-
Self-care tips for music educators teaching online
This post also appeared on the Music Under Quarantine blog. Each person around the world is facing their own unique challenges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the challenges many educators are facing is maintaining motivation and positivity, which is essential to help students stay engaged as we finish the school year. One of the unofficial job…
-
The T3 Warm-up Routine
One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is how to create a proper warm-up routine. Your warm-up routine sets the tone (both literally and figuratively) for the rest of your practice session, so it’s essential to create a regimen to help you succeed. While each musician’s warm-up routine should be personalized to fit their musical goals and upcoming performance…
-
Clarinet Double Lip Embouchure: Overview, History, and Significance
To double lip, or not to double lip, that is the question (at least for many clarinetists)! There are few topics of debate which spark such spirited discussion among clarinetists as the decision to use a single or double lip embouchure. If you don’t already know, a single lip embouchure is one in which the lower lip covers the lower…
-
Questions for Musical Introspection
This blog post originally appeared as a digital clarinet studio lecture for the Iowa State University clarinetists. The last few months have been a whirlwind of emotions for everybody. I’ve been feeling a bit introspective lately (and I’m sure I’m not alone), so I thought I’d share some of the questions I’ve been asking myself and my students. While the world…
-
How to relearn the clarinet after an extended break
One of the great parts about playing clarinet is that it seems like everyone you talk to knows somebody who plays or played the clarinet. Once others discover that someone plays clarinet, they’ll usually reply, “Oh, my mom/dad/sibling/aunt/uncle/grandparent/–insert relative or friend– played clarinet!” The problem is that many of these clarinetists discontinue their studies when life gets in the way.…
-
Musical Inspiration from Leonard Bernstein
This blog post originally appeared as a digital clarinet studio lecture for the Iowa State University clarinetists. For this week’s studio class, I would like to share one of my greatest musical inspirations with you all. Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was a true Renaissance man – conductor, composer, pedagogue, author, and cultural icon. He made classical music accessible to the general…
-
The Complete Guide to Clarinet Articulation
There are more than a few…controversial…clarinet topics. Once you learn the basics, you learn that nothing is really as basic as it first appears. One of these hot topics? Articulation and tonguing. This is why I’ve waited so long to publish this complete guide. I’ve done guides on tuning, resonance fingerings, long tones, crossing the break, and other clarinet fundamentals,…
-
Keeping Time: A Short History of the Metronome
I am a self-proclaimed metronome maniac. You’ll always find a metronome clicking methodically away throughout my practicing routine, used both as a speedometer and as the rhythm police. It helps me keep time and gain speed as I learn new pieces, and I feel strange when I practice without it. Long story short, I love metronomes. Even though I love…
-
The great singers (and how singing can help your clarinet playing)
This blog post originally appeared as a digital clarinet studio lecture for the Iowa State University clarinetists. Singing is one of the most natural forms of music-making (and also one of the oldest). When you sing, you have no instrument, reeds, mouthpieces, ligatures, or any unnecessary equipment to bog you down. Granted, it takes a well-trained set of lungs and…
-
Virtual clarinet scavenger hunt
This blog post originally appeared as a digital clarinet studio lecture for the Iowa State University clarinetists. Now that you’ve explored some diverse repertoire in our last virtual scavenger hunt, it’s time for another challenge. We’re going to broaden our focus to help you discover many things this week in the wonderful, wide world of clarinet. I would like for…