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The Clarinet [Online]

Clareidoscope 2025

Clareidoscope is a one-day virtual festival on Saturday, March 16th, 2025 from 12:00 noon – 6:00pm (eastern time zone) featuring performances, clinics, performance and composition contests and all sorts of... read more →

The Jazz Scene

Originally published in The Clarinet 50/4 (September 2023). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. The Jazz Scene by Samantha Wright  The Early Clarinetists of the Duke... read more →

Tribute to Bill Brannen

The International Clarinet Association is saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Brannen, renowned clarinet repair technician in Illinois. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, Bill Brannen began... read more →

ICA Membership Tiers

Whether you're looking to join the ICA for the first time or simply to renew your membership into our international community of clarinetists, here are the different membership tiers available:... read more →

International Spotlight: Chinese Clarinet Development and the CCOM International Clarinet Festival, Beijing 通过举办北京CCOM国际单簧管艺术节展望中国单簧管的发展

Originally published in The Clarinet 46/2 (March 2019). Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. International Spotlight: Chinese Clarinet Development and the CCOM International Clarinet Festival, Beijing by Yuan Yuan with assistance... read more →

Clarinet Cache

        by Kellie Lignitz-Hahn and Bret Pimentel   Website Watch Clarinet Jobs www.clarinetjobs.com Earlier this year James Zimmermann, principal clarinetist of the Nashville Symphony and creator of... read more →

Website Watch

Comprehensive Woodwind Chamber Music Repertoire List www.woodwindchambermusicrepertoire.com/ clarinet-quartets.html Clarinetist Dawn Marie Hamilton’s “Comprehensive Woodwind Chamber Music Repertoire List” is a great starting point for various chamber works with clarinet, including... read more →

TIP: Altissimo Slurs

How can I smoothly slur to the altissimo register without my high note popping out too loud? This problem comes from the fact that the second register vent (the first left‐hand finger hole) is way too big to ideally serve as a register vent – just compare its size to the hole of your register key.  Thus, most clarinetists use a technique called “half‐holing” to connect up to the altissimo register, especially when the tempo is moderate to slow.  While playing the lower note, simply slide your left‐hand first finger down and off in a smooth motion while using lots of air.  It should result in a much better connection without the “pop” that typically comes with not half‐holing – as conductor Richard Clary always says, “Pet the kitty, don’t kick the kitty!”  If you practice this technique every day for a few minutes, the slurs you have in music going up to the altissimo register will eventually become easier to do and consistently sound more connected.

TIP: Fast Articulation

How do I learn how to articulate as fast as my band music is requiring? It seems like every clarinet player at some point or another has wished that they could articulate faster – especially when playing unison passages with flutes or brass instruments that regularly use double‐tonguing.  But not to worry, a slow tongue can be remedied!  Like any other muscle in the body, it just needs regular workouts; that, along with a good reed and lots of air will have you eventually nicknamed “super tongue!” 1. You must have a good reed in order to articulate quickly! If your reed is too soft and/or too old, it makes tonguing fast passages impossible so check this first. 2. You must use lots of air!  Keith Stein says this in his book, “Imagine the breath as the river and the tongue as the waterwheel.  Should the water level fall below the reach of the paddles, regardless of any adjustment in the mechanism of the wheel, there can be no action.” (Stein 24). 3. Don’t try to play the notes too short!  The faster the note values, the longer you should psychologically think of playing the articulation – playing too staccato will slow you down.  The notes will end up sounding light and short anyway because of the fast... read more →

Introducing: BuzzReed!

  BuzzReed is an exciting new space for sharing information about the clarinet: pedagogy, equipment, culture, literature, and history in a format designed with younger clarinetists and non-professionals in mind. ... read more →