Clarinet for Beginners – Clarinet Tutorial for Beginners
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Congratulations on your new clarinet purchase! Learning a musical instrument is something that I think everyone should pursue, as it opens up the mind to many, many different opportunities! I have put together a simple clarinet for beginners tutorial that hopefully will get you started on this great hobby. First I would like you to just take out your instrument and put it together. The info below and a lot more is available in the best beginner clarinet book ever: Clarinet For Dummies. If you are not sure how to put your clarinet together, then follow these next few steps:
Clarinet for Beginners – Putting Together your Clarinet:
Step 1: For now just get acquainted with your new instrument. Look at the pieces and take note at how fragile it is. Your instrument is either made out of plastic or wood, and if it is made out of wood I would like you to read the section about wooden clarinets at the end of this tutorial.
Study the different parts of the clarinet and learn the names. For now you can just use this picture as a reference:
Step 2: Find the Upper Joint and the Lower Joint of your clarinet. Hold down the three finger buttons in the Upper Joint as shown in the picture. If you will watch the buttons while you press them down, you will notice a small Bridge Key on the bottom portion or the Upper Joint. This allows the Upper Joint to be connected to the Lower Joint safely and securely. While depressing the keys on the Upper Joint as shown in the picture, gently twist the two pieces together.
Step 3: Now search for your Barrel and your Mouthpiece. Twist the two together in the same way that you did the Upper and Lower Joints. Now take these two connected pieces and connect them to the top of your Upper Joint.
Step 4: Find the Bell. The only place left to put it is on the piece of cork at the end of the Bottom Joint, so gently twist the Bell on.
Step 5: Take the reed and soak it in your mouth a few moments. Be careful not to rub your tongue against the tip, because if you damage the tip, the sound you make will not be as pretty as it could be. After soaking the reed for about a minute or two, place it flat side down on the open part of the mouthpiece and slide the ligature on (The thing that holds the reed on). Adjust the reed to that when you look straight at it, you can only see a thin sliver of the mouthpiece. When your mouthpiece looks like this you can go ahead and tighten the ligature screws until they are barely tight. Over tightening will bend the ligature and your sound can also suffer from this.
Good! You’re all done! I hope you can enjoy the appearance of your new instrument, as the clarinet is one of the most beautiful instruments.
Clarinet for Beginners – Before you Play:
Before you begin, I would like you to pay attention to a few things. Make sure you are sitting with your feet comfortably touching the floor and with a straight back. You should feel that your throat is open and that you can breath comfortably. This is the posture that you should always sit in when you are playing the clarinet, or any musical instrument.
Clarinet for Beginners – Your First Sounds:
Step 1: Take a piece of paper and slide it in between your reed and your mouthpiece. When you feel the slightest bit of resistance, stop. This is where your lips will fall on the mouthpiece. Remember that spot.
Step 2: Curl your bottom lip over your bottom teeth. Place the reed on top of your lip and gently bite down on the top with your bare teeth. Your lips should be resting on the mouthpiece about where the paper stopped, and they should be firmly surrounding the mouthpiece with no gaps left for air.
Step 3: Keep your tongue in the bottom of your mouth, not constricting your airflow, and not touching the reed either. Strike it lightly against the upper part of your reed a few times. Breathe through the instrument and strike the reed a few times to interrupt the airflow. Remember how this feels because it is a very big part of the music making process.
Step 4: All right! This is the big one! Take a deep breath and try to think about filling up your stomach and not your chest. Gently force the air through your mouthpiece until you hear a sound. The vibration of the reed causes this sound. It is very important that the only time this vibration is interrupted is when you are flicking the tip of the reed with your tongue. This is called tonguing and is used to create rhythms and different note lengths.
Congratulations!
You have just made your first sounds on your clarinet! Now, and just for now, test out what kind of sounds your clarinet can make! See what happens when you bite too hard, or too softly on the mouthpiece. Try using too much air or too little and note how the tone will change. Test out all of the keys and see if you can’t work out any tunes by yourself. Most of all, just practice playing long notes on your clarinet, trying to hold a note for as long as possible! The clarinet is an easy instrument to learn, but much practice is needed before you can truly master it! Don’t get frustrated! Diligence is key!
Get yourself a nice variety of sheet music and practice, practice, practice 
A great way to get better is to listen to professional and non-professional players so that you can see how the instrument is supposed to sound. It really does have a beautiful sound.
Thanks for reading this tutorial, ‘Clarinet for Beginners’! I hope you enjoy your new clarinet!
*Wooden Clarinets: All I have to say about wooden clarinets is that they should be cared for greatly. The sound is far better than that of plastic, but if you do not swab out the insides after every use, it could become cracked from the moisture absorbency. Just make sure to follow the instructions that I am sure came with your clarinet.
