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Clarinet Duet Tips for Beginners
It’s Solo & Ensemble season, which means many band students are in the process of preparing and performing their first clarinet duet! Whether these duos are for two clarinets or clarinet and other instruments, here are a few tips to help you achieve a Superior rating! Preparation Rehearsing I hope these tips help your prepare and perform your first clarinet duet! Leave a comment below with any other tips or tricks that helped you with duets.
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Clarinet Care 101
Another school year is right around the corner! Whether you’re just beginning your clarinet journey or would like to review common clarinet care tips, I’ve got you covered! Welcome to Clarinet Care 101! Below, I’m covering basic clarinet care and maintenance, as well as answering some common questions. How often should I swab? I try to swab my clarinet about every 15-20 minutes. If your clarinet starts sounding spitty or you hear water in your keys (that annoying gurgling sound that always seems to interrupt a beautiful phrase), it’s time to swab. If you are breaking in a new clarinet, you should swab much more frequently. How often should I…
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The Clarinetist’s Dictionary
Congratulations on beginning your clarinet journey! Even though the clarinet is obviously the best instrument, it can sometimes feel overwhelming with so many different parts, pieces, and accessories! I’ve created the following dictionary to help you understand common clarinet lingo as you navigate the wonderful world of clarinetistry! *Please note that I’ve simplified several definitions to make them more accessible to beginners and younger students. As in many areas of music, there are additional details and nuances you will learn, but these are the most basic definitions of common clarinet terms. I’ve also linked to other articles I’ve written with more in-depth explanations on certain subjects. articulation (sometimes called tonguing)…
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Beginning Clarinet Milestones Checklist
Whether you’re just starting out on your clarinet journey or are teaching someone who is, there are many milestones you will encounter during the first year of playing! Although the clarinet is quite a popular instrument, there certainly are quite a few fundamentals, pieces of equipment, and countless other details to consider! This is why I created this checklist – to help both beginning clarinetists and their teachers stay organized and make sure you’re not missing any important musical milestones. Note: I have organized each category in a progressive sequence, but you should customize your learning/teaching strategy for each student to ensure they have optimal progress. (Want a downloadable version…
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Equipment List for Beginning Clarinetists
This post originally appeared on the Jellynote blog. Jellynote is a great website to find sheet music, articles, and other resources for musicians. I’ve enjoyed exploring their website using Jellynote Premium (which was generously gifted to me) the past few months, and I hope you’ll check out their website! Congratulations on beginning your journey to learn the clarinet! I might be a bit biased, but I think it’s the best instrument, and I’m so excited that you want to learn to play the clarinet. Before you start playing clarinet, you should check to make sure that you have everything you need so you can focus on music-making (instead of struggling to find a mouthpiece or…
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Reed Advice for Beginning Clarinetists
This post originally appeared on the Jellynote blog. Jellynote is a great website to find sheet music, articles, and other resources for musicians. I’ve enjoyed exploring their website using Jellynote Premium (which was generously gifted to me) the past few months, and I hope you’ll check out their website! The clarinet is a wonderful instrument, but it certainly does require several pieces of equipment, including reeds! For beginning clarinetists, selecting and caring for these reeds can be confusing, so here’s everything you need to know: Learn the lingo: Strength. Reed strength measures the flexibility of the cane, and this is typically measures in half or quarter strengths (generally ranging from…