Hello class! Today we are going to learn how to put together and play our clarinets!

Were going to
learn a lot of information about these today, so make sure to keep your eyes and your ears on me!
First, lets all take our cases and place them on the ground. When we place them on the ground make
sure that the logo is showing on the top of the case (scan around the class to make sure everybody follows
the direction). Great! Now that we’ve all set that up we can all open up our cases. We’re going to see ve
pieces of the instrument, and a small plastic case with a piece of wood. This is our reed, and the case it
comes in. Can someone tell me what they think the reed does? (Wait for response). The reed is what
vibrates to make sound come out of the clarinet! Unfortunately, the reed can’t do this just yet. In order for
the reed to vibrate correctly, it needs to be wet. So were all going to very carefully take our reeds out of the
case, and pretend like we just nished a super yummy popsicle! (Wait for everyone to put reeds in their
mouths). We have to keep the red in our mouth until it feels completely damp, and make sure to ip it over
to get both sides wet.
Now that our reeds are ready, we can move to putting the clarinet together. I want everyone to grab a
piece that looks like this (hold up the mouthpiece with the ligature). It should look like a round piece that
gets skinny at the top. On it, there should be a small metal ring that has screws to loosen and tighten the
ring. This is called our mouthpiece and ligature. Can anyone tell me what they think the ligature is for? (Wait
for response). The ligature keeps the reed onto the mouthpiece, exactly! Let’s all ip our mouthpieces so
that the part with the opening is facing us. We’re all going to take o the ligature and set it aside, and then
grab our reed and place the at side on the part of the mouthpiece facing us. The thickest part of the reed
should be at the bottom. Now, were all going to very carefully align the reed with the mouthpiece, and we
should be able to see just a little bit of the mouthpiece peeking out from above the reed (go around the
class to check reed position). Looking good everybody! Now were going to grab the ligature. Can everyone
hold up the ligature for me? Wonderful! We are going to place the ligature over the mouthpiece and the reed
together. Make sure that the screws are on the right side, and then very gently place it over the mouthpiece.
Try to be very careful to not move the reed too much, but you can readjust it if it shifts! We’re all going to
move the ligature down until it is placed on the ligature line, which is rare line behind the ridge on the top of
the mouthpiece (go around the class to check and correct). Once you’ve nished placing the ligature, we
are going to make sure that it is centered, with both of the screws being straight and the clamp being equal
on the reed. Once the ligature is centered and feels secure, were going to tighten it around the bottom of
the mouthpiece by tightening the screws. We don’t want to tighten them too much, just until you feel some
tension and it feels secure. Now were ready to play some notes!
We’re all going to take a look back in our cases and nd a piece that looks like this (hold up the barrel).
It should be super smooth with no buttons or holes and should look like a tiny paper towel roll. We are
going to take the thinner side and put that on top, and then attach our mouthpiece into the barrel. We don’t
want to push super hard, the mouthpiece should go on very easily. If you’re having any trouble you can grab
cork grease from in your case, and I will demonstrate how to use that shortly. Eyes on me if you’re having
any trouble getting the mouthpiece on! We are going to grab a small tube that looks like chapstick from our
case. Do NOT use this as chapstick, its not edible and would probably not smell or taste very good! We’re
going to generously apply this to any cork that is giving us pushback when we put the clarinet together
(show how to apply for the class and check to see for student understanding). Alright, now that we all have
our mouthpieces attached to our barrels, we can start to play some notes!
To set our embouchure, we are rst going to fold or bottom lip in and place the tip of the mouthpiece
and reed into our mouths. Our lower lip should be acting as a “pillow”. Then, we’re going to lightly place our
teeth on. The top of the mouthpiece. But, wait! Before we play any notes we need to try to feel comfortable
with the air we will be blowing with. Let’s all stick out our hands in front of our faces, and blow out air like
you’re cooling o hot cocoa. Let’s practice this (demonstrate and wait 30 seconds). Does everybody feel
comfortable with this? Awesome! Now were going to apply this air speed to the clarinet. Remember our
placement from before and we can play our rst note (let students noodle and try to play notes for about
1-2 minutes, walking around the classroom to ensure understanding). Once we all get our notes, out we can
move to putting their clarinet together.
 First, we can all set our mouthpieces to the side. When we are putting our clarinet together, we always
want to ensure we have our cases are securely on the ground or a di erent surface that we are sure will
keep the clarinet safe. The piece we’ll start with is called the bell, and is a short piece that ares out at the
end. Then, we will add the rst piece of the body of the clarinet. This is the larger of the two pieces left, and
we will attach the bottom to the barrel. You know it’s facing the right way if the letters on the clarinet are
right side up! On top of that, we will add the last piece (walk around the group to see that everyone has put
the body together correctly). Great job everybody! Last, we can add our mouthpiece on. Now were ready to
play our clarinets!
Now, with everybody at the same time, let’s all try to make a sound come out of the clarinet. Listen to
how I sound rst (demonstrate playing a g, and cue the students to come in). We all want to make sure that
we are using the cooling hot cocoa air, and that we are not biting down on the mouthpiece. We should all
be resting our teeth on top without pushing down. The amount of mouthpiece that goes in your mouth
should be very minimal, and it could make it harder to play if you have too much in your mouth. Let’s all try
to play a second time (wait for most students to achieve a G). Great job everybody! Now, you may be
wondering where to put your hands to play other notes. First, what you’ll do is place your right thumb on
the back of the clarinet right under this hook. Can everyone show me their right hand? Perfect! Then you’re
going to put your pointer, middle, and ring ngers over the holes where they would naturally fall, and we
don’t need to worry about our pinkies just yet! Nest, we will add our left hand by placing our left thumb over
the hole on the back of the clarinet, and then put our pointer, middle, and ring ngers on the top three holes
of the clarinet (walk around to see hand position). Looking good everyone! Now we”re ready to play some
other notes.
The next note we will learn is an “F”. We play this by playing a G (demonstrate) and then adding our
left thumb over the hole (demonstrate). Let’s all try this together! Sounds great guys! Now, if we add one
more nger, we will have an E (play and have everyone else follow). Perfect! Now we can play three notes,
so I think that means it’s time to learn our rst song! Are you guys ready? Here is a copy of the music for
“Hot Cross Buns”. Let’s all take a minute to try and play this by ourselves and then we will play it together
as a class (watch students try to play and work on any larger mistakes). Alright everybody let’s play all
together now! Great job everybody. Thanks for an amazing class! Now let’s put our clarinets away, opposite
of the way that we put them together!