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Clarinet HERstory: Eileen Tranmer
Clarinet HERstory is a new retrospective series on Jenny Clarinet which celebrates women throughout clarinet history (aka HERstory). Do you have a recommendation for a clarinetist to feature in an upcoming post in Clarinet HERstory? Contact me here. English musician Eileen Betsy Tranmer (1910-1983) was an accomplished clarinetist and chess player who held the title of Woman International Master. Eileen…
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Clarinet HERstory: Caroline Schleicher-Krähmer
Clarinet HERstory is a new retrospective series on Jenny Clarinet which celebrates women throughout clarinet history (aka HERstory). Do you have a recommendation for a clarinetist to feature in an upcoming post in Clarinet HERstory? Contact me here. Caroline Krähmer (née Schleicher, 1794-c. 1873) was an international soloist and toured all throughout Europe, performing works by Weber, Tausch, Mozart, and more.…
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Quick Fix Friday: When in doubt, play it out
Happy Friday! This week, I wanted to share one of my most-used practice techniques – using your air! Granted, this isn’t some big secret (after all, we do play a woodWIND instrument!). However, I’ve found that oftentimes when we’re working on a passage, we’re so focused on the technique/rhythm/articulation/other that we neglect to use our best air. The quick fix?…
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The Relationship Between Breathing and Tuning: How to Use Breathing to Improve Clarinet Tuning
Let’s face it – the clarinet can be a bit…pitchy. If you’ve read my Complete Guide to Clarinet Tuning, you know that there are several factors which can affect clarinet tuning. I wanted to take a closer look at one of these which you can use to your advantage to help improve your clarinet tuning: Breathing! Any time you take…
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50 Adjectives to Describe Clarinet Tone
We all know that the clarinet is the best instrument (duh), but how do you describe the clarinet’s tone? Here are some of my favorite adjectives to describe clarinet tone which are more descriptive than “good.” These are great to compliment your friends, students, and colleagues. Note: Musical tone is subjective, and it can be difficult to match sound with…
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Cane vs. Synthetic Clarinet Reeds – What’s the Difference?
Let’s talk about one of the most frequently discussed clarinet topics – reeds. Reeds are an essential component to producing a sound on the clarinet, and there are many different brands, cuts, and varieties available in today’s market. Today, synthetic reeds are becoming more and more popular among all levels of players, from beginners to professionals. Here’s my complete guide…
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Quick Fix Friday: Ear-Training Tuning Tip
Happy Friday! This week, I wanted to share a quick tip I’ve been using to improve both my tuning and ear-training. A tuner is a helpful tool to have while practicing. However, sometimes musicians become too reliant on watching the tuner and reacting to what it says. Instead, use your tuner to help train your ears for good pitch/tuning and…
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10 Quick Tips to Help Band Directors Improve Your Clarinet Section
Band directors are kind of like musical superheroes – they have to maintain a working knowledge of all common (and sometimes not-so-common) band instruments. Not only this, but they have to share it in an easy-to-understand format with multiple students every day. Let’s hear it for band directors! Although I’ve never been a band director, I’ve worked in hundreds of…
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Creating and performing the world’s first AI composition for clarinet and piano
I’ve become increasingly interested in the possibilities of artificial intelligence (AI) and the clarinet during the past few months. (ICYMI, you can read my previous blog posts here and here.) AI has taken the world by storm, and it seems like more fields are exploring the growing possibilities and potential this technology has. Don’t get me wrong – I still…
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What do rhythm and baking cookies have in common?
I’m a stickler for good rhythm (ask any of my students!), which is why I use a lot of teaching analogies to discuss rhythm. One of them is baking. As a self-proclaimed novice baker, I know just how important the measurements are to achieve the perfect consistency of cookie (preferably a bit chewy IMHO), or whatever else you’re trying to…