The Pros of Using a Clarinet in Music

Many people want to learn at least one instrument because learning an instrument helps to improve the capacity of memory, management, team skill, and reading skills. Learning to instruments first time is hard for everyone, but if people learned at least one instrument, then that would help to offer health, relieve stress and improve performance on cognitive tasks. Another good thing about learning an instrument is you will never forget how to play it if you learned before. The instrument I will teach is the B-flat clarinet, which is one of the easiest instruments to learn and the famous instrument for teenagers. B-flat means one of the musical notes of the western chromatic scale, such as C, D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. The clarinet is a woodwind instrument that has one of the largest pitches among other common instruments. I want to recommend learning clarinet because it helps me to overcome fear and release stress from U.S.

When I was in the 6th grade, I played the clarinet because my parents told me to learn the instrument will help me. When I played clarinet for the first time, the hard thing was blown a clarinet. I spent a full hour to make sound with the clarinet. One way to make me to easier to play the clarinet is to buy 1 ½ or 2 reeds. Also, another easier way is to make reed moisture with a mouse. I practiced clarinet every one and half hour for clarinet. Sometimes, I felt I wanted to stop playing the clarinet, but I kept did the clarinet. When I was the first year of middle school, I got in small musical competition in school. I practiced month for competition. When the competition day came, I did my best as I can. Eventually, I won the 3rd place in the musical competition. I was so happy not only price but also I tried hard for the competition. I stopped clarinet for 3 years because of my parent, I had to study for school. When I was 15 years old, I went to the U.S. I didn’t think I played clarinet again, but I started clarinet again in the high school concert band on freshman. One surprising thing is, even though I thought I forgot everything about the clarinet, my hand, and body remembered about the clarinet. So, I spent only 2 days to get used to clarinet again. During concert band, I experienced a lot and made my first U.S. school life easier through practicing with the band member. In concert band, I went to a festival and Disneyland in winter when I was a freshman. I felt thankful for my instrument and band because I have never been in there before. So I really recommend learning the clarinet.

The clarinet has 5 parts that need to assemble. To assemble the clarinet, you have to find the parts of the clarinet that start from the top: mouthpiece, barrel joint, upper joint and lower joint, and bell. Grease with grease for clarinet any cork if you have a hard time combining. When you assemble between the upper and lower joint, try not to hold key parts strong to prevent breaking. Then, you should prepare the reed, which is small, flat wood that goes together with the mouthpiece. You need to moisturize Reed because you can play better if the reed is wet enough with using mouse or sink into the water. To attach the reed to the mouthpiece, first, you need to attach the reed against the hole on the mouthpiece and use a screw ligature to hold reed on the mouthpiece. To keep up your clarinet, you have to clean the clarinet inside carefully. You can use a giant pipe cleaner to clean inside. If you did not clean inside of the clarinet, then the clarinet will decompose, so you have to clean carefully.

To play the clarinet, you have to use two hands. The left hand placed on the upper joint and the right hand placed on the lower joint. With right thumb, you had to put your finger in thumb rest, where is back on key parts of the lower joint. With left hand, you had to block holes with index, middle, and ring finger. And with the left thumb, you have to block the holes where is in the back of the upper joint.

The most important things to remember when playing clarinet are posture, finger or block every holes and shape of the mouse. For posture, you have to make an angle of 45 degrees with my body and clarinet and the bell should just pass your knees. For fingering, they have to block the holes tightly and completely. For the shape of the mouse, they have to maintain mouse shape of “e”. To learn how to blow clarinet, you should think blowing candles in a cake from a far distance. These things are the most important thing for the beginner because blowing clarinet at the first time would extremely hard. For me, I had a hard time to play clarinet because of the blowing. I learned clarinet to tutor teacher and she told me to buy size 1 ½ or 2 for Reed strength because when the reed is thin; it plays better for a beginner. She also taught me some tips to play clarinet easier. The first tip was an angle of clarinet, so she emphasized the 45 degrees between clarinet and my body. The second tip was Amount of the mouthpiece and Reed in the mouth so she told me to put a 1/3 of the mouthpiece in my mouth. The third tip was an amount of embouchure support. So, she taught me to put the mouthpiece under my lips in relax position and slips the mouthpiece and top teeth should slightly bite and resting on the mouthpiece. The last thing was the amount of breath force so she taught me to blow clarinet only with mouse not nose and I had to blow clarinet naturally just like blowing balloons. I kept those tips in my mind every time I am practicing and playing. I recommend to you to keep in mind during practice. Also, to get better at clarinet, you have to practice a lot until you blow clarinet easily.

To play clarinet, you have to know how to do fingering which means the method to use the finger to play the clarinet. To learn to finger, I recommend buying fingering chart for clarinet from the local music store or you could find a fingering chart from the internet. On the internet, you can easily find it when you search for clarinet fingering chart for example:http://www.clarinetcloset.com/clarinet-fingeringchart.html. It would be extremely hard to learn clarinet without fingering chart. Practice a lot to get used in that instrument. Also, you could play easy songs that only need 4 codes to play and practice. To be good at some instrument, then you need to practice every day. I also recommend joining a small group or orchestra if you really interested in this instrument because clarinet is essential or main parts for the orchestra.

After practicing clarinet, I felt big achievement because I know how to play a certain instrument. Through practicing and playing clarinet, I release my stress from English when I came to the U.S. and I felt my social skills got developed through practicing and playing with band people. I will never regret learning clarinet because it helps me in many other ways. An Instrument brought me small happiness in the harsh life from stresses. I think I could use my skill to show and perform for other people.

Being able to play a musical instrument enhances the quality of your life, self-confidence and achievement. I recommend to you to learn at least one instrument because if you learn at least one instrument, then you would never forget about the instrument.