(Part 2) Top products from r/Clarinet

ok, Clarinet teacher here. Here's a bit of background on the instrument: The clarinet was built with agility in mind, we're one of the fastest wind instruments (about even with the flute) and the 4th or so fastest instrument in the symphony (the four being piano, violin, flute, and clarinet). We're a color and harmony instrument. This means in a large group, we aren't able to be heard over 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, percussion, and a full string section (15-40 people). That means if you want us to play a solo, you have to knock some instruments out or write pp on everyone else's part.

Clarinet work very well together when moving in harmony (similar motions, but not on the same notes. If you have one clarinet play G-F-E-D-C and another play E-D-C-B-A (above the G, not below it) you'll hear a harmony created by the wide open interval is rather pleasing to the ear. A great deal of music uses 2-3 clarinet parts to make use of this harmony. When in a full symphony of concert band, the clarinet are often paired with the flutes and oboes to make their part ring out stronger against the more powerful sections. Clarinets also are tasked with being near the top of what you might call the sound pyramid. Imagine the lowest sound in the ensemble at the bottom and the highest sound at the top, clarinet are often two steps below the top of the pyramid. There's a good reason for this, in physics high pitched sounds are easier to hear (that's why you usually see only 1 piccolo in a concert band or a symphony, they don't need numbers, they have frequency). That said, if your major melody is way up in the tonal stratosphere, you only need your 1st clarinet part to be up there. If you want to give it more power, you simply add the second clarinet part one octave lower.

As four the pitch issue you encountered on your tuner, I want to elaborate a bit on what /u/Distort_ said and give you some context. Clarinets are designed to play different notes than the ensemble because we had to do it like that. These days, there are two primary keyed clarinets: A and B-flat (the other survivors are used occasionally). We use them for one simple reason: They sound better than the others. We have clarinets that match pitch with the orchestra, but they are very shrill and nasal sounding Like this listen from there to about 3:00. That is either the E-flat or the C clarinet, a very unique and distinct sound, but absolutely horrid with blending with a full symphony or other ensemble types. B-flat and A clarinets are the best at blending into a larger group and offer a transposition advantage depending on the ensemble type. Symphonies love to use sharps, clarinets don't, so we use the A clarinet to negate some of those sharps and make our lives easier. Concert bands love flat keys, we do too, but not that much, so the B-flat clarinet negates some of the flats to make our lives easier.

I would recommend A Treatise on Instrumentation: By Hector Berlioz, annotated by Richard Strauss, Translated by Theodore Front Its dated, but it very clearly explains the limitations of clarinets (and all other instruments) along with providing visual examples and ranking individual note combos by difficulty (some are harder than others). I'd recommend looking at a physical copy so you can actually see the images clearly. I teach music theory online, if you'd like to ask some questions, PM me and I can get you started on the right path.

If you're looking for a good Klezmer transcription I suggest Mel Bay's Klezmer Collection for Bb Instruments (There should be a cheaper version but it might be out of print now). These are transcriptions from actual Klezmer artists.

Stay away from well known performers. Martin Frost and co. are amazing players but they aren't amazing Klezmer players. If you want to understand klezmer playing don't listen to them at all.

So where should you find good klezmer recordings? Youtube! Stay away from those Martin Frost thingies and delve into the dirty of youtube and you'll find gems like this. Klezmer is international so really look away from standard and get into the 710 views of crazy recordings cause that's where the good stuff is.

I really suggest studying klezmer too. Go around to your local Synagogue and really understand the underlying idea of Klezmer.

If you NEED a 'professional' musician for recording David Krakauer is the only guy I could recommend. Even then most of his stuff is more 'new klezmer' rather than the fun traditional stuff. He's a very interesting guy though video

Hope this helps!

https://www.amazon.com/Soloist-Folio-Hal-Leonard-Corp/dp/1458426831

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This is one of my favorite intermediate soloist books. It is super affordable and has a lot of great pieces including a slightly reduced version of Weber's Concertino, which is one of my absolutely favorite standard solo pieces.

Here’s what I’d recommend:
-Opperman Elementary Velocity Studies https://www.amazon.com/dp/0825833337/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WEKBCbVBNYPNY

-Rose 32 etudes https://imslp.org/wiki/32_Etudes_for_Clarinet_(Rose,_Cyrille)

-Rose 40 studies https://imslp.org/wiki/40_Studies_for_Clarinet_Solo_(Rose,_Cyrille)

-Baerman Complete method for clarinet https://www.amazon.com/dp/0825801702/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cEKBCbHPQ40J3

One more thing,
Especially when you are starting out, try different reeds.
These are a great thing to buy.

Good luck!

When I was around your age I played a clarinet piece for a solo ensemble called Andante by Alexandre Beon. It has a beautiful melody that haunts me to this day.

I did a search and found a video of a kid (not me) playing it. The piece can be played with a lot more feeling than he does it, but that gives you an idea. The only technically challenging part is the solo at the end, and most of that is slurred.

The sheet music is available in this book.

Here is a great book edited by Daniel Bonade. It features a number of the French Solo de Concours series commissioned by the Paris Conservatoire.

If you don't own a C. Rose book, now is the time to! There are many great excerpts in there that will showcase your range of technique, musicality, and notes.

You're performing on Saturday or that's the first rehearsal?

I've never played this piece but I'm listening to it on Spotify and it sounds challenging! All you can do is practice as much as you can and then lay out on the parts you can't play right. Come in correctly when you can. I play third in a community band. There are 7 of us and I think people lay out often.

Daily scale practice helps with runs. My teacher has me using JB Albert.

Look at the run, recognize if it is a scale or a broken scale or an arpeggio, etc. Often the run is just a scale that doesn't start on the root or some other pattern that you can more easily think about. Slow the run down, find the problem spots, and work those until you get them flawlessly. Then practice transitioning into and away from those parts until you get it. Note any places you need to think about left or right keys.

This book is great

I've got a copy of this and it has some nice stuff. Bach/Mozart/Beethoven

78 Duets for Flute and Clarinet: Volume 2 - Advanced (Nos. 56-78) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1423445422/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AYNMxbK5S4QME

I played this for my senior recital but transcribed the orchestra part for big band. The melody and transcribed solo from the original studio album are here:

https://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Transcriptions-Performing-Artist-Master/dp/0757937403

I play bass clarinet in marching band and my school doesn’t use straps, so I use this cushion that goes around my thumb that takes all the weight of the clarinet off of my thumb. They’re pricy for how small they are but they’re really worth it, they run small btw. https://www.amazon.com/NUBS-Thumb-Protectors-Woodwind-Medium/dp/B074YCHHCY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=clarinet+nub&qid=1573001316&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVzQwRzc0NUw2OVk5JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjA5ODk2MjdQRlZRVFNENVpENyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDU1MTYzM01ISENFNlhUMzBDQiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

So, back in college I botched a spot in an orchestra concert and was really beating myself up about it. One of my sectionmates bought me a book that she loved called The Inner Game of Music. It didn’t keep me from screwing up on occasion, but it absolutely helped me get out of my head and over my mental blocks and focus on the music. Definitely worth a read.

Yeah, this is it! You can buy a second strap that turns the case into a backpack.

I've had my Protec slimline case for a single clarinet for almost four years now, and it still looks like new! It's such a small case because there's no storage on the inside of the case at all; everything has to be put in a pouch on the outside.

Get yourself a copy of The Real Book in Bb and start learning the heads and chords to some songs that you are familar with. Youtube can help you find recordings of songs. Most of what makes Jazz different is in the rhythms and articulations, and you can learn those by listening to the greats and emulating them. Then there is the art of improvisation, which will takes years to master, so start now.

Mendelssohn's Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream.

BTW, here's a whole book: https://www.amazon.com/Working-Clarinetist-Marshall-Burlingame/dp/0939103052

https://www.amazon.com/WF59-Protocol-Collegiate-Audition-Clarinet/dp/0825865123

Also, as a starting point, I'd suggest you purchase the following solo works:

Mozart Clarinet Concerto (Barenreiter)
Weber Clarinet Concerto no. 1 (Henle)
Debussy Premiere Rhapsody (Durand)
Brahms clarinet sonatas no. 1 and 2 (Henle)
Poulenc clarinet sonata (Chester)

And the following etude and technique books:

Rose 32 etudes and 40 studies (Dover)
Bach - Quinze Etudes (Leduc)
Baerman complete method (Fischer)

This should be a decent starting point. I'd probably want to add a few things pretty quickly to this list but this will get you rolling.

Son of a @@#$@@# I assumed the larger end of the ligature was down, and the smaller was up because of the taper. I just checked the product photo of my ligature, and it shows the larger end is UP. I've been playing it upside down. LOL. Boy do I feel like an idiot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002F4YQY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


However, I've flipped it around and I remembered why I didn't do it like this, it doesn't fit very well, the two metal pegs stick up (which they do in the stock photo too) I assumed it was wrong because it fits much closer to the shape of the mouth piece with the wider part of the ligature facing down the instrument instead of up towards the reed tip. https://imgur.com/a/Loco6

You're in London, I guess. I was going to offer to teach you just for the hell of it, but that's kinda far from Los Angeles...

Look for the Rubank Method Books. They're HORRIBLY BORING, but seriously effective books. And since you're not in the mood for lessons, record yourself with your computer or a tape deck or something. And listen back to your own sound. You'll pick up things to fix pretty easily that way.