Teaching Beginning Clarinet

Before we start...The following controversial claims will be made throughout this article. There are other ways to teach clarinet, but this is what has proven very successful in my classes.

• Nothing will ruin a band quicker than a bad clarinet section.
• Your clarinet players can and should achieve a characteristic tone in the beginning year.
• Contrary to popular belief, if their tone/pitch isn't great in the beginning year, you really can't fix it later.
• In order to match tone quality and tone color in your section, every beginner should play on the exact same mouthpiece/ligature/reed combination.
• Teaching clarinet players to play without the lower joint and bell at first creates bad habits.
• Don't tell beginning clarinet players to put their right hand down on open G.
• If you want good functioning clarinet players, don't play out of the band book for more than 15-20 minutes a day.
• Your clarinets should cross the break by January of the beginning year and it should be considered 'easy' to do.
• The fingerings in all beginner band books for second space A and third line Bb are incorrect!!
• All clarinet players should be on strength 3 reeds by the beginning of their second year of playing at the latest!
• Middle school clarinets CAN make characteristic tones and play in tune on notes above the staff
• Beginning clarinet players should be able to play from low E to high C (above the staff) chromatically by the end of the first year.

Equipment:

Mouthpiece/ligature/reed setup MUST be consistent among all clarinet players in your classes. It is totally worth the fight. This provides consistency of tone in your ensembles later. It also sets your kids up for success!

• Vandoren 5RV mouthpiece with Rovner ligature.
• Vandoren V12 (silver box) reeds, strength 2.5 (at least 4 at all times). Don't bend on this one. Non-Vandoren reeds can cause big issues. Reed holders must be labeled.
• Yamaha clarinet is preferred, but not as important as mouthpiece/ligature/reed setup.

This setup is good through high school.

Embouchure:

Start with mouthpiece and barrel for a few weeks to develop correct habits. Don't get ahead of yourself on this one - it's worth it!

• Flat bottom lip over your bottom teeth. Avoid the word 'pillow' as a description. Don't let their lip go behind their teeth like the word 'aww'.
• Bottom lip goes right where the reed meets the mouthpiece (about 5/8 of an inch). Use the sticky note test!
• Point chin down like the word 'pew'. Tap the chin muscles. Should be firm.
• Top two teeth are 'anchored' on the mouthpiece. Mouthpiece patches help with this. Kids should do the 'tap test' every day for weeks. Teacher does the wiggle test every day for weeks.
• Tongue position is 'arched' or high in the back of your mouth. Think the word 'tee'.
• Head is straight forward, not looking down. Mouthpiece/barrel is angled towards their knees

These all have to stay intact while producing a tone!

Start the note with the tongue then it goes back up in the mouth. Gently 'flick or tap' the reed with tip of the tongue. Use the word 'tee' when talking about tone, rhythm, etc. This is different for clarinet than any other instrument. 'Ta' completely changes the embouchure.

Week 2 of instruction: Begin "Tone Boot Camp". Every kid has to graduate. The goal is to match my pitch and volume on mouthpiece and barrel. Repeat this while articulating quarter notes once articulation is introduced. If you don't trust yourself, use a tuner, Tonal Energy app, Harmony Director keyboard, etc. Students should play an F# on the mouthpiece & barrel.

• If their pitch is too low:
  • Is their bottom lip too saggy? You can tell by looking.
  • Are they anchoring their top teeth? Do the wiggle test on them.
  • Is their air too slow? Usually it's the first two, but it could be also be this.
• If their pitch is too high:
  • They also might not have enough mouthpiece in the mouth. It generally isn't an issue if they are too high, assuming they aren't too 'squeezy' or anything. 

Put the instrument together: 

• Line up the bridge keys. Don't bend the LH side keys! Happens often if not careful.
• Hand position should be curved like relaxed 'C's. Pads of fingers cover the entire ring. (Saying "ring" works better than "hole" since it's bigger.) Right thumb: just past the nail on the knuckle. Left thumb: point to 2:00 on the clock.
• Use the right thumb to support the instrument. The thumb should push up towards the top teeth. This helps balance the instrument and helps tremendously with tone. Sometimes saying "anchor your teeth" doesn't work for a kid, but if you have them push up with their thumb, it is fool-proof! This is why I don't remove the lower joint and bell when first starting out.
• Hand position faux pas:
  • 'Piggy-backing'
  • 'Hooking' under side keys
  • Relaxing/hiding fingers. Make them ALWAYS shadow every key when not pushed down - especially pinkies! 

Crossing the break by January:

You have to go down before you can go up. Start 'walk-downs' ASAP and get them to the very bottom of the clarinet (low E) so they're comfortable covering the rings with good hand position.

It's all about A! Left hand first finger is angled down to the right, not straight across. Use the side of the first knuckle to play the A key, not the pad of the finger. Touch the very bottom corner of the A key ONLY! Finger rotates up to A; never leave contact with the clarinet! It's a very small and quick movement.

Play A while covering holes 2 & 3 in both left and right hand. All of my kids think the band book is wrong and that's just how it is. They play A and Bb that way all the time and don't know any different (6-12 grade). This fingering helps with pitch, tone, and ease of break-crossing. Do this instead of right hand down on G. Putting the right hand down on G makes it very flat. It is very counter-productive to manipulate the pitch of your instrument's best tuning note!

In October-ish, start 'A flips'. Students should go from A to open G, then A to F, A to E, etc. all the way down the instrument until they can successfully go from A to low E smoothly with no chirps or bobbles. This will span over a number of weeks. Monitor left hand first finger position to A key continuously.

If set up correctly, crossing the break is easy. Don't let them think it is difficult or it will be difficult! "Pop-ups" are a great exercise on every note! Pop the register key to get the high note (slur). This is especially GREAT for tongue position work when you get up into the left-hand-only notes!

Troubleshooting

When is it the reed, and when is it the player?

When it's the reed:

• Discoloration
• It has craters in it (causes fuzzy/spitty tone).
• They snuck in a pack of Amazon specials into the rotation.
• Reed is too soft (tone is thin and "tinny").
• If it's old, put new reeds into the rotation. If it's old, upgrade to 3s. 

When it's the player:

• Saggy or fuzzy tone? Flatten bottom lip. Make sure they are anchoring their teeth.
• Squeaking a lot? Too much mouthpiece or head is angled too far down.
• Notes not responding at all? They probably aren't covering the rings completely or air is too slow. 

How do you know when to break in new reeds or upgrade reed strength?

After a student plays, always ask "How long have you been playing on that reed?" I ask this as often as possible. Make them know the answer. They have to be trained to know and manage their reeds. I do monthly reed checks for a grade. I check that each student has at least four reeds in a labeled case, all are Vandoren, and they don't have cracks or discoloration.

Good tone needs resistance. 3s might sound a bit fuzzy for the first week or so, but make sure they keep a firm embouchure and use adequate air and they will adjust quickly. I use a reed clipper on their 2.5s to take off the tips. It works as a great transition for 2.5 to 3.

How do I get my clarinets to match pitch? They are always flat.

You can't play in tune until you play in 'tone'. Tuning a bad tone is a waste of time. If they can't play an F# on mouthpiece/barrel, there's no point in trying to tune them with a tuner. Get them listening early and often. Make them want to sound like one person when playing with you or in small groups. My phrase I use often: "You should be personally offended if someone doesn't match you!"

Use listening and matching exercises daily.

As a closing disclaimer: This is how I pace my classes when we are in traditional in-person learning every day! Distance clarinet is a topic I am still learning to tackle! Please feel free to email me if you have any questions!