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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 journey! Happy practicing!
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Top Tuning Tips for Clarinetists
How do you tune a clarinet? (Fill in your favorite punch line) Clarinet tuning can be tricky! After all, we have so many variables which can affect tuning, from temperature, reeds, barrels, and more. I’ve written several articles throughout the years on clarinet tuning, and I want to share my top tuning tips to help you play more in tune on the clarinet. (Before you read this article, I suggest reading my Complete Guide to Clarinet Tuning for an in-depth understanding of clarinet tuning. You might also like my Common Clarinet Tuning Mistakes.) Let’s get started! Here are my top tips for clarinet tuning: Happy practicing!
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Have Clarinet, Will Travel: Essential Tips for Travelling with Your Clarinet
It’s no secret that I love to travel! I’ve travelled around the world (40 countries and counting!) for concerts and recitals. Along the way, I’ve picked up several tips and tricks to make travelling with your clarinet(s) smoother and stress-free. (Psst! I mostly travel with my B-flat and A clarinets. If you’re travelling with a bass clarinet, check out this excellent article from the International Clarinet Association.) Here are my top tips to travelling with a clarinet Air travel Once you’ve reached your destination General advice Bon voyage!
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Transform Your Clarinet Tone: The Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide
One of the most important things musicians have to offer is their tone. Your tone is your musical voice, which is why it’s important to work on developing your absolute best sound. I’ve written a few articles and resources before on this subject (such as How to Improve Your Clarinet Tone and Sculpt Your Sound Workbook). Today, I want to share a troubleshooting guide to help you identify possible tone issues and how to resolve them. Let’s get started! Use the table below to find your tone issues in the left column and suggested troubleshooting tips in the right column. If your tone… Then try… lacks focus/sounds fuzzy using faster…
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The Complete Guide to Clarinet Reeds
Let me begin with an unorthodox yet effective introductory quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” If you prefer something more succinct, allow me to paraphrase Forrest Gump: “Life is like a box of reeds – you never know what you’re going to get!” I’ve created this Complete Guide to Clarinet Reeds as a resource to help clarinetists of…
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Don’t put this one thing in your clarinet case
To be fair, there are several things you probably shouldn’t put in your clarinet case – sticky food, beverages in non-leakproof containers, glitter… But there is one clarinet item you should be cautious about keeping in your clarinet case: A new mouthpiece! There are a few layers to this statement – you should not keep a new clarinet mouthpiece in your case if you have a clarinet with silver keys. This is due to the sulfur in hard rubber mouthpieces reacting to the silver in the keys. (You can read a short blurb about this chemical reaction on Michael Lowenstern’s website.) Here’s is a photo of a clarinet which has…
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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 a breath, the next note you play will be slightly sharper (compared to its pitch had you not taken the breath). Here’s how you can use this information to improve your clarinet tuning: And finally, here’s a bonus breathing tip: If there’s a delicate attack (especially at softer dynamics or…
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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 band classes around North America, specifically with woodwind and clarinet sections. I’d like to share a few quick tips with big payoffs to all the band directors out there to share with your clarinet sections: And here are a few bonus clarinet care tips to help avoid accidents and broken…
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How to create a clarinet time capsule
Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem like this year has felt like an eternity? I know that time will eventually pass, so I thought it would be a fun idea to create a clarinet time capsule to look back upon in the future. If you’ve never made a time capsule, it’s super simple! All you have to do is collect items or other memorabilia from the present and put it away for a set amount of time. You can also include a questionnaire with some of the prompts below to see how your musical ideas, concepts, and opinions have changed over time. (Just make sure you keep your…
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Advice for recent music school graduates
Congratulations on your graduation from music school! Whatever diploma or degree you received, I’m so proud of all of your hard work, dedication, and commitment to music. I know you’re probably experiencing a whirlwind of emotions right now – excitement, apprehension, fatigue (yay for final recitals, juries, exams, and projects!), uncertainty, and whatever else you’re feeling. All of these are completely normal, and they will help guide you along your future musical path. So, what next? After you’ve celebrated your graduation, you need to figure out what the next step is for your musical career. In addition to navigating my own post-diploma journey, I’ve also helped dozens of students prepare…