I see many students resting their bell on their knee while they are playing. This is not a good idea for many reasons. And, yes, you may see professionals doing it, but that doesn't mean that it will help YOUR playing. If your bell is on your knee while you are playing, then you are probably sitting with poor posture - slouching and/or pulling your head down. You probably already know that poor posture will affect your general health. As for your clarinet playing, poor postur

Sight reading a piece of music is playing it correctly at first sight, without any prior preparation. This is a very important and useful skill for all musicians to develop. Sight reading is often asked at auditions and can fluster even advanced players. The best way to improve your sight reading skill is to become fluent in all scales - major and minor. For clarinetists, I recommend the Carl Baermann Book III. Studying this book will give you the fundamental skills needed t

...Continued from my previous post Get your clarinet fixed! I've had so many students tell me "my Dad said he can fix it". That's really not a good idea, (even if your dad is an engineer) unless your dad is a trained clarinet repair person. (And, you can't learn instrument repair from YouTube). If you take care of your clarinet properly, you won't have to visit the repair shop often. Learn proper instrument care from your private lesson teacher. Remember - to play your best

Does your clarinet look like this? I hope not! But even if you just need a minor repair, get it done! You will play your best on an instrument that is working properly. When a key is out of alignment we often compensate by pressing the key too hard, using the wrong fingering, or over-blowing to get the note out. This will surely create bad habits! So, get your clarinet repaired! It's very important to go to an experienced repair person who knows how to PLAY the clarinet as we