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Quick History
Quick History
The modern Clarinet has roots in an older instrument called the Chalumeau. The Chalumeau was a shepherd's instrument made for solo playing that was designed similar to the recorder. The player covered combinations of holes to make different notes.
In Germany around the late 17th century, Johann Christoph Denner and his son started designing the modern Clarinet. They added two keys, one being the register key, which increased the range of the Chalumeau by more than two octaves. The lower register of the clarinet is still known as the "chalumeau register" (as a sort of homage to it's previous iteration), the middle register is called the "clarion", and the upper register is called the "altissimo"
Iwan Mullers Keys was a clarinet design innovator who greatly improved the keys in the early 19th century. He replaced the old system with a new spoon key system that involved leather pads. Theobald Boehm was a flute maker who discovered the best alignment of tone holes for the clarinet around the same time. He invented a new key called a ring key that lets the player cover a hole larger than the finger pad. Hyacinthe Klose then created a model of clarinet called the Klose-Buffet Clarinet based on Boehm's designs that is still widely played today.
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How to Play
How to Play
On all reed instruments, the reed is arguably the most important part of the instrument. These reeds are made out of cane that is thinly cut and then filed to shape. Beginners on Clarinet should start at a 2 or 2.5 strength reed and after a while, move up to a 3 or 3.5. In a box of reeds, one should try out each reed and find the one or two that play/sound the best and use those as primary reeds. The rest should be used as back up. A good method for rotating reeds is to use your best one 3-4 days a week, second best 2-3 days a week, and a third once a week to make sure. As one breaks or wears out, move reeds up in the rotation and replace the third as needed. This ensures that one always has a back up reed ready to go at any given moment.
To put together, attach the mouthpiece and barrel together, then attach that to the top portion, attach it to the bottom portion, and finally attach the bell. While doing this, make sure you are moistening the entire reed (not just the thin end) in your mouth (as it works best when a bit wet). After the clarinet is put together, align the reed onto the mouthpiece (make sure the top of the reed is the same height as the mouthpiece and that the reed is straight on it) and the tighten the screws on the ligature. Careful not to over tighten as it can break or crack the reed.
To produce a good embouchure, roll in the bottom lip so that the chin is flat, clarinet’s mouthpiece on your bottom lip, rest your teeth on top of the mouthpiece, and then close your lips to keep from escaping. Too much lip on the mouthpiece and closing up the throat will negatively affect the sound. Experiment with the lip formation without making any sounds, practice the seal of your lips by imagining the thumb as a mouthpiece and creating the embouchure and blow into your thumb to find where the leaks in your embouchure are), varying the amount of pressure you place on the mouthpiece/reed, and the amount of mouthpiece that goes in the mouth to produce the best sound.
Check the picture for finger placements. Make fingers are curled and have a C shape to them. Also make sure holes are completely covered to make sure the sound and notes come out clearly.
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Famous Players
Famous Players
Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky (Artie Shaw for short) was born in New York, New York in 1910. He is a highly regarded clarinetist and bandleader of the 1930's-1940's. He was a very popular Jazz Clarinetist at the time, along with his big band. He toured across the US playing Jazz clarinet and his performance of Begin The Beguine (the YouTube video linked here) skyrocketed his popularity to rival that of Benny Goodman, another popular Jazz Clarinetist of the time.
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Recommended/Popular Method Books
Recommended/Popular Method Books
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