Posted by: clariniano on: February 17, 2012
…you think of “Rose Studies” as a collection of pieces for the clarinet …you’ve heard of more sizes of clarinets than most people can name …you own a copy of the Hite Melodious and Progressive Studies Book 1 …you own more than 1 copy of the above book. …you have bought at least one new [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: February 6, 2012
I own a pair of clarinets, one pitched in B flat and the other pitched in A. And while I have a double case for these instruments, I have found keeping a single B flat case as well handy too. The main reason I do this is to limit the amount of weight I carry [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: July 4, 2011
For a long time, I did not have an A clarinet. With the growing number of orchestral substitute jobs I got a few years ago, my husband a few years ago bought me one for a birthday present. Although I don’t use it much in an orchestra setting, I am using it almost equally as [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: July 14, 2009
*Dedicated to my teacher, Fred Osachoff, who gave me the idea of writing this article through my lessons* On single-note exercises for the clarinet, open G is commonly suggested as a useful note. Open G, however, is a poor note for such exercises, due to its unstable hand position, unstable tonal quality, and unstable [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: July 5, 2009
1. They have experienced their first case of “water in the tone holes” 2. They start desiring for a better instrument, and are working on saving the money for it. 3. They spend their money on things related to their instrument 4. They tell clarinetists who don’t swab their instruments after playing that they are [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: May 27, 2009
Clarinetists are often encouraged to place the bell of the clarinet on their knees if their right hand becomes tired. Upon closer examination, this is not a good idea, because it leads to problems with tonal response, tonguing, difficulties in playing while standing, embouchure, and hand position. One reason why it is not a good [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: May 25, 2009
Much has been touted in the last few years about the use of neck straps by clarinetists. While clarinetists who use one praise it and encourage others to use one, there are several reasons why most clarinetists (I have only had one student in which this was the only solution to the weight of the [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: May 24, 2009
Could the difficulty with many young beginners in learning the clarinet be partly due to the position of the thumb rest? They help beginners cover the right-hand holes fully, they help beginners with the right-hand extension keys, and index fingers, and they help beginners have a good hand position. Adjustable thumb rests help [...]
Posted by: clariniano on: May 14, 2009
The problem, and the solution to most clarinet student’s playing problems is air—most clarinetists put far too little air through the instrument, which especially affects the throat tones and upper clarion and alitissmo register. The clarinet should be held at about 30-35 degrees away from the body, many clarinetists hold it too far out, though [...]
