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Common Clarinet Emergencies and How to Fix Them
(Updated April 17, 2024) Picture this: you’re having a productive practice session. Things are going smoothly, you’re feeling great, you’re even having a good reed day, and then… Emergency strikes! Clarinet players are bound to cross certain inevitable problems. Don’t panic! Here are a few common clarinet emergencies and how you can fix them: My swab got stuck inside my clarinet! This is usually caused by the material wadding up inside the tube. Twist the pull several times to decrease the size of the material and carefully try to pull out. If it won’t budge, don’t go all Hulk on it – take it to a certified clarinet technician. Avoid…
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30 Famous French Clarinetists
Happy Bastille Day – vive la France! I will always consider France my adopted country, so to celebrate this French national holiday I’ve listed 30 famous French clarinetists. As always, this list is not intended to be comprehensive. I have tried to include notable clarinetists who spent their formative years in France, but many of these clarinetists later moved to perform in other countries. Michel Arrignon Nicholas Baldeyrou Frédéric Berr Philippe Berrod Daniel Bonade Jacques Jules Boufil Louis Cahuzac Lucien Cailliet Florent Charpentier Philippe Cuper Alain Damiens Guy Dangain Ulysse Delécluse Guy Deplus Pierre Gennison Georges Grisez Gaston Hamelin Florent Héau Paul Jeanjean Hyacinthe Klosé Jacques Lancelot Jean-Xavier Lefèvre Paul…
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Questions to Ask Yourself for a More Productive Practice Session
Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you practice, improvement is slow and painstaking? If so, you might not be asking yourself focused questions to help guide your practice routine. Practicing is about committing to consistent and regular sessions, but it’s also making sure you have clear goals in mind. If you’re not sure what kind of questions to ask yourself to formulate these goals, here are some that I use for a more focused and productive practice session: Before practice What are my goals for this practice session? Choose 2-3 small, manageable goals you can achieve in a single session. Great examples include working on a specific…
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The Clarinet ABC Game
Are you bored, looking to pass some time during a long road trip, or just looking for dorky clarinet games? Challenge your clarinet friends to a game of clarinet ABCs, where you take turns coming up with clarinet-related terms for every letter of the alphabet. There are infinite possibilities for every letter, so don’t be afraid to get academic, goofy, or crazy! Here’s what I chose for my clarinet ABCs, using the first thing for each letter that popped into my head: A – Albert system B – Baermann (is anyone surprised?) C – clarinet (duh) D – Denner (as in Johann Denner, our instrument’s creator) E – Evette &…
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50 Famous American Clarinetists
Happy Independence Day, America! To help celebrate and put you in a patriotic state of mind, here are 50 famous American clarinetists, listed alphabetically by last name. (Disclaimer: This list is not intended to be comprehensive – there are so many awesome American clarinetists past, present, and future! I tried to use clarinetists who were born in America, although there are countless talented players who moved here from other countries to perform. Make sure you share any American clarinetists you’d add to your own list in the comments!) Ben Armato Sidney Bechet Kalman Bloch Lawrie Bloom Clark Brody Carmine Campione Frank Cohen Jonathan Cohler Larry Combs Eddie Daniels Buddy DeFranco…
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Canadian Clarinet Compositions
Happy Canada Day! I’ve enjoyed my first year in this beautiful country as I complete my doctorate in Montreal. I’d like to celebrate this national holiday with a list of some works for clarinet by Canadian composers I’ve discovered during my time up north. By no means is this list comprehensive, so feel free to share your favorite Canadian clarinet compositions below! Violet Archer – Moods for clarinet and alto saxophone (Archer also wrote Soliloquies for B-flat and A clarinet, along with Crossroads for solo clarinet) John Beckwith – Fall Scene and Fair Dance for clarinet, violin, and strings Alan Belkin – Sonata No. 2 for clarinet and piano Stephen Chatman…
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9 Museums Every Clarinetist Should Visit
Are you looking for a clarinet-themed getaway this summer? Here are some museums you and all your clarinet friends should check out: Musée des Instruments à Vent (La Couture-Boussey, France) – If you want to see an impressive collection of wind instruments (and who doesn’t?), this is your place. Musical Instruments Museum (Brussels, Belgium) – In addition to a wide assortment of historical musical instruments, this museum houses a bass clarinet by the instrument’s inventor, Adolphe Sax. Musée de la musique (Paris, France) – With over 1,000 objects in the permanent collection, this museum is sure to intrigue. (Make sure to hear a concert at the Philharmonie after your visit!) National Music Museum (Vermillion,…
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Clarinet Holidays We Should Start Celebrating
Every day is a holiday when you play clarinet, but here are a few more clarinet-themed holidays we should start celebrating: International Clarinet Day – August 13 (Johann Denner’s birthday) Mozart Clarinet Concerto Day – June 22 (6/22 = K. 622) Brahms Clarinet Sonatas Day – January 20 (1/20 = Op. 120) Midsummer Night’s Dream Day – June 24 (Midsummer in many countries) International Day of Baermann – October 24 (I even wrote about why we should celebrate Baermann’s birthday!) Squidward Day – May 1 (the debut date of Spongebob Squarepants, featuring one of our favourite clarinetists – Squidward Tentacles!) What other clarinet holidays do you think we should we…
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13 Ways Clarinetists Can Become More Eco-Friendly
We live on a wonderful planet filled with awe-inspiring nature, people, and of course…music! Here are a few ways clarinetists and musicians can be more eco-friendly as you share your music with the world: Recycle your reed cases. If you use reeds that come in plastic reed sleeves, make sure you are recycling the cases! One of the reasons I love Vandoren reeds is that you can recycle the reed cases, so you can play on great reeds without guilt. (If you’re not ready to get rid of the reed cases, here are some ways you can upcycle your old reed cases if you want to get creative.) If you…
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The Musician’s Guide to Studying Abroad: How to Turn Your Dreams Into Reality
Many musicians dream of one day studying abroad – to study with a certain teacher, experience different pedagogy, become fluent in another language, learn more about another culture, or just broaden their musical perspectives. But dreaming about studying abroad is where it ends for most people. I’m here to tell you how to turn your study abroad dreams into a reality. I’m an American clarinetist, and I’ve lived in 3 different countries and visited 30 countries (and counting!). I moved to Paris in August 2015 to study with Philippe Cuper at the Versailles Conservatory, where I received my master’s degree in Musique, interprétation et patrimoine (musical interpretation and cultural heritage).…