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Here's my little corner of bliss where I share a little love with fellow Tumblr's.
Playing the clarinet is one of the most enjoyable things that I do, yet it is also something that requires a tremendous amount of work. Over the past three and a half years of playing I have come a long way. Playing the clarinet you will breath through your mouth. Natural breathing means slowly filling the lungs - but not absolutely full, rather a third or so - and then slowly releasing.
Reeds nowadays are bye and large much more consistant than 20 years ago, and the selection is staggering. You can put another reed in the opening between the lay and the reed, bent the fitted reed out a little just to get a bit more projektion. Reed hardness and mouthpiece characteristics work together to determine ease of playability, pitch stability, and tonal characteristics.
Beginning clarinet players often start on #2 or #2 reeds, the softest reeds that are commonly available in music stores. As the clarinetist improves and develops their facial muscles, a band director will often move the clarinetist to a harder reed. Beginning players usually start with a 1.5-2 thickness while advanced players use 3-4. The thicker the reed is the more difficult it is to play however a 3 will produce a better tone that is much more rich and dark compared to a 2.
Remember not to judge yourself. Practice this in whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, etc., and see how quickly you can play it cleanly . You should be able to hear each note clearly defined, even if you’re playing in sixteenth notes. Practice cupping your hands around the harmonica in different ways to produce different sounds . One strategy is to pretend you�re trapping air in your harmonica by cupping your hands.
Practice small sections at a time, and gradually increase the tempo as you master the section. A good rule of thumb is to move on or increase tempo only when you can play it perfectly five times in a row. Practice it with your eyes closed and concentrate on feeling your tongue. You might find that you are moving your tongue too much or are striking the reed too hard.
