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Around the World in Eighty Pieces #2 Denmark
Welcome to my new series, Around the World in Eighty Pieces! I’m excited to combine my love of travelling and clarinet repertoire by sharing a clarinet composition I “discovered” in each country. This series is not meant to be a comprehensive overview of the clarinet music from each country; rather, this is an appetizer to ignite your curiosity to learn more about the music, repertoire, and clarinet cultures of each place. I love learning about other clarinet music from around the world, so please contact me or leave a comment with other pieces you would like to share. I first travelled to Denmark for a few days before my residency in the Faroe…
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The range and registers of the clarinet
Call me biased, but the clarinet is one of the most versatile instrument in terms of range, dynamics, and much more! Here’s an overview of the range and different registers of the clarinet First, let’s discuss the difference between range and registers. An instrument’s range includes the entire span of notes capable of being produced. A register is a smaller subset of these notes, typically sharing timbral characteristics and tendencies. Here is the soprano clarinet’s working range: As demonstrated in the above photo, the clarinet has quite the range! Spanning nearly 3+ octaves, the clarinet can produce rumbling low notes all the way up to sparkling notes in the stratosphere.…
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Around the World in Eighty Pieces – #1 New Zealand
Welcome to the first post in my new series, Around the World in Eighty Pieces! I’m excited to combine my love of travelling and clarinet repertoire by sharing a piece I “discovered” in each country. This series is not meant to be a comprehensive overview of the clarinet music from each country; rather, this is an appetizer to ignite your curiosity to learn more about the music, repertoire, and clarinet cultures of each place. I love learning about other clarinet music from around the world, so please contact me or leave a comment with other pieces you would like to share. First up, New Zealand! Last month was my first…
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Introducing my new blog series – Around the World in Eighty Pieces
I’m so excited to introduce a new series here on Jenny Clarinet – Around the World in Eighty Pieces! It’s no secret that I love to travel. When I moved to Paris back in 2015, I took advantage of budget airlines (shoutout to RyanAir and Transavia!) to explore all over Europe. This ignited my passion for travelling, and along the way, I began informally studying clarinet cultures around the world. What is clarinet culture? To me, this is the history, people, performers, teachers, repertoire, pedagogy, and other intangible aspects of learning, teaching, and performing the clarinet in each country, region, or municipality. I’m fascinated by learning the clarinet’s similarities and…
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Tone, Tuning, Timbre – What’s the Difference?
At first glance, these three concepts might seem interchangeable. To add further confusion, they all begin with the same letter! Here’s a quick overview of how I explain these three concepts to my students: I hope this quick overview helps you to distinguish between tone, tuning, and timbre! Leave a comment below with any input or descriptions you use!
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The life span of a clarinet (and its accessories)
You know what they say – nothing lasts forever, and the clarinet is no different. One of the most common questions I’m asked is “How long does a reed/mouthpiece/ligature/clarinet last?” There are a few different factors affecting this answer, so let’s break it down by item: Now, let’s talk about clarinets: How do you know if your clarinet or accessories are wearing out? As you probably gleaned from reading this article, there is no set timeline for replacing your clarinets or its accessories. It depends on several factors and is unique to each musician. Ultimately, clarinets and accessories get blown out, and these are apparent in the following scenarios. If…
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Celebrating 400 Blog Posts on Jenny Clarinet: A Retrospective Musical Journey
My, oh my, how the time flies! When I started Jenny Clarinet back in 2015, I had no idea the journey I was about to undertake. I started Jenny Clarinet right before I moved to Paris as a way to share my musical musings, clarinet pedagogy, and travel updates along my clarinet career. For my 400th blog post, I would like to share 10 musical memories this blog has given me the opportunity to experience. I’m humbled and so grateful for all of the musical connections and memories created via this blog, and here are a few of my favorites: Thank you so much for your support and contributions to…
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Quick Fix Friday: Tune by Trends, Not by Notes
Happy Friday! Does it seem like you’re always having to adjust by pushing in or pulling out? If so, you’re probably tuning based on individual notes. The quick fix? Tune according to trends, not according to individual notes. What does that mean? When you tune, you should choose a few reliable notes on your clarinet (I like written low C, open G, middle C, and top line F on clarinet). Play these with a tuner and look for overall trends. If you are “trending” sharp, most or all of these notes are sharp. Conversely, if you are “trending” flat, most or all of your notes are flat. If you adjust…
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Stravinsky’s Secret 4th Piece for Solo Clarinet
Serious clarinetists are probably all-too familiar with Igor Stravinsky’s devilishly difficult Three Pieces for solo clarinet, written in 1918 and published in 1919. This piece was written as a thank-you present to philanthropist and amateur clarinetist Werner Reinhart (1884-1951) for his support of Stravinsky’s music. This is one of the first true unaccompanied solos in the clarinet repertoire, and it is commonplace for this work to be asked on auditions because it demonstrates the player’s technical and lyrical abilities. Another unique element of this piece is that it is written for both B-flat and A clarinet in the same piece (the first two movements are “preferably” on A clarinet, while…
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Why is my mouthpiece green? (And other weird clarinet questions you’re too embarrassed to ask your teacher)
The clarinet is the coolest instrument around, but it does have some…peculiarities….to it. Here are a few explanations to your most embarrassing clarinet questions: (Disclaimer: These responses are crafted from a clarinetist’s point of view. Always seek advice from a medical professional when dealing with health, germs, and other areas beyond the scope of this classically trained clarinetist/blogger.) Why is my mouthpiece green? Most clarinet mouthpieces are made from either plastic or ebonite (hard rubber). Ebonite can oxidize, and this discoloration can be caused from exposure to sunlight, high temps, and even the type of soap you use to clean the mouthpiece. Read this article from Vandoren for more information.…