Clarinet Tuning

I have always wondered how you tune a clarinet. People have asked me but I never really found out. Instead of turning a peg you have to pull out the barrel very slightly. If you have a piano play the note "C" on you clarinet and get someone to play a "b flat" on the piano. If you sound sharp pull out the barrel on your clarinet and try again until you have got it right. Do the same with other notes. Don't pull it out than 4 mm or it might fall apart or wobble. The sound will improve as the clarinet warms up.

Sitting

Sit or stand with your head straight. Relax and pick up your clarinet. The more relaxed you are the better sound will come out. Hold you clarinet lightly (do not grip it tight). Cover the right holes completely. It will squeak if you have not got the holes 100% covered. It is better to stand but (it helps your breathing) but if you are playing for a long time you can sit.

Holding the mouthpiece and reed in your mouth

Curl your bottom lip in and roll the mouthpiece smoothly over it. Put your top teeth lightly on top on the mouthpiece. Shut your mouth firmly round the mouthpiece so that it does not move about.

Reeds

If you want to play the clarinet you have to have reeds. There are lots of different types of reeds (thick and thin).You can even make reeds yourself. You can buy books that will tell how to make reeds and where you can buy reed and a cutter. When the tip of a reed gets too soft you can shave off the end (ask parents to help).If you are a beginner you can use a strenght of 1 or 2 and you can change the thickness when ever you want. A good way to tell if you need to change sizes is if you go through more than two reeds a week. You can get half sizes of reeds as well.

Young players

Young players can now play the clarinet as there is a smaller plastic version specially for young children or those with thin fingers. It's called the Lyons C Clarinet. If you want to know more about it, look at their website: www.firstclarinet.com.

A Brief History of the clarinet

The clarinet is a wind instrument along with oboe, bassoon etc. It is made of wood or sometimes metal. The ancestor was the chalumeau, which was a small pipe with seven holes. The clarinet was invented by Johann .C. Denner who was born in 1655 and died in 1707. It was made an orchestral instrument by the end of the 18th century. More keys where added in the 19th century.

You can E-mail your thoughts to Jenny at jenny@vega.karoo.co.uk.

Well I wrote this page a long time ago and I'm so happy to see how it's become so popular. Well I'm14 now and a few things have changed. For my birthday I got a bass guitar but I'm still devoted to clarinet and piano. I work with a lot of adults with learning difficulties, which takes up a fair amount of time. It has slightly affected how many grades I have been able to do. I'm done with 5 on piano and 4 on clarinet. I'm really working for 6. I also am on a youth council in my local town. We are attempting to set up a youth cafe. I love having my page up on here because of the great response I get. I'm starting my GCSE's next year and have chosen I.T. and history, German and food and my free choice subjects. I'm hoping to have my home page up soon.

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