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Is your clarinet thumb rest in the optimal position?
If you are experiencing discomfort or pain in your hands or wrists while playing clarinet, your thumb rest might not be in the optimal position! Even though the clarinet is not very heavy (about 1.5-2 pounds, or about 680-900 grams), it all starts to add up after you multiply the hours, days, weeks, months, and years spent holding and playing it. This is why it’s so important to develop and utilize proper posture and ergonomics, including customizing equipment to make playing easier and more comfortable for you. (Before we dive in, I want to remind you that I’m a classically trained clarinetist – not a doctor. Please consult a trusted…
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Historical Clarinetist Superlatives: Most Likely To…
Congratulations to all the graduating clarinetists this school year! My North American readers are probably familiar with school superlatives, so In honor of graduation, I thought it would be fun to nominate historical clarinetists for school superlatives (my North American readers will probably be familiar with these!) Most likely to succeed Caroline Schleicher-Krähmer, the first woman clarinet soloist in history. Her illustrious career is all the more remarkable given the societal barriers she surely had to overcome. Most team spirit Richard Mühlfeld. If he could inspire Brahms to come out of compositional retirement and create some of the clarinet’s greatest works, then I’m sure he was an incredible source of…
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My clarinet won’t come apart! What should I do?
Chances are, if you’re reading this you’re in a bit of a dilemma – your clarinet is stuck together and won’t come apart! This is actually more common than you think, and here’s what you should do: Now that you’ve gotten your clarinet apart, here are some tips to help prevent this from happening again:
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New composition: Qivittoq for solo clarinet
I am honored to have spent one month in Ilulissat, Greenland as an artist-in-residence with Arctic Culture Lab during March/April 2025. Ilulissat and the icefjord were beautiful beyond belief, and the photos and videos I took don’t do it justice! As part of my project researching Greenlandic music culture and history, I composed a piece for solo clarinet inspired by a Greenlandic tale. Today, I’m very excited to introduce the work I composed during this residency – Qivittoq for solo clarinet. (I’ll share more of my musical and cultural research in a future blog post.) Greenland has many stories, myths, and legends, but as a lifelong horror fan, I was…
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Clarinet embouchure: How much mouthpiece should you take in?
Believe it or not, how much mouthpiece you take in when playing clarinet can make a big difference in your sound! Whether you’re new to the clarinet or have been playing for years, it’s never a bad idea to examine (or re-examine) your embouchure to make sure you’re producing a top-quality sound. One aspect of this is how much of the mouthpiece is in your mouth when this plays. Why does this matter? If you take in less mouthpiece, this only allows a small portion of the reed to vibrate. This means your sound will most likely be thin and brittle. Conversely, if you take in too much mouthpiece, the…
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2025 March Madness – Clarinet Sonatas
Who will be crowned the ultimate clarinet sonata? Let’s find out in the Jenny Clarinet March Madness Sonatas tournament! Back by popular demand, this clarinet-specific March Madness-style tournament was created as a fun and interactive way to discover new clarinet sonatas and revisit timeless favorites. Here’s how it works: I’ve modeled this March Madness bracket after the famous American basketball tournament brackets (for all you sports fans). I selected 32 clarinet sonatas, including both standards and lesser-known favorites of mine. Using an online randomizer, these 32 sonatas were listed in a random order to create the “matches” for the first round lineup. Each day in March, I will post a…
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What do the Weber concerti and Brahms sonatas have in common?
There’s an interesting connection between Carl Maria von Weber’s two clarinet concerti and Brahms two clarinet sonatas. Any guesses what it is? Notice any similarities? They share the same key signatures! So, is this pure coincidence, or was this intentional on Brahms’ part? Weber composed his two clarinet concerti in 1811 for the German clarinetist Heinrich Baermann. Eighty years later in March 1891, Brahms heard German clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld perform Weber’s Concerto No. 1 in f minor with the Meiningen Court Orchestra. Brahms was captivated by Mühlfeld’s playing and subsequently wrote a clarinet trio, quintet, and the two aforementioned sonatas for Mühlfeld. In addition to sharing the same key signatures…
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Did Rossini really compose his Introduction, Theme and Variations?
Longtime readers of this blog know that there are countless unsolved mysteries of clarinet history, and I’m fascinated by these! Today, we’re delving into a work which I consider to be one of the top 50 standard works for clarinet – Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations! Background Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) composed Introduction, Theme and Variations around 1819, and it was dedicated to clarinetist Allesandro Abate. Abate was a clarinet professor in Naples, Italy, and he performed as principal clarinet at the Teatro La Munizione in Messina from 1815-1816. The Introduction features lyrically florid clarinet passages, demonstrating the instrument’s expressive capabilities. The music is from Rossini’s opera Mosè in Egitto…
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Clarinet history: Who invented the metal ligature?
When I’m not practicing the clarinet, one of my favorite things to do is delve into the vast world of clarinet history. There are so many subjects and areas to explore, one of which is the clarinet’s development to its modern form. Today, clarinetists probably take several things for granted. Reeds, although quite a can of worms, can be mass-produced and are easily available. Mouthpieces are varied and plentiful, and you can even work with mouthpiece makers for customized setups. Ligatures also come in several materials and variations. Most of us likely started out with a simple metal ligature – something we probably haven’t paid much attention to outside of…
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Did Weber write a third clarinet concerto?
Longtime readers of this blog know that there are several unsolved mysteries throughout clarinet history. One that I find particularly interesting is the possibility of Weber’s third clarinet concerto. Most clarinetists are undoubtedly familiar with the clarinet works of Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). His famous Concertino, Op. 26, Concerto No. 1 in f minor, Op. 73, and Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 74 were written in 1811 for German clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann (1784-1847).These works have become standard clarinet repertoire and demonstrate the clarinet’s lyrical and technical capabilities. If only Weber had composed another clarinet concerto… According to Weber’s diary, he was working on a clarinet concerto…