1.
WELCOME TO OUR SESSION!
Mevonnie Biggins
Peachcrest Elementary
John Warren
Kennesaw State University
Tara Winds Clarinet Choir

2.
GROUP ARTICULATION EXERCISE
1.Make a small rectangular
opening at the base of the cup
2.Place the end of the cup in
front of the lips. (Eeee-ewww)
3.Practice introducing the
tongue to the surface of the
cup.

3.
GROUP ARTICULATION EXERCISE

4.
ROLE OF THE CLARINET IN THE WIND
BAND
“A leading role in the wind band…” -Mozart

5.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
Tone Clarity
Playing in the Chalumeau Register
T
RESULT
Weak, worn down tone
Squawky tone lacking in focus
Musical Excerpt: Ammerland by Jacob de Haan

6.
How do I teach this?
Problem Strategies
Weak, worn down tone
 Check the quality of the reed. Students of all level tend to use
a reed well after its shelf life has expired.
 Reeds will get dirty or split or chipped tip.
 Reed may be worn WITHOUT any external evidence.
Small, pinched or muffled
tone
 Too little mouthpiece in the mouth. Have the student push up
from the right hand
 Too much pressure on the reed from the lower jaw. Relax a little
Squawky tone
(Lacking in body, flat, no
focus)
 Check that lower lip is supporting the reed.
 Check that the upper lip is providing enough pressure around
the mouthpiece.
 Engage the corners inward
Tone Control issues
 Caused by inability to keep a steady air column
 “Yawning” exercises” (Yawn while keeping your lips closed)
 Focus on the follow through
 Flow of breath always move forward, or to the front
Hard, cold tone
(inflexible)
 Check the reed strength. May be too hard.
 Mouthpiece has a lay that is too open or too long

7.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
BlendingTones
BalancingChords
Intonation
Melodic Direction
T
RESULT
Unbalanced “Top Heavy” Sound
Lack of Expression
Musical Excerpt: Chester byWilliam Schumann

8.
How do I teach this?
Problem Strategies
Influences in intonation
 Embouchure formation
 Reed strength
 Mouthpiece
 Barrel
 Breath Support
Throat Tone Resonance
 Sensitive to breath support and embouchure
 Place a “sour m” in front of a vowel to emphasize the support of
the lower lip (Ex. Ma Me Mi Mo Mohh)
 In general, opening the tone holes will raise the pitch, closing
the tone holes will lower the pitch
General Rules for “shading”
throat tones
 Add the 4th, 5th and/or 6th fingers to the basic fingering
 Experiment with adding the 3rd, 2nd, or 1st fingering
 Students must play in tone and in tune ( no one size)
 Additional vs. Alternate
Adjusting Notes in the upper
clarion register
 Notes tend to lean on the sharp side, depending on the
embouchure
 Reed alone is not the determining factor, but harder reeds tends
to make the instrument sharp and soft reeds tend to make the
instrument flat.
 Air is almost always an issue.

9.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
ClarinetArticulation
RapidTonguing Passages
RESULT
SluggishTongue
Throating
Mouth Movement (“Chewing”)
Musical Excerpt: The Italian Girl in Algiers (Rossini/Calliet)

10.
How do I teach this?
Problem Strategies
Diagnosing the correct
problem
 Have the student play only on the barrel and the mouthpiece (F#
pitch) when diagnosing tonguing problems
 When you reduce the variables, errors become more apparent.
 Repeat after me, “Tip of the tongue to the top of the reed.”
 Tongue uses minimal effort
Lack of Clarity
 Sensitive to breath support and embouchure
 Use daily tonguing exercise with a breath attack initiating the
tone first
 While sustaining the whole note, use the tip of the tongue to the
top of the reed to interrupt the whole note
 Keep the tongue HIGH and FORWARD in the mouth (angry
kitty)
Sluggish Tongue
 Use the tonguing cup to get the tongue to actually move
 Introduce tongue to the reed surface using articulation Ex. 2
 Long tones will help strengthen the facial muscles to encourage
a strong embouchure foundation
“Throating” (Back of the
Tongue)
 Eliminate the tonguing completely from any and all playing
 Re-introduce the tongue to the reed surface
 Method takes time, but it is most effective

11.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
Performing GroupTechnical Passages
Tempo
RESULT
Trading speed for “accuracy”
Sloppy execution
Musical Excerpt: Ignition (Todd Stalter)

12.
How do I teach this?
Problem Strategies
Crossing the Break
 Student should use the psychology of having nonchalant
approach to crossing the break
 Check the thumb position (Should be at an oblique angle) Short
thumbs should move up slightly. Long thumbs move down
 Lips should remain stationary as the fingers move up and down
Hand Position
 Left hand-Use the C-U-B method
 Right hand-Use the C-U method
 Basic hand position vs. Advanced
 Fruit test to measure hand size/application of pressure
Finger Position
 Left/Right Thumb position
 Left index finder
 Visible pinky fingers (No more keep away)
Technical Mastery
 Extended Scale Patterns-Encourages students to recognize
scale patterns in the music
 Interrupted Pattern-Developing even fingers, air and tone quality
through shifting registers of the clarinet
 Thirds-Foundation for mastering patterns involving skips

13.
Technique Mastery Strategies

14.
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
Creating a style character
Pitch Bending
RESULT
Improper interpretation
Grunting or Squeaking
Musical Excerpt: Blue Shades (FrankTicheli)

15.
How do I teach this?
Problem Strategies
Embouchure Grip
 Use the sour lemons approach
 Sour vowels
 Forget about “flattening the chin”
 “Ohhh” or “Ewww “
Corner Engagement
 K.I.S.S. your corners (Keep the corners In, Sealed and
Secure)
 Can’t happen realistically, but students will start to
identify parts of the mouth they may normally miss.
Lower Lip Support
 The amount of lip over the lower teeth is dependent on
the size and thickness of the lips of the individual
students
 Experiment with varying amounts of lower lip to get the
proper sound.
Supporting Exercises
 Coffee Stirrer
 Reed
 Pencil

16.
Get those clarinets playing!
Clarinet Quartet
ClarinetTrio w/Bass
Clarinet
Clarinet Ensemble
Full Clarinet Choir