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Welcome to the Clarinet Mentors newsletter. I enjoy sharing my best clarinet pointers with clarinetists all over the world, and I appreciate that you are part of the Clarinet Mentors Community!

 

First of all, I wish I slightly belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends. I know many of you are spending this weekend with family, and wish you all the best.

 

After a very busy fall of performances, and in anticipation of a very busy December of performances, I am enjoying 2 weeks with no concerts right now. One of my goals is to finish my How To Play Clarinet More Easily course, (which I've been thinking was "almost done" for about a year!). I've got a very enthusiastic group of beta testers from the Clarinet Mentors community who have been testing it out so far. They are getting some great results, and they are giving me some great feedback on how to make the course better before I release it to everyone. Since many people have been writing and asking when it will be ready, I've decided to make part of the course available to everyone in December. It is such a large course, that if I wait for it all to be done, it may still be a few months away. I am hoping to make the section on How To Play With Better Clarinet Tone available in a few weeks. This is just in time for Christmas, if you want to start hinting to the loved ones in your life who may want to know of a good gift for you. I think that one of the deepest wishes of most clarinet players is simply to sound better. Based on the feedback that I am getting from Beta Testers, that is what they are appreciating most about the new course, and I am going to make it a priority to make it available to you.

 

Inspired by that, today's free training gives you a head start on some strategies to improve your own tone. If you want to go deeper and enjoy more thorough training, stay tuned for details on the Tone Course in the next few weeks.

 

Looking ahead, I am getting ready for several Christmas concerts and the annual Nutcracker production the the Goh Ballet and the Vancouver Opera Orchestra in December. This is a fun chance to get my bass clarinet out for the most famous bass clarinet line in history with the Sugar Plum Fairy. I hope you are all enjoying your own musical endeavours.

Thanks to all of you for you comments, emails and good wishes. I am glad you are in the Clarinet Mentors Community!

I believe that almost every clarinetist wants to sound better. It sounds simplistic to state it that way, but it is true. We all have our "clarinet idols" - those amazing performers that have beautiful tone flowing out of their instruments, and somehow combine it with superb musical sensitivity and expression. They are our role models for what we want to do with our own instruments.

 

Improving clarinet tone involves many aspects of clarinet playing, but the great news for you, is that you can improve your own tone step-by-step. As I mentioned in my introduction, my upcoming course has an entire unit devoted to improving clarinet tone. That is the module that is getting the best reviews from the beta testers, because they are seeing concrete improvements within a few weeks of trying new technics. People get really excited when they (and the people in their lives) notice that they are sounding better.

 

I want to make some of this training available to all you right away in the Clarinet Mentors Community. I have created the Clarinet Mentors Tone Checklist for you, which you can download here: http://www.clarinetmentors.com/resources/ClarinetMentorsToneChecklist.pdf

 

This list contains many of the elements of clarinet playing which contribute to good tone production, and gives you some concrete suggestions on how you can improve. I already have several YouTube videos available that will give you a great head start on this checklist. My intention is to also post some new videos specifically for this checklist, and today I give you Part 1. You can use this checklist to evaluate what areas of your playing may need work, and try out some of the suggestions in the associated videos. I will add more material to the checklist as the next couple of YouTube videos come available to you. When the new course is ready, it will go into much more detail, but there are many concrete things you can do today by going through this checklist.

 

I hope you enjoy it, and you will receive the next videos in the next two newsletters. This is one of my cornerstones of clarinet teaching - how to pass on the many skills related to producing a good tone. I hope it helps you to sound your best.

 

You can click on the photo below, or find the video by clicking here.

I came across the video promoting Martin Frost's upcoming new CD, Roots. I think that he is a very expressive clarinetist, and I really enjoy watching his live performances. In this video, he talks about how he recorded his solos pieces with orchestra by conducting, while playing. This is a bit unusual in the orchestral world for wind players, and yet, you can see how expressively he communicates with the group. It makes the orchestra seem like one large chamber ensemble. I think that my most satisfying musical experiences are when I feel in complete "musical communication" with my colleagues. Together, we create something bigger than we can do individually. Martin Frost clearly understands this, and I love the way he expresses it in this short video.

 

I remember a time where I was playing a solo piece with a group, and the composer saw me rehearsing, facing the group, making eye contact with various players, and he scolded me and directed me to get out front and face the audience (which was imaginary at this rehearsal). I obliged, but I didn't like it. Now, I prefer to rehearse completely facing the group. In performance, I don't turn my back to the audience, but I do try an maintain a balance of communication with both the audience and the ensemble. I think the music is better because the communication is better.

 

I hope you enjoy this video. You can click here, or on the photo below.

 

I am working hard on what has been over two yeas of planning, recording, writing etc. to create a clarinet course for you that uses ALL of my favourite clarinet pointers and combines them with a very organized set of lesson plans to help you master them. 

 

This course will be designed for players with an intermediate level of clarinet skills. (If you are newer to the instrument, or basically self-taught, the Clarinet Is Easy course, below, is a great starting point to prepare you for this upcoming course.)

 

I am committed to making part of the new course available, the unit on Playing Clarinet With Better Tone, in December. Stay tuned for details. (If you'd like to see some preview videos, you can use this link: http://www.greatclarinettone.com/getstarted

 

When the full course is complete, I will be ready to celebrate! I want to invite you to the celebrations. I will be hosting a series of special events, including some live online trainings that will allow members of the Clarinet Mentors community to have some live mini lessons, and ask me your clarinet questions. I'll also be sharing some great sample lessons from the course with you. If you are interested in taking part in any of these events, the best way to get the advance notice is to sign up for my VIP Clarinet List. It only takes a minute, and then I will know that you are interested in some great new training (and during my celebration week, it is all at no charge to you) to help you play clarinet more easily. I have a quick (less than one minute) video with directions on how you can sign up. VIP Clarinet members will receive special discounts and exclusive offers, so please sign up now by clicking here!

 

I firmly believe that if anyone has the "recipe" for how to play clarinet, things are really relatively easy to do. Most of our frustrations come from inadvertently learning bad habits along the way. With that in mind, I have created for you a 10-lesson comprehensive course for beginners (and self-taught intermediate players) that gives you the tools to truly learn the clarinet easily, while avoiding all of the most common frustrations that can plague us. I believe that these lessons can save you hours of grief by giving you the best practise systems that have worked for thousands of clarinetists. The lessons have great content, and are presented in a video format so that you can watch them again and again. If you would like to play with more ease and have a clear understanding of the fundamentals of clarinet playing, you can get more information on the Clarinet Is Easy course here (including some free preview videos):

Michelle Anderson, the founder of Clarinet Mentors,  is a professional clarinetist and teacher who currently lives in Vancouver BC. Her professional career spans over 30 years and she currently plays regularly with the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the West Coast Chamber Music series. She has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Touring Orchestra and many other groups. Michelle currently specializes in teaching adults to play clarinet more easily and quickly through online resources, and conducts the Vancouver Clarinet Choir. Michelle is a Backun Musical Services Artist and plays on Backun clarinets and mouthpieces.