Clarinet101

Parts of the clarinet

* The clarinet is held together by corks which must be greased using cork grease every
2-3 days, or when the clarinet is too difficult to put together or pull apart.

Assembling the mouthpiece, ligature and reed

- Wet reed by placing it in your mouth or a glass of water.
- Place the flat part of the reed against the flat part of the mouthpiece.
- Line up the tip of the reed with the tip of the mouthpiece, making sure that the reed is
straight.
- Slide the ligature over the reed and mouthpiece ensuring the that the screws are
lined up with the bottom of the mouthpiece and the screws face off to the right.
- Tighten both ligature screws.


1. Place reed on mouthpiece

2. Slide ligature over the top
Clarinet embouchure
- Curve your bottom lip over your bottom teeth to create a cushion for the reed to rest
on. Making the sound “Vvv…” or “Fff…” will help create this shape.
- Place the mouthpiece about 1.5cm in your mouth and let the reed rest on your lower
lip.
- Rest your top teeth on the top of the mouthpiece - be careful not to bite the
mouthpiece too hard, just apply enough pressure so your teeth aren’t sliding around.
- Close the sides of your mouth around the mouthpiece to create a seal by making an
“Ooo…” shape with your mouth.
- Make sure your cheeks do not puff out when you play by tensing the corners of your
mouth with a small smile.
- Blow a constant stream of air through the mouthpiece and try to stabilise the sound.
Engage your diaphragm by sitting with good posture and breathing from your belly.

Think “Voo…” or “Foo…” with a small smile

Clarinet tonguing
- Say the word “Tahhh…”, feel how your tongue bounces off the roof of your mouth.
- Form your embouchure and start to hold a note, practise tonguing the reed by making
the “Dah” movement without vocalising the sound.
- Keep blowing while making the “Tah” movement - do not let the air stream stop when
you tongue as this creates too much of a gap between notes.
- Practise starting notes by tonguing rather than just blowing as this gives you greater
control over when the note starts and makes a ‘cleaner’ sound.

Reed care
- Remember that the reed is the most important part of the instrument as it creates the
sound. It does this by vibrating against the mouthpiece.
- Reeds are very fragile, always handle them by the thick end and be careful not to hit
them against anything as they chip and split easily.
- Always store reeds in their plastic cover when not playing. Rinse them under cool
water occasionally to keep them clean.