• Joy to the World Holiday Scale Challenge

    Bring joy to the world, one scale at a time! Did you know that the opening melody to Joy to the World is just a descending major scale? Why not add some holiday cheer to your practice routine by practicing this tune in all major key signatures? Better yet, why not challenge yourself to playing this melody in all key signatures in under one minute? I’ve written out this melody in all 12 major key signatures, and you can download this for free here. If you’re up for the challenge, feel free to share your videos with me or tag me on social media! P.S. If you’re looking for other…

  • How to become better at clarinet transposition

    Clarinet is a pretty cool instrument, if I do say so myself. However, it would be nice if we didn’t have to transpose all the time! Making matters worse, the abundance of auxiliary clarinets also means an abundance of…transposition! First things first: What is transposition? If you asked every member of a band, orchestra, or other ensemble to play a C – their C on each individual instrument, also known as written pitch – the resulting cacophony would make you cover your ears. That’s because different instruments are pitched in different keys. The most common clarinet is pitched in Bb, pianos are pitched in C, and there are a variety…