Charlotte Moore 
Good cork grease keeps woodwind joints airtight and easy to assemble, and it costs less than a box of reeds. Dry corks are the reason students force joints together, and forcing joints is how bent keys and cracked tenons happen. Every clarinet, saxophone, oboe and bassoon player needs a tube in the case. Here is … Read more
Choosing the right trumpet valve oil is the cheapest upgrade available to any brass player, and it changes how the instrument feels within a single practice session. Sluggish valves are almost always an oiling problem rather than a mechanical one. The main decision is between petroleum based and synthetic oils, and between light, regular and … Read more
A clarinet swab is the one accessory you use every single time you play, and the cheap one that came with the instrument is usually the worst option available. Moisture left in the bore swells pads, lifts tenon corks and, on a wooden clarinet, contributes to cracking. The right swab clears the bore in one … Read more
The right saxophone strap for kids makes the difference between a child who practises happily and one who quietly gives up because their neck hurts. An alto saxophone weighs around 2.5 kg and all of that lands on a young player’s cervical spine through whatever strap came in the box, which is usually a thin … Read more
A flute cleaning rod is the least glamorous accessory you own and one of the most important, because moisture left inside the bore is what destroys pads and lifts the tarnish on a silver body. Most flutes ship with a plastic rod that works perfectly well, but they get lost, and the differences between plastic, … Read more
A proper oboe case matters more than it does for most instruments, because an oboe is a fragile wooden tube covered in delicate keywork and it usually costs several thousand dollars. Bent keys are expensive, cracked joints are worse, and the reeds travelling alongside are worth $20 each. Whether you need a replacement, a case … Read more
A good trumpet case is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy for a horn that costs a thousand dollars or more. Most trumpets arrive in a basic case that protects against scratches and very little else, which is fine until the instrument gets dropped, stacked under a bag or left in a cold car. … Read more
Picking between the woodwind instruments for beginners is mostly a question of matching the instrument to the player rather than finding the objectively easiest one. Clarinet, flute, alto saxophone, oboe and bassoon all appear in school programmes, and each rewards a different kind of student. Cost, size, noise and how quickly a beginner gets a … Read more
The plastic vs wood clarinet debate decides most upgrade purchases, and it is more nuanced than the usual assumption that wood is simply better. Plastic, properly called ABS resin, dominates the student market because it survives conditions that would crack grenadilla within a season. Wood dominates professional playing because it produces a warmer, more complex … Read more
The alto vs soprano saxophone comparison usually comes up in two situations: a beginner wondering whether the smaller horn is the easier starting point, and an alto player thinking about doubling. The short answer is that the soprano looks simpler and plays harder. Size does not translate into ease on saxophone, because the narrower bore … Read more