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,...

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 w...

....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 the...

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 (especially the Left-hand B key!), we often compensate by p...