-
25 Clarinet repertoire hidden gems to perform in 2025
Happy New Year! I hope 2025 brings you health, happiness, and lots of great music! Speaking of great music, the clarinet community is #blessed to have such a wide variety of repertoire. It’s no secret that I enjoy “collecting” lesser-known repertoire, so I wanted to share 25 of my favorite hidden gems in the clarinet repertoire. Here are 25 hidden…
-
Quick Fix Friday: Use your planner to update your CV
Happy Friday (the first one of 2025!)! Is it just me, or does anyone else find themselves tidying and organizing at the first of the year? If so, don’t throw out your 2024 planner yet! The quick fix? Go back through your 2024 planner to add any concerts, auditions, projects, or events to your CV. It’s easy to forget all…
-
Quick Fix Friday: “Trendy” Practicing
Happy Friday! (and an extra happy Friday to everyone who is off for holidays the rest of the year!) Today’s Quick Fix is something that will help you maximize your practice routine and improve efficiency. I’ve noticed a lot of students have developed the habit of spending an inordinate amount of time “correcting” what I call one-off mistakes. These can…
-
9 Mistakes Many Beginning Clarinetists Make
Learning the clarinet certainly takes a lot of trial and error (and many squeaks along the way!). Even though it can be challenging, it is musically rewarding across all styles and genres. If you are learning clarinet, be sure you’re not making any of these 9 mistakes common among beginning clarinetists: I hope these tips help you along your clarinet…
-
The Curious Clarinets of Benjamin Franklin
By now, you should know that there are several unsolved mysteries of clarinet history. One that has particularly intrigued me is a musical glitch in the matrix, involving none other than Benjamin Franklin. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was an American multi-hyphenate – he was a diplomat, writer, scientist, and more. (He also had some witty quotes and one-liners!) Franklin wrote his…
-
Musicians perish after performing this famous symphony
Trigger warning: death and suicide It’s October, which means it’s time for us to dive in to another story about the bizarre side of classical music. Today, I want to talk about a famous symphony (coincidentally written by one of my favorite composers), in which musicians die shortly after its performance. The symphony? Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in b minor,…
-
The Mystery of Benny Goodman’s Missing Clarinet
Clarinetists and non-clarinetists alike are undoubtedly familiar with the name and fame of Benny Goodman (1909-1986). As the “King of Swing,” he was known for hits such as “Sing, Sing, Sing,” and his musical influence was an inspiration for future generations of musicians. We all know I love a good clarinet mystery, so I was intrigued when I came across…
-
Quick Fix Friday: Increase your air as you ascend
Happy Friday! This week’s quick fix is an easy way to improve your sound, especially as you ascend to new clarinet heights! The quick fix? Increase your air as you ascend! It’s always important to play while using enough air (both quantity and air speed). It’s even more important as we get higher on the clarinet. This goes back to…
-
Practice Hack to Build Better Transitions
Most musicians know that it’s not about how long you practice, but how well you practice. (quality over quantity!) Most musicians also know that it’s important to break pieces down into smaller section to gradually loop together. However, something I’m not sure most musicians know (or actively incorporate into their practice sessions) is effectively looping sections together. Enter one of…
-
ChatGPT roasts popular clarinet repertoire
If you’ve been on Instagram at all this week, you might have seen a new trend emerging, where users ask ChatGPT to roast their feed. The results have been pretty funny, so I decided to take it a step further and ask ChatGPT to roast popular pieces of clarinet repertoire. (Obligatory note to say that I love all of these…