The Clarinet

What is a clarinet? It is part of the woodwind family of musical instruments and has a fine clear tone that resembles that of a flute. It also has a cylindrical bore with a single reed.

For any beginner on the clarinet, the start will seem long and difficult. This is no surprise as it is one of the most difficult instruments to learn and master. It is also a skill that most often than not has to be learned in a music school or from an accomplished clarinetist. There are very few people who play the clarinet after having been self taught.

The first difficult step involves learning how to set up your clarinet together. It is a skill in itself and one must be able to do it properly. If not, it will not be possible to play the instrument and can lead to damage in the long run.

You have to put everything together with some finesse. Do not try to force parts together as this will lead to internal and external damage that might be costly to repair or in the worst case, having to buy a new one. Note that the side lever must be up when the upper and lower parts are joined. Failing to do this will lead to possible bent keys.

Before putting it together and occasionally when you take the clarinet apart, be sure to clean all parts. Care of your clarinet and regular maintenance is crucial to long term use of the instrument. It will also help to keep keys in tune and prevent wear and tear due to build up of dirt and other substances such as oil and grease from our body parts.

A skill that must be mastered to ensure progress in mastery of the instrument in the long term is to learn the embouchure properly. This is often an awkward skill to learn at the beginning since it involves forcing your body to adapt to a previously unknown and strange position, movement or action. The embouchure is the term for using your lips to hold the mouthpiece while trying to create sounds through vibration of the reed. It must be done correctly to ensure that the right sounds are achieved and produced. It is also awkward as you will need to cover your bottom teeth with your lip, while the top teeth are exposed, and both touching the mouthpiece without exerting too much force on it. If you have wondered why there is squeaking sounds when playing the clarinet, it means that you have not mastered the embouchure just yet and must put in more hours of practice.

Getting the tone of the clarinet right is a balance of several factors all at once. As mentioned before, it depends on the design of the clarinet, the bore and reed, and finally the skill of the clarinetist. It is also the reason why the clarinet is such a large family of instruments, with different types made to produce a wide range of tones and sounds.

Most of the differences in tone are attributed to the clarinet reed. If you prefer a bright and shiny tone, it is advisable to look out for clarinets with thinner reed and small bore. A larger, fatter or mellower tone will have to come from a larger bore in terms of thickness.

As mentioned, if you do not form the embouchure right, it might result in an annoying squeaky sound when playing the clarinet. This is evidence that the tone is also partly affected by how the player is using the instrument. You can vary it by controlling the air flow into the clarinet with different parts of your mouth, tongue and lips. The reed is then manipulated to produce different tones. Many clarinetists will practice the different methods of playing the instrument, such as breathing or blowing, using the diaphragm or without. These result not only in a range of tones, but also provide the ability to play sustained or staccato notes in a controlled manner.

Another skill to master is how to tune your clarinet properly. There are many ways to do this as with any other instrument. You can do it by ear which involves being able to play by pitch, or you can use electronic tuners which are very convenient but might hamper your development as a proper musician. The latter might be useful if you are running short of time for a performance. But all musicians should learn how to do it by ear.