Elementary Clarinet Pedagogy:

A Sound Approach

Dr. Douglas Monroe

Assistant Professor of Clarinet
North Dakota State University

www.douglasmonroe.com
 My approach to teaching elementary clarinet
begins with sound production. I believe that the
most basic technical task a musician accomplishes
is to create a beautiful tone. Who wants to listen
to any instrument sounding less than beautiful?

There are five aspects to creating a

full, rich clarinet sound:

1. A Quality Mouthpiece (equipment)

2. Quality Reeds (equipment)

3. A Good Embouchure (doorway for airflow)

4. Proper “Voicing” (doorway for airflow)

5. Proper Use of Airflow (wind player’s lifeline

to music-making)

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A QUALITY MOUTHPIECE

The stock mouthpiece packaged in the student line clarinet is

generally inferior and is an obstacle to the development of the
clarinet student because of the material from which it is made
(plastic/acrylic) and the measurements of its critical
components.

What makes a mouthpiece good?

a. Hard rubber (less important)

b. Good craftsmanship (more important)

Interior
Facing
Tip opening

Stock mouthpieces are injection-molded (hot plastic is injected

into a mold to create the shapes). There is very little quality
control to ensure good or consistent measurements. The
mouthpiece is dried and put in a clarinet case.

Quality mouthpieces are molded in a more complex process and

most importantly, their interior, facing, and tip opening are
hand-crafted to create specific, deliberate measurements
designed to facilitate a good sound.

Stock mouthpieces typically have large tip openings so that the

reed will vibrate easily. This can create a decent sound in the
lower register. But the stock mouthpiece generally won’t play
well across the breaks or in the upper range.

Quality mouthpieces provide the proper measurements to

create a good sound in all registers. A quality mouthpiece will be
more resistant than a stock mouthpiece; this resistance will

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 contribute to the overall good sound, articulation, and evenness
in the clarinet.

(Please see Appendix #1 for a list of recommended mouthpieces

for the beginning clarinetist.)

QUALITY REEDS

Beginning clarinetists should be able to make good sounds with

any medium strength reed. The more expensive reeds are made
from better quality cane. I recommend my beginning students
play on Vandoren #3.

Some examples of better quality reeds: Vandoren/Rico

Reserve/Mitchell Lurie/Zonda.

There should be some resistance when playing on a good reed.

Have your students avoid playing on reeds that offer no
resistance.

GOOD EMBOUCHURE

a. “Rubber-band” lips – lip pressure around the

mouthpiece and reed from all sides.

b. More pressure from the top lip downward and from

the corners of the mouth inward.

c. “Flat chin” – the chin pulls downward but leaves

enough pressure on the reed to “center” the sound
(but not so much that the student bites the reed
shut). The temptation to overbite into the reed is
great, but have your student resist this temptation!

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PROPER VOICING

“Voicing” is the shape of the inside of the mouth to create an

instrument’s characteristic sound.

Proper clarinet voicing occurs when the tongue is very high in

the back of the mouth but very low in the front of the mouth.
Vocalize the sound “eee”; this places the tongue in the proper
voicing position.

Now blow an intense air stream through this “eee” position. This
is the kind of air a student should pass through the embouchure
into the clarinet.

PROPER USE OF AIRFLOW

All four of the points above merely offer a doorway through

which the airflow enters the clarinet. If these aspects are
carefully accomplished, the student is ready to make a good
sound by providing a well-supported, intense airflow.

For a number of reasons, young clarinet students tend to be

afraid of blowing intense air through their clarinet (fear of
squeaking or making a bad sound/poor response with reed and
mouthpiece/etc).

Method for teaching proper airflow: “legs in the air”.

a. Have your students play any note, scale, or passage.

b. If they lack proper support, have them play the same

note, scale, or passage with their legs sticking
straight out in front of them. Make sure they pay
attention to what happens to their body (the
abdominal muscles tighten and work harder). This
always results in a clearer, more focused, more in tune
sound.

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 c. Have your student alternate playing with their legs
out and with their legs on the ground until they apply
the same abdominal support with their legs on the
ground.

Once a student has command of good airflow, the entire music-

making process is governed by its subtleties. Good dynamics,
variance in tone color, success at mastering narrow or wide
intervals, and many other aspects are based on good airflow.

THREE ADDITIONAL BASIC IDEAS:

ARTICULATION

I always teach "tip of the tongue to the tip of the reed”.

Sometimes it’s as easy as telling a student this phrase. With
some students, I say, “One taste bud on the tip of the reed”.
This creates enough of an image that they are able to do it
correctly. Sometimes, these descriptions with words do not
convey the message.

Some students have a very noisy tonguing sound. This can be

caused by anchor tonguing or poor tongue positioning. For them,
I use the straw technique:

a. Hold a straw in the mouth at the same angle as one

would hold the clarinet.

b. Blow air through the straw.

c. Interrupt the airflow with the tongue. Put the very

tip of the tongue into the aperture of the straw but
keep the air pressure behind the tongue.

d. Release the tongue to allow the airflow through the

straw.

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 e. Repeat the process several times taking care to
ensure the tip of the tongue blocks the aperture of
the straw.

f. On the clarinet, place the tip of the tongue in the

space between the reed and the top of the
mouthpiece as though it were the straw. Articulate
repeatedly on a “throat-G”. Make sure to keep the air
pressure behind the tongue. Add additional notes as
you see fit.

REED CARE

a. Warpage

i. Reeds warp because the cane has not had

moisture in its fibers (xylems and phloems) for
several years. (After the cane was harvested,
the harvesters stored it in a dry place for 2-4
years.) The structure of the cane changes
shape to accommodate the new substance—
moisture.

ii. Warpage cannot be prevented in a commercial

reed. But it can be limited with proper break-in.

b. Break-in

i. Have your students “break-in” reeds gradually

over the course of five or six days. During
these days, they shouldn’t wet the reed for
very long (five seconds in their mouth or in a
cup of water). Play the reed for one minute the
first day, two minutes the second, five minutes
the third, 10 minutes the fourth, 15 minutes
the fifth, and then as much as they want after
that.

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 ii. After each playing, the student should rub the
vamp of the reed with their finger to seal the
fibers. A reed will always last longer if the
student limits the amount of moisture
introduced to it and the amount of time it is
played in the first five or six days of the
break-in process.

iii. Store reeds in a specifically designed case for

reeds (LaVoz/Vandoren/Rico)

iv. Rotate three or four reeds at a time.

CHAMBER MUSIC FOR BEGINNING CLARINETISTS

Playing chamber music with students of any level presents

another great teaching opportunity. When we isolate different
sections of the ensemble, we can work instrument-specific
issues. It is great place to work on the basics of sound
production and technical development. There is plenty of good
music available for the beginning level (see Appendix 3). I use
duets, trios, and quartets with the full section.

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 APPENDIX #1: GOOD MOUTHPIECES FOR
BEGINNING/INTERMEDIATE CLARINETISTS

Mouthpieces are the most important piece of equipment on your students’

instrument. Unfortunately, the quality of the stock mouthpiece that comes with
the clarinet from the factory is generally not very good. Before I will take on a
student at the pre-college level, I insist that they purchase a good quality
mouthpiece. Without it, the student is at an extreme disadvantage in their efforts
to advance as a clarinetist.

Though there are many on the market, I’ve had the best results with the
following mouthpieces for beginners:

Clark Fobes “Debut” Mouthpiece $30.95 - $39.50

130 Beverly Street
San Francisco, CA 94132
(415) 585-0636
www.clarkwfobes.com

David Hite “Premier” Mouthpiece $20.00

David Hite, Inc.
22437 Fountain Lakes Blvd.
Estero,FL 33928 USA
941-947-8803
info@jdhite.com

James Pyne/Clarion “PolyCrystal” Mouthpiece $54.90

1672 Rushing Way
Columbus,OH 43235
614-766-7878
http://www.pyne-clarion.com/Mouthpieces.html

Theodore Johnson “TJ1” Mouthpiece $35.00

8379 Eaton Drive
Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023
440-708-2599
www.johnsonclarinetmp.com

I find most Vandoren mouthpieces superior. They are a bit more expensive and designed for the
more advanced player but are wonderful options for a beginner as well!

Various Vandoren Mouthpieces $75-$120

M 30
M 15
M 40 Lyre
5RV Lyre
B 45

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 APPENDIX #2: SELECTED LIST OF BEGINNING
CLARINET ENSEMBLE MUSIC

I strongly encourage beginning clarinet students to play as much small ensemble

music as possible. I use all of the following music with entire clarinet classes.

DUETS

Belwin Master Duets for Clarinet, vol. 1 Belwin Mills

Duets For Clarinet Students, Level 1 Belwin Mills
Introducing Clarinet Duets Universal Editions
Klarinetten im Duett vom Anfang an Mel Bay
Learn to Play Clarinet Duets Alfred
Starter Duets; 60 Progressive Duets Anglo Music

TRIOS

Chamber Music for Three Clarinets, vol. 1 Rubank

Clarinet Trio Album Pro Art Music Publications
So Easy Trios Kjos
Trios For All Pro Art Music Publications

QUARTETS

Quartet For All Pro Art Music Publications

Let's Play Quartets Pro Art Music Publication

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 APPENDIX #3: MUSICAL HEROES

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines a “hero” as “one who is admired or
idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble quality.”

Heroes can “lead” us in a way to achieve, using their examples as the standard by which
we measure our progress to excellence.

Our students have people they admire--athletes, pop music stars, actors/actresses--in
areas that are important to them. As they become more and more serious about their life
as a musician and clarinetist, it is a GREAT IDEA for them to start listening to
recordings of clarinetists from today and yesterday because there are many things to
learn from these musical heroes.

Once a student has a picture in their mind of what they want their clarinet to sound like,
it becomes much easier to make that sound. Performances by great clarinetists can start
students on the way to better tone, articulation, air usage/support, phrasing, and many
other aspects of great musicianship.

The following is a preliminary list of clarinetists and recordings they’ve made that are
wonderful examples of tone production and great musicianship. There are many others.
You will be amazed at the talent that is out there if you spend a few minutes searching
for recordings!

Robert Marcellus
(Mozart Clarinet Concerto/Beethoven Symphony #6/Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio
Espagñol/Brahms Symphony #3 and his many other recordings with the
Cleveland Orchestra from the mid-twentieth century)
Harold Wright
(Schubert Der Hirt auf dem Felsen/Mozart Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet
Quintet/Schumann Fantasiestücke and his many other recordings with the Boston
Symphony Orchestra from the mid-twentieth century)
Richard Stoltzman
(Bartók Contrasts and his many other solo and chamber recordings)
Sabine Meyer
(Weber Concertos and Concertino and her many other solo recordings)
Martin Fröst
(Copland Concerto/Brahms Sonatas and his many other solo recordings)
Eddie Daniels
(numerous jazz and classical recordings)
Benny Goodman
(Sing Sing Sing and his many other swing recordings)
Artie Shaw
(Begin the Beguine and his many other swing recordings)

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