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:

• Meeting enthusiastic clarinetists from around the world. By far the greatest gift this blog has given me is the opportunity to meet and connect with musicians from around the world. It’s always so great to go to an event and meet someone who has read or heard about my blog, and I’m so grateful for the clarinet community this blog reaches.
• Hearing that an article has helped someone. One of my favorite things about running this blog is receiving messages and comments that an article has proven helpful or inspiring. I know the clarinet can be difficult and frustrating, and it makes me happy to hear that something I wrote has helped make it easier. Ultimately, my goal for this website is to make clarinet information accessible to everyone. I’ve been extremely fortunate in my life and career, and I want to give back to the clarinet community as much as I can.
• Solving mysteries of clarinet history. OG readers know that I love a good historical clarinet mystery, and over the years, several readers have written with additional information, locations to various manuscripts, and other treasures.
• Creating the clarinet Boot Camp. What started out as an online motivational tool to make it through Baermann’s scale book ended up as the basis for comprehensive practice plans on clarinet standard repertoire. Fun fact: I wrote my first Boot Camp, the Baermann Boot Camp, at Coffee Spoune in Paris, and several more followed soon after (all written at various Parisian cafés).
• Learning to play the theremin. After writing this blog post, I was contacted by some of the world’s leading theremin players with information to add to the post. I met up with these musicians and collaborated on several recordings (here, here, and here), and I am still good friends with these musicians to this day.
• Learning about clarinet cultures around the world. I enjoy combining my love for clarinet and travel, and this blog has allowed me to share my research about clarinet cultures around the world. (If we ever meet in person, I guarantee it won’t be long into the conversation before I start discussing Faroese clarinet repertoire…or sheep.) The magic of the internet has allowed me to connect with musicians from around the world, and I’m so thankful to learn more about these different clarinet and musical cultures.
• Breaking onto Google hits page 1 for long tones. My brother was excited to share that a Google search for “long tones” yields my article as the top hit. As a passionate proponent of long tones, this was a surreal moment for me.
• Breaking up my French commute. I first started this blog as I moved to Paris in 2015 to study at the Versailles Conservatoire. My early blog posts were typed out in the Notes app on my phone on the RER C from St. Michel to Versailles. Each time I read these early blog posts, I remember the commute fondly.
• Sharing my love for clarinet. I started this blog as a place to share pedagogical articles, tips, and advice with other clarinetists. I also like to mix in holiday content, humorous articles, and a veritable hodge-podge of clarinet kitsch, and I hope that my passion for clarinet is apparent in everything you read on this blog.

Thank you so much for your support and contributions to the clarinet community! Music has a unique way of bringing people together, and I hope this blog unites us all on our own musical journeys.