I M P RO V E YOUR CLARINET S E CT I O N

Illinois S tat e University

Band Di recto rs Sy m p o s i u m
Karen DeBauche
 EQUIPMENT

Equipment REALLY can help your students perform at a higher level.

Even the beginning clarinetist will be more successful on good equipment.

Clarinets: My favorite beginner clarinet is Buffet E11 or B12

Yamaha has a great beginner clarinet (small case too!)

Mouthpieces: Yamaha stock mouthpieces are decent

My favorite is the Woodwind G8 (under $20)
Hite, Forbes, and Vandoren are also great the price
increases.

Reeds: Juno: New product great for young students

Vandoren: Great for advancing students

Ligatures: Many choices.....Vandoren, Bonade inverted, Rovner,

Juno is coming out with a decent plastic inverted ligature!

*******Small things to make the job easier........mouthpiece patch and thumb rest cushion.*******

Advanced High School Clarinetists

I recommend the following to my advanced clarinet students/

Reeds: Vandoren 3-4. (Depends on mouthpiece, air and student)

Ligature: There are many to choose from. My personal favorite

is the Vandoren M/O or a optimum. I have students that
love the Rovner. Many to choose from.

Mouthpieces: My students play on McClune, Hawkins, Vandoren, and a few

others that turn up.

Clarinets: Buffet R13 (make sure a clarinet player helps choose!)

 Set-up

Ligature: Avoid stock ligatures.

Make sure the ligature is on correctly
Screws will always line up on the right hand side
Reed is lined up correctly
Ligature is just below reed edge
Make sure it is not too tight
Make sure that the screws are on it!

Reeds: Should be a quality reed!

One reed does not fit all!
Store reeds in a reed holder (not the one they come in!)

Rotate at least four reeds (at least 4 GOOD reeds in the rotation)

Every reed should be broken in so it lasts longer

Check students reeds-they will play some interesting reeds

Reed placement: Make sure it is centered with only a sliver showing

above the reed. When they are too high, too low or off
center they will be stuffy and hard to blow!

Air Support

Fast air that has a reed that can hold up and make a good sound! Students will NOT get
a great clarinet tone if they don’t use fast air................ever!

Some methods I utilize to help students use faster and supported air are:
-Demonstrate with breathing exercises
-the belt trick
 Embouchure

The essentials:

Firm/flat chin (Biggest visible problem)

hints: think “wee too”
pretend you are putting on chapstick
pretend you are sucking on a lemon
demonstrate
take pictures....video
cooperative learning

Teeth on the mouthpiece

Proper amount of mouthpiece in mouth
Students tend to put in too little and bite.
Check by slipping paper between mouthpiece and reed.
and draw a line on their reed.
Corners firm
Bottom lip flat

Beginning student with puffy
cheeks, head down, lower lip
floppy. Typical problems for
a very young player.
High school student who is
struggling to grip clarinet.
Look at the looseness of
his jaw, bottom lip and
corners.
Advanced high school all-state
honor band player. Note the firm
chin and corners. She is also using
her top lip to help grip the clarinet.
 Hand Position

*Good hand position is essential to becoming a more advanced clarinetist. Watch

out for:

Right hand thumb

Crunched right hand
Flat fingers
Covering holes

*Neck straps help the beginning and young student form the correct hand
position. They can also aid the more advanced student if they have to “relearn”
hand position.
 Problems you might hear but can’t see

Student plays with a flat, dull or spread tone:

Mouthpiece may not be firm against the top teeth

(If you can gently move it while they are playing they need to
be more firm with their teeth on the mouthpiece)

Loose top lip

(They need to firm it up-push gently down against mouthpiece)

Tongue too low

(Think the syllable “hee” I think “thee” when tonguing)
The syllable “tah” puts the tongue too low in the mouth)

Air speed too slow

(What ever it takes to get them to blow with fast air!)

Reed is too soft

(Get a new one - most of us don’t have time to trim them!)

Other common issues

No sound: Try more mouthpiece

Reed might be too soft
The student is “biting” and restricting air flow
Check reed and ligature placement
Use faster air
Check if the reed is too hard

High squeak: Too much mouthpiece

Overblowing-think about steady stream rather than a blast
Puffy cheeks
Ligature loose or crooked
Lower lip is too “fat”

Playing sharp:Many of the mouthpieces are pitched to 442. Often

biting is the culprit. A good reed/mouthpiece/ligature
will help student play better in tune.
 Articulation

Keep it simple. Think the word “thee” it helps the tip of the tongue touch the
tip of the reed. Students often lose every good habit previously developed when they
begin to tongue!

Using the word “toh” or “tah” will confuse students. The tongue will strike too low on the reed.

Common articulation problems:

Sluggish tongue:
Keep the tongue high and forward and move only the tip. Most problems happen
because the entire tongue is moving.

Thudd sound:
The tongue is too low on the reed. Make sure the tip of the tongue is striking the
the tip of the reed.

Jaw movement:
Very visible. Long tones and tonguing exercises will help this at every level.

Not beginning a phrase with the tongue:

Insist on strong articulation.

Clarinet Pinkie and Alternate Fingerings

Make sure they are alternating left and right hand fingerings. Not using the
correct fingerings will cause their technique to be sloppy and uneven. This goes for
alternate fingerings as well.

You can help them learn those fingerings by showing them how the tension on the
side keys works together.

Insist on the chromatic fingerings when they are learning their chromatic scale.
 RESOURCES

Clarinet

The Art of Clarinet Playing Keith Stein

The Educators Guide to the Clarinet Tom Ridenour

So You Want to Play Clarinet (I & 2) Janet Corley

http://www.ridenourclarinetproducts.com/articleindex.html

My First Klose Klose/ed. Daniel Schmidt

(excellent for 2nd/3rd year players)

http://www.skyleapmusic.com/ClarinetSpace/home.html
(Student friendly website)

Clarinet and Technology

There’s an app for clarinet too!

Clarinet in Reach
Fingering Chart
Trill Chart
Terms