Clarinet 101: Simple Steps To Improve Your Clarinet Section
Clarinet 101: Simple Steps To Improve Your Clarinet Section
Clarinet 101: Simple Steps To Improve Your Clarinet Section
This clinic will provide practical tips to improve your clarinet students, focusing on visual and
aural cues to diagnose common problems. Basic fundamentals of technique, tone production and
articulation will be discussed, giving effective strategies to teach these concepts to beginning,
intermediate and advanced clarinetists. Simple exercises to develop good hand and finger
position and improve transitions between registers will be highlighted and demonstrated.
Effective equipment options will be included.
II. Tone
A. Air—volume, air speed and support all keys to success. Blow paper to the wall. Blow out
candles on the birthday cake. Blow bubbles through a straw in a glass of milk.
B. Embouchure
1. 3 basic components:
a. top teeth resting on the mouthpiece.
b. lower lip folded over bottom teeth. “Cushion for the reed.” Watch for too little
or too much lip folded over. Goldilocks. Place lower lip on reed where reed is
no longer flat against the table—eyeball it or use a business card.
c. lips around the mouthpiece like a “drawstring bag”. No puffing cheeks.
2. “Point chin to the floor.” Chapstick. Look for indentation in chin. Mirror?
3. Too little mouthpiece = small sound; Too much = raucous, squawky.
4. Too much embouchure pressure = tight sound, sharp; too little = flabby, flat.
5. Embouchure should remain static while changing pitches—no “micromanaging”.
6. EZO® Denture Cushions can help alleviate lower lip discomfort (braces).
C. Tongue position
1. Thumb on the garden hose.
2. Say “E” or “Hee” or “Shh”. “EE” + “Ew” = good tongue position + corners of lips.
D. Playing the clarinet mouthpiece and barrel alone. Ideal pitch = concert F#. Ideal sound:
clear, full, focused, does not waiver and in tune.
E. Clarinet registers: Clarinet does not have an “octave key”, each register has distinctive,
unique tone quality, challenging to evenly transition from one to the other.
F. Register slur. Use exercise below to approach the clarion register. Be sure left thumb
position is correct (pointing to 2 O’Clock). Demonstrate first for the student.
G. Crossing the break. Tone does not match going from throat tones to clarion register and
so many fingers to coordinate = TRAUMA! Solution: RHD! “Right Hand Down.”
H. Approaching the altissimo. Need lots of fast air. Stronger reed strength?
1. High C#: NO E-flat key.
2. All pitches D and higher: add E-flat key with right pinky.
3. For a smooth slur to the altissimo, instead of picking up first finger of left hand
completely, roll it down exposing half of the tone hole.
4. Bass clarinet altissimo: instead of picking up first finger, roll down to expose
pinhole.
Produced only
Produced by either Use left pinky only!
#˙ b˙
by left pinky.
œ #œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ nœ œ œ œ
left or right pinky.
&c œ œ #œ Œ
#˙ b˙ œ #œ nœ #œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ nœ œ œ œ
w œ œ #œ
Produced only Use right pinky only!
by right pinky.
#w
Use banana key fingering for chromatic passages.
Clarinet in B b &c #w bw
w
Standard: First finger LH.
Use Thumb F plus bottom 2 side keys for chromatic passages.
IV. Articulation:
A. Simple: tip of tongue on tip of reed
Say “doo”. The tongue makes contact with the reed inside the mouth where the tongue
comes forward to produce the “d” part of “doo”.
B. “Simon says…” Tongue is the valve that allows the reed to vibrate or not.
V. Additional resources:
A. Books:
1. John Anderson. Concepts for the Clarinet Teacher. Jeanne Inc., 1996.
2. Howard Klug. The Clarinet Doctor. Bloomington, IN: Woodwindiana, Inc.
3. Larry Guy. Embouchure Building for Clarinetists. Rivernote Press, 2011.
4. Larry Guy. Hand and Finger Development for Clarinetists. Larry Guy, 2007.
5. Larry Guy. Intonation Training for Clarinetists. Rivernote Press.
6. Thomas Ridenour. The Educator’s Guide to the Clarinet: A Complete Guide to
Teaching and Learning the Clarinet. Denton, TX: Thomas Ridenour, 2002.
B. Web Sites:
1. International Clarinet Association www.clarinet.org
2. The Woodwind Fingering Chart www.wfg.woodwind.org
Gail Lehto Zugger is Associate Professor of Clarinet at the Capital University Conservatory of Music, in
Columbus, Ohio. A position she has held since 1999, she teaches applied clarinet, directs the Clarinet
Choir, coaches student wind chamber groups, teaches woodwind methods and performs with the
QuintEssential Winds Faculty Wind Quintet and Inspirare Duo with flute colleague Lisa A. Jelle. She
teaches during summers at the International Music Camp in North Dakota. An active clinician, Dr.
Zugger has presented clinics at the Eastern Division MENC conference in Providence, RI and at state
MENC clinics in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.
Zugger has appeared as soloist with the Capital University/Bexley Community Orchestra, Westerville
(OH) Community Band, Westerville Symphony Orchestra and Capital University Symphonic Winds, and
performed in recital at the 1998 and 2012 International Clarinet Association ClarinetFest® conferences.
Zugger is currently principal clarinet of the Newark-Granville (OH) Symphony Orchestra and second
clarinet of the Ashland (OH) Symphony Orchestra. She has played with the Columbus, Roanoke (VA),
Richmond (IN) and Lancaster (OH) Festival symphony orchestras. She has performed with such noted
popular artists as James Taylor, The Moody Blues, Michael McDonald and Joel Grey. She is a regular
contributor to The Clarinet, the quarterly publication of the International Clarinet Association. Originally
from Racine, Wisconsin, Dr. Zugger holds degrees from University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee and The
Ohio State University. Her former teachers include James Pyne, Russell Dagon and Jack Snavely. She is
married to Dr. Thomas Zugger, Associate Professor of Trombone and Euphonium at Capital University
and is overjoyed at the arrival of their son Nathan in April 2010.