Assignment 20 - Drew

How to suck less at playing the clarinet: it's easier than you think.

The biggest piece of advice I can give to anyone striving toward this noble goal is to do as little as possible while playing. This sounds counter intuitive, but very often clarinet players try WAY too hard to make a note come out the other end of the instrument. It's not that hard; the instrument is designed to work with as little human intervention as possible. You should only apply as much embouchure pressure as is needed to make a good sound, no more. Additionally, you should at no point make huge differences in said embouchure when playing, regardless of register, tempo, dynamic, etc. Your fingers should be as loose, as soft, and as natural as possible. Ultimately everything about you should be as relaxed as possible. Any tension in any part of your body will creep into the rest of your body and ultimately show up in your sound.