Article: How to Make a Cozy for Your Woodwind Instrument

These are instructions with photos of how to make a cozy for your woodwind instrument.  Why a tea cozy for a musical instrument?  For woodwind doublers, it really helps to keep the second instrument warm.  Playing on a cold instrument can result in flat pitch and potential for a cracked instrument due to quick temperature changes.

This particular cozy I designed serves double duty as a carry case for other accessories.  I had seen cozies before online to keep your second instrument warm but I also needed something extra.  I was playing in the Amarillo Symphony for the gala event of our new Globe News Center for the Performing Arts. We were one of several ensembles performing that night so each group needed to enter and exit the stage within a few minutes.  I had an oboe, English horn, music folder, instrument peg, two reed cases, swabs, and other necessary emergency accessories that I needed with me so I came up with this cozy that had a shoulder strap, two pockets, and a loop to hold my instrument peg.  Once completed, I could hold both the oboe and English horn in one hand if necessary, the music tucked under my arm, and the cozy holding all my accessories on my shoulder. It worked quite well for the fast exit/entrance I needed.  To see the full set of instructions of how to make this dual purpose cozy, click on the "How to Make a Cozy.pdf" file below.