CLARINET
FOUNDATION:
ESTABLISHING THE BEDROCK
Before a beam is raised or a wall painted, the ground must be broken and footings poured. The foundation is the unseen strength that determines how high your artistry can soar. Without it, even remarkable craftsmanship will falter.
This section anchors your playing with essential physical elements. You'll learn about critical "building materials" like reed selection and care, proper assembly and hand positioning, and the driving forces: breath support, embouchure, and oral cavity voicing. Master these fundamentals.
clarinet assembly & care
Properly assembling and disassembling a clarinet is essential to prevent damage, such as bent keys. I use and teach the Bells Up Technique, a method where the clarinet is carefully assembled and disassembled upside down for better control and protection.
Reed Knowledge (Selection, Preparation & Care)
Clarinet reeds play a crucial role in achieving exceptional sound quality, rich tone, and effortless playability. Mastering reeds means choosing the perfect brand and strength, preparing them correctly, and ensuring proper care and maintenance.
Posture & Hand Position
Align your body to keep lungs open while maintaining a controlled, relaxed posture. Bring the instrument to you instead of adjusting your body. Treat it as a natural extension of yourself. Focus on freedom, balance, poise, and effortless movement. Playing the clarinet depends on strong PILLARS OF SUPPORT.
Air & Breath Support
One of the most crucial elements in achieving a rich, resonant, and beautiful sound on the clarinet is proper air control. Your air usage directly impacts tone quality, dynamic range, intonation, and articulation.
Embouchure
Embouchure is the positioning of the player's lips, facial muscles, chin, jaw, and tongue around the mouthpiece and reed.
Its main purpose is to form a stable, airtight seal while letting the reed vibrate freely, producing a clear, focused, and beautiful clarinet tone across all registers.
Voicing & Oral Cavity
Voicing on the clarinet involves shaping the oral cavity with the tongue to refine tone, pitch, and projection. This technique complements the embouchure—lip, jaw, and chin positioning—and proper airflow to create a clear, consistent sound. Clarinetists must develop a high, arched tongue position for optimal performance.