music equipment.

A lot of people have been asking me what instruments I play on. While I don't think that it's all that important (after all, it's really all about how you play it, not what brand name it is) I do have a couple recommendations for people who ask, so here goes. These are my current instruments, as I have gone through quite a few in my career so far!

Violin
Instrument: Ran Dim, Chicago, 2005
Bow: Emile Ouchard, Paris, 1930 and C. Chagas, Brasil, 2009
Strings: Thomastik Vision (regular)
Case: BAM Hightech Shaped w/ Mooradian Cover
Recommended Accessory: Otto Tempel Titanium Chinrest Fittings

Viola
Instrument: 16" M.J. Zhu, USA, 2007
Bow: Gronke and Sons, Germany, 1998
Strings: Pirastro Obligato C/G/D, Larsen A
Case: BAM Hightech Shaped
Recommended Accessory: Menuhin Shield Mute

Clarinet
Key of B-flat: Yamaha CSG Silver Plated, Backun Grenadilla Ringless Barrel, Backun Cocobolo Bell
Key of A: Yamaha CSG Hamilton Plated, Backun Cocobolo Ringless Barrel
Mouthpiece: Walter Grabner CXZ_K11
Ligature: Bonade, Brancher
Reeds: Vandoren V12 4.5
Case: BAM Trekking
Recommended Accessory: Ben Armato's Reed Wizard

Saxophone
Alto: Yamaha 82Z Custom
Mouthpieces: Selmer S80 C*, Runyon Quantum 7
Ligature: Rovner 1R-ED2
Reeds: Fibracell Medium
Recommended Accessory: Neotech Soft Strap

Trumpet
Key of B-flat: Yamaha YTR-8310Z Custom (Piston)
Mouthpieces: Bach 5C
Cases: Torpedo Bag Classic
Recommended Accessory: Ultra-Pure Valve Oil and Slide Lubricants
 

 

 

equipment recommendations.

Besides wanting to know what I play, I get questions all the time about the sort of equipment that I'd recommend for students. Here is a list of things that I believe offer the best "bang for the buck." You can easily find shops selling them online by doing a Google search and many local shops carry these accessories:

Strings for Violin and Viola
If you have a cheap(er) violin, what you would consider a "student" quality instrument (especially if it's not a full size instrument), do yourself a favor and pick up a set of Thomastik Vision Regular strings. Compared to the cheap stock strings that your violin came with, they will sound a hundred times better at a price that won't break the bank. Those of you with better quality violins, there are tons of great options out there from Pirastro, Thomastik, and their fellow string manufacturers. As for viola, my experience has been that Pirastro Obligato on the lower three strings plus a Larsen A sound great on almost every instrument, though as a low cost option for smaller student instruments D'addario Helicore is excellent.

Clarinet and Saxophone Mouthpieces
The clear winner here is the line of student mouthpieces called "Debut" handcrafted by Clark Fobes of San Francisco. Available for Soprano/Bass clarinet and Alto/Tenor saxophone, they cost between $30-$40 and are absolutely the highest quality and best playing pieces you can find in this price range. Beyond that, clarinetists might find success with Vandoren's various models (M13, M15, 5RV) for $70-$90, and saxophonists should definitely check out the standards: Meyer 5 and Selmer C*. I use expensive custom mouthpieces because I have been able to experiment with many mouthpieces and have discovered that they work for me...this is not to say that the less expensive options are worse.

Reeds for Everyone
If you're out marching on your clarinet or saxophone, stop killing yourself on your cane reeds as they are pushed to the limit because of changes in temperature and humidity. Get yourself an equivalent strength reed by Legere or Fibracell and enjoy yourself. Personally, I find that the clarinet synthetics don't sound quite as good as their cane versions (must be a size thing) however I play on Fibracell on saxophone full time and don't miss cane reeds at all. Clarinetists, during concert season I highly recommend the Vandoren V12; though there are many other excellent alternatives the V12 is what I have settled on after trying out many different brands in orchestra, chamber music, and solo recitals. As for adjusting them, I use Ben Armato's "Reed Wizard" and am happy to teach you how to use the device if you didn't get the run down from Ben personally at one of his presentations or at a convention.

 

 

questions that people ask me.

Besides wanting to know what I play and recommend, I also get some very frequent inquiries regarding a variety of pedagogical issues. I'm putting down a few of them here for reference sake, though I will advise you that these are generally my own opinion and that based on your experience, YMMV (your mileage may vary). New responses are appended as questions come to me throughout the year.

Q: I am an adult beginner...will I ever be good at [instrument name here]?

A: Yes. All you need is the right attitude, time, efficient practice, and a teacher that is not only fairly competent but also motivated to help you succeed. There are many people out there who claim that only little kids can eventually become good at playing an instrument and that it is a waste of time for anyone else of relatively advanced age to even try.

I've taught a number of older players who have all succeeded in their goals. One gentleman wanted to play duets with his granddaughter. Another wanted to be able to play the chamber music of Haydn and Mozart. One violinist received an instrument as a high school graduation present and in the four years she studied with me reached her initial goal of playing Bach's Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas (and interpreting them at a high level). During that time, she also dished out a number of concertos and performed in Mendelssohn's Op. 20 Octet at an international chamber music festival in France!

Now, the reality in question is: will you be able to land a job in a professional orchestra? I guess that depends on whether you're able to put in the (average) ten thousand hours of superb, quality, practice like the rest of the conservatory-trained musicians that are currently on the audition circuit these days!

Q: Will playing and/or studying more than one wind instrument simultaneously (flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, etc.) hurt me or ruin my embouchure?

A: There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there regarding doubling. Quite simply, if you practice correctly, the answer is "no." There are some things you need to take care of first before you decide to go off and gun for a Broadway show gig playing every woodwind in existence. I strongly believe you need to choose a primary instrument and study that one instrument to a high level of technical proficiency before you start adding others.

In my career so far I have gone from regular Bb clarinet (on which I completed my master's degree) to the little Eb, Bass and Contrabass clarinets, then to all of the saxophones: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, a year-long excursion into flute and piccolo which made me realize I didn't enjoy playing them at all, and a few years on french horn and mellophone that has led me to my current studies on trumpet. All the way through, the important thing is to practice correctly on every instrument so that the different things you have to do for each one don't all mesh together and confuse you, and be wary of any who tells you that there is only one right way to do something. In my book, if you sound good, and can play without tension, things are working!

I consider myself very fortunate that in my line of work, I am able to spend my breaks between teaching classes practicing my instruments, so I average 2-3 hours a day. On my primary instruments this is enough for me to play all of my regular basics and scales, leaving me a good chunk of time to train on my newest pursuit, trumpet. FORGET ABOUT PLAYING PIECES. Work on your fundamentals all the time and you'll be able to play anything that is put in front of you.

Q: In that same vein, do you think playing violin AND viola is a good thing?

A: Absolutely. One only has to look at all the composers who played viola along with another instrument: J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Dvorak, Haydn, Hindemith, Mendelssohn, Milhaud, Mozart, and Schubert, to name a few, to realize it's importance and value. Arnold Steinhardt from the Guarneri Quartet mentions his very positive experience studying at the Curtis Institute where all the violinists had to spend a semester on viola in the orchestra, and his time in the viola section of the Casals Festival Orchestra. Despite violin being my primary instrument and focus of study for the past twenty-five years, I added the viola over ten years ago to play chamber music, and I have not stopped since. I spend an entire month each summer in ensembles of every combination playing the viola upwards of seven hours a day, and I strongly value the lessons I have learned in exploring the inner voices of many major chamber works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Dvorak, etc.

I generally start all of my students on violin first unless they have a very strong attachment to the sound of the viola from the very beginning which has been the case with a few kids recently. Thankfully there are decent fractional-sized instruments down to 12 inches being made these days! Whether you play both or end up committing to one more of the time is really up to your physique and musical tastes. I will say that from time to time, I run into what I call "viola purists" who decry the "problem" of violin players playing the viola and not being able to get the so-called "viola sound." To me, sound is very personal, and extremely subjective. What one person likes is not necessarily what another person likes. Arguing about sound is sometimes much like arguing about "taste."

Q: What's the difference between conducting and teaching (ensemble)?

Conducting is the art of using gestures to communicate musical ideas. Teaching (ensemble) is the art of explaining to musicians how to interpret those gestures and make music as a cohesive unit. Many people have difficulty separating the two. For this reason, we have many fine teachers who can teach just about anyone to play anything, but standing in front of an ensemble with a baton they do more damage than anything else, and fine conductors who can elicit the most amazing sounds out of a group but can't explain in useful terms simple things like rhythm and pitch to students.

Q: What is your opinion regarding non-string players *teaching* orchestras?

A: For the same reason that one cannot take a classically-trained cellist out of a symphony and expect them to be able to train and lead a jazz big band wth any sort of competency until they make the effort to study the medium in a comprehensive way, it makes no sense to put a career band director with no real string training in front of an advanced orchestra and expect a significant amount of education to happen. You'll see the concert programs and know right away: "Mars" and "Jupiter" from Holst's Planets, Shostakovich Festive Overture or finale from Symphony No. 5, Bernstein Candide Overture, Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain...all pieces that have been transcribed for band thus the only orchestral repertoire that they know or can relate to (albeit these are all still wonderful pieces of music). Their knowledge of the symphonic works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and their predecessors is practically zero, despite that the aforementioned composers' works are central to the existence of the entire genre.

My biggest complaint here is that the training of the string players who make up the majority of the student ensembles in question is neglected to a huge degree, because the person standing on the podium has (for example) no clue what the difference between a spiccato or a sautille bow stroke is, and in what context those bow strokes need to be used. It's especially bad when they are the only source of instruction for rank beginners...seriously, if you can't pick up that instrument and play Vivaldi, just how on earth can you expect someone to learn that from you? If you've never played in a symphony before, how the heck are you going to teach someone what the experience is like?

Q: But how can anyone teach then? No one can learn to play everything!

A: The issue here is not to learn how to play everything, but to be as knowledgeable as possible about whatever topic it is that one has to teach. It's hard for me to take someone seriously when the depth of their training on an instrument or area of instruments has been limited to a semester of a methods class in their credential program at school. It is enough for them to get the paperwork and land a job, and for many programs of course it is sufficient. In times of financial crisis like now, just to even be able to have music classes is a luxury for some school districts.

What I object to is the insistence that somehow these teachers are qualified in any way to instruct beginning students (the ones who are most vulnerable to faulty instruction). If you cannot perform, or have never performed at a technical and musical level far beyond that of the majority of your students (i.e., the average to good ones), and/or have not performed in any sort of regular capacity, then you have no business teaching other people how to do so. As I do not feel fully competent nor have the requisite training in fields like choral music, small combo jazz, and nuclear physics, I will not teach those subjects either. There are others out there far more qualified, and I would want THEM to have those jobs!

The idea that "those who cannot play, teach" is FLAWED. Those who cannot play ought to be practicing until they can, or should find another profession instead of inflicting themselves on another generation of students who deserve better.

Q: I showed up at school with a "jazz" instrument and my director says it's not right for orchestra/band, do I need to get a different instrument?

There's no such thing as a "jazz" instrument. It's purely marketing idiocy. An instrument, is an instrument, is an instrument, and depending on your preference with regards to tone, playability, flexibility, and appearance, you can use any instrument to play practically any style of music. As long as you can make it work for you, play on it and ignore the advice from the grossly-misinformed. There are great instruments being made right now, in this century, that will serve even the top professionals. This is despite the insistence of an establishment that says that string players must play three century old Italian violins with two century old French bows, clarinet players have to play Buffet R-13's, saxophonists must play a Selmer Mark VI, trumpeters need to have a Bach Strad, blah blah blah.

It's all hooey.

Q: My school director says I *have* to have a shoulder rest for my violin, or I'll get a lower grade. You've taught me that I don't need one but my director says you're wrong. What should I do?

First of all, the choice to use a shoulder rest or not is highly dependent on your individual physiology at the current moment in time. When I watch you play during your lesson, based on my experience in working with thousands of students both privately and in ensembles, I can suggest ways to help you relieve tension in your playing by ensuring that your equipment as it relates to the instrument is appropriate for you. In your case, getting rid of the rest improved things (I will say, you are now one of only two students that I teach that are like this, everyone else uses a shoulder rest without issue). I personally tried many different rests for years, and finally discovered that I played better and with less tension without it...your mileage may vary.

Secondly, you need to tell your director to call me, and I'll be happy to explain how the physics of it works to them. As for the assertions that you "can't shift" because of the "missing" shoulder rest, please direct them to these YouTube videos of the following great violinists (and violists) who can play anything on the planet sans shoulder rest:

Itzhak Perlman, Sarasate Zigunerweisen - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEmbFSiJzEQ
Nathan Milstein, Paganiniana Variations - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTtgk0HkOs
Pinchas Zukerman (with Perlman), Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAKA3rLENGU
Jascha Heifetz, Hora Staccato - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mag2mc5Vva0
William Primrose, Paganini Caprice No. 24 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn3RYzDuQcE

On the slip side there are great performers who use one and it doesn't hurt them in the least!

Hilary Hahn, Ernst Erlkonig - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMBZS6iAp2I
Joshua Bell, Bruch G Minor Concerto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKwmfkDQ_Ws

Remember, you need to respect your teachers, but don't settle for information that is obviously incorrect, or is not supported by factual evidence.

Q: Mr. Wie, I'm going to be graduating this coming year from my college music performance program but I really want to become a school band/orchestra director and teach ensembles in schools. Should I go do my credential right away or should I go do a master's degree first?

A: This is a good question, because given the current job market (amidst an economic depression) it's important to look at how hire-able you are in the field you want to work in. I'm telling students right now that if you're still in school and going to graduate in a year or two, don't stop! Find a master's degree program in performance or music education where you can complete your teaching credential *concurrently*. The reason I stress this is because once you get out, your earning potential is higher with a graduate degree; however if you put off earning that credential you will burn out from all the school (7+ years of college? arghhh!!!). Get it done right away in a program that allows you to do both simultaneously. And of course, there is the inevitable question that follows:

Q: Mr. Wie, didn't you tell us that you never did a teaching credential yourself? Why are you recommending it to us? Aren't you successful without one?

A: Yes kids, that's correct. I never pursued any sort of teaching credential. However, my teaching in public school music programs has always been as a consultant or program adviser, and my primary employment over the past decade has been at private or public charter schools in after-school conservatory programs without a teaching credential requirement. I also came into teaching music from a prior career as a software developer.

I am in a unique situation...I have studied and performed the major concerto repertoire for all my primary instruments, and have appeared in a professional capacity on violin, viola, clarinet, saxophone, and as a conductor. I've trained many private students to enter major college programs in music performance and education. Unlike many orchestra teachers in the schools, I work with students through every single level from elementary age beginners through college students in both ensembles and private instruction. I continue to study every summer with master teachers in the field as part of my professional development as a performer and educator. Consequently, I have a grasp of the "big picture" that many instructors who only teach a single subject lack. I also still take lessons from time to time with master teachers, practice my primary instruments every day, and perform nearly a hundred concerts each year.

While I feel that my career has not been hindered by not pursuing a credential, I cannot guarantee that you will have the same results. If you plan to be a K-12 music teacher in the public schools, go and do your credential. You will need it.