General Note:
The quality of instruments has improved drastically over the last few
years. The improved scales have helped intonation drastically. The
mechanisms and designs make finger placement and technique more
ergonomically comfortable for the hands to manipulate.
There are many excellent quality instruments on the market today which are reasonably priced. Try not to settle for a 'Bargain' because in the end the student will get discouraged and may not continue to play. This is why it is imperative to obtain the best possible quality instruments and maintain them in good working condition.
As a general rule of thumb, try to get high quality instruments and medium facing mouthpieces which don't require an over exertion of blowing. This makes it easier for the player to adjust their embouchure to the various instruments.
Reeds
Rico International makes excellent saxophone and clarinet reeds which often require very little adjustment. Of course no reed is perfect but when doubling it is important to find ways to save time and using reeds that require very little adjustment is an excellent way to do this. A reed strength of 2 and a half to 3 is a good strength for most mouthpieces. These reeds will offer about the right amount of resistance without having to blow too hard.
Also remember that it is a misnomer to think that the better the player gets the higher the strength reed they should use. Doublers must use medium set ups. That includes a medium strength reed which is about a 2 and a half to a 3.
Listening Resource List
I will present two lists. The first is a basic list which includes only 2 recordings for each instrument - the flute, clarinet and saxophone. This is presented in case you can't afford too many CDs . With this limited list you can purchase 2 for each instrument and have a good basis for how masters of each instrument sound. The second list is more comprehensive, and though it is by no means complete, it offers a good overview of different styles. List number 2 happens to be heavy on the clarinet recordings but there are some good suggestions for flute and saxophone recordings as well.
List Number 1 (most of these can be purchased from Fred Weiner; the product numbers are listed below when it is sold by Fred Weiner 1-800-622-CORK)
List Number 2
Jazz recordings:
Flute
(most of these can be purchased from Fred Weiner, the product numbers
are listed below. 1-800-622-CORK)
Saxophone
Video Resource List
(can be purchased from Fred Weiner 1-800-622-CORK or Jamey Aebersold 1-800-456-1388)
Method Books, Solo Recommendations, Books, Web Sites and Article Resource List
Flute
Saxophone
Clarinet
Books
© John Cipolla