Clarinet Lesson Tips...

This page contains a series of lesson documents I've developed for clarinetist and clarinet students.  This is definitely a "work in progress" so please keep checking for future updates.  I hope you find them helpful!!  Feedback?  Drop me line.

Kinesthetic Exercises developed by me that employ principals of the Alexander Technique and Rose Studies and Etudes as interpreted by some of my teachers, including ideas and markings by Stanley Hasty, Lawrence McDonald, and some of Robert Marcellus's favorites can be found below. 

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Lesson 1 - Kinesthetic Exercises

Lesson 2 - Scale Exercise

Lesson 3 - Articulation

Mr. McDonald and Mr. Marcellus had very specific techniques to improve articulation.  First, and for most, was a rock solid air column - Marcellus referred to it as the "lead pipe".  In addition to this, McDonald focused on the proper position and placement of the tongue with almost surgical precision.  


These four etudes were used to progressively teach proper tongue position and style - "Guide to Proper Execution".  The adaptation of these etudes is a combination of techniques by McDonald, Marcellus, Hasty, and myself.  For example, McDonald and Marcellus were advocates of the "Stopped Articulation and Fingers Ahead" technique where as Hasty was very much against it.  Hasty said, "Stopped articulation does exactly what it says, it stops your articulation."  Hasty advocated a more legato approach to articulation. Marcellus did emphasize stopped articulation, but also used a technique of alternating between slurring and the immediate repeating of the passage articulated.  My conclusion is that all of these technique are valid depending on the needs of the player/student.  For example, if a student is have air suppor/air column issues then the stopped articulation technique can help with that provided it is employed sparingly.