Clarinet Mentors | Clarinet lessons and videos

Where clarinetists play beautiful music more easily through online lessons and videos

The Clarinet Mentors newsletter always contains at least one great clarinet related tip that you can try right away. I will also let you know about useful clarinet gadgets that I recommend to all of my students. Members of the Clarinet Mentors community will also be the first to hear about any free training courses and new products that I offer. You can sign up for the Clarinet Mentors community on the right side of this page. Please join me and enjoy this free information. I send the newsletter out about every three weeks. You can see the past issues here.

Here are some sample videos from past newsletters:

How does your clarinet mouthpiece affect your sound, and how do you find the one that is right for you?



Do you want to improve your finger technique?



There are many ways to practise that help us learn things much faster.

Here is a technic to master fast passages using different rhythms. This exercise comes from the Nov. 28th, 2012 newsletter. Download this worksheet, and watch the video:





Play A Duet With Me!



One of the best ways to improve our skills as a musician is to perform with others. This can include larger groups, such as an orchestra or band, or smaller groups (duets, trios etc) which we call chamber music. I love playing chamber music, because I experience the challenges of ensemble playing - tuning, balance, blend, matching styles with other players, dynamics and staying together. I also have similar challenges to solo playing, because in chamber music, nobody else is doubling my part the way they might in band. It is a nice combination.

I wanted to find a way to play duets with you. Since you aren't in my studio with me, we'll try the next best thing. I am including a duet here for those of you who perform at an intermediate (to advanced) level. If you like the concept of online duets, please let me know, and I can upload duets at various difficulty levels in the future. I already have some very easy duets recorded, and I would like to expand to other levels.

Here, I have recorded each part, of the Rondo alla Pollacca by Kuhlau. You can play along with me in unison as you learn the parts, and you can also play the duet part along with me if you play one part, while I play the other. Of course, nothing beats playing chamber music together with a live person, so if you can find a friend to play with, try it with them.

Kuhlau - Rondo all a Pollacca (excerpt from full movement) - arr. for two Clarinets. Download the printed sheet music here.







page1_2 If you have any comments or questions about any of the information you find here, feel free to send me an email with your comments.