The Clarinet

Family/Transposition (Clarinets are both G tubes/lower register, and D

tubes/upper register)

Ab Soprranino Clarinet down m6

Eb Terz Clarinet down m3
C Concert Clarinet NT
Bb Military Clarinet up M2
A Orchestral Clarinet up m3
F Basset Horn up P5
Eb Alto Clarinet up M6
Bb Bass Clarinet up M9
EEb Contra Alto Clarinet up 8va+M6
BBb Contra Bass Clarinet up 8va+M9

Instrument parts
Bell, lower tenon, upper tenon, barrel joint, mouthpiece, ligature, reed,
mouthpiece cap

Assembly
Begin from bottom with bell onto lower tenon, upper tenon onto lower tenon
(bridge key must align with lower tenon connection for bridge key), barrel
joint onto upper tenon, mouth piece onto barrel joint with open section
facing the back of the instrument, ligature on mouthpiece, reed on
mouthpiece adjusting the reed with sides and bottom only a hairline of
black should be showing at the top, tighten screws of ligature.
Breathing
Inhalation, suspension, exhalation

Tonguing
Tip of tongue to tip of reed (tip-to-tip tonguing) (double/triple tonguing not
usually used)

Position
30 degrees from body, upper fingers and lowers fingers should be positioned
to make a perfect “X”

Embouchure
Half of the red of the lower lip showing
Rest mouthpiece on lower lip
Top teeth make contact with mouthpiece
Close mouth, and point chin downward and outward (like eating sour lemon
“oo”)
Pull corners inward

Vibrato
Jaw vibrato (wah-wah, etc, if used)

Reeds
Beginner: #2 or Medium soft
Advanced: #2 ½-#3 ½ or Medium-Medium Hard
Brands: Rico, Rico Royale, Van Doran, Mitchell Laurie
Instrument Brands
Beginner: Bundy, Vito, Noblet, Yamaha
Artist: Buffet, Selmer, Le Blanc, Yamaha

Clarinet Materials
Plastic (resin) and Wooden (Granadilla wood)

Maintenance
Cork grease, cleaning swab, mouthpiece brush, small paint brush, key oil,
bore oil, reed guard, “Shove-its” or pad savers

Going Over “The Break”

(KEEP RIGHT HAND DOWN)
g1 a1 b1 a1 g1 a1 b1 c1 b1 a1 a1 bb1 c1 bb1 a1

Challenges
Hand position, covering holes completely—See mirror
Too hard/soft of reed
Reed not placed on mouthpiece correctly
Reed not wet
Too much lower lip on mouthpiece
Upper teeth not on mouthpiece
Corners of mouth are not pulled in tightly
Biting down on reed causes reed to close
Cheeks are puffed out
Bridge key not properly aligned
Popped spring
Pad is missing
Too much/little mouthpiece in mouth
Loose screws

Method Books
Class: Standards of excellence, Essential Elements, Band Today
Private: Rubank Methods

Ranges
Practical: e-c3, Complete: e-c4

Clarinet Registers
Chalumeau: e-e1, throat tones: fi-bb1, Clarion: b1-c3, Altissimo: c#3-c4

Plateau/Open Hole Models

Plateau models have holes covered

Boehm/Albert System Clarinets

The Boehm System Clarinet is used today and includes 17 keys and 6 rings
The Albert System Clarinet was used prior to when the Boehm system was
invented, and it included 12 keys and 2 rings.
 The saxophone
Family/Transposition (Saxophones are D tubes)
C Soprano Sax NT
bB Soprano Sax up M2
bE Alto Sax up M6
C Melody Sax up P8
bB Tenor Sax up M2+8va
bE Baritone Sax up M6+8va
bB Bass Sax up M2+2 8va

Saxophone Quartets
American: 2 Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax
French: Soprano Sax, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax

Instrument Parts
Body, Goose neck, Mouthpiece, Ligature, Reed, Neck strap

Assembly
Place neck strap around the neck and hook body to strap. Place reed in the
mouth. Take out the end plug. Begin from bottom by inserting the goose
neck into body and making sure octave key post on the body is aligned with
gooseneck, attach mouthpiece onto the goose neck, place the ligature on the
mouthpiece, place the reed on mouthpiece adjusting with the sides and
bottom of the reed, only a hairline of black should be showing at the top,
tighten screws of ligature.
Breathing
Inhalation, suspension, exhalation.
Tonguing
Tip of tongue to tip of reed (tip-to-tip tonguing) (double/triple tonguing not
usually used)

Position
Played slanted across the upper body, upper fingers and lowers fingers
should be positioned to make a perfect “X”

Embouchure
More than half of the red of the lower lip showing
Rest mouthpiece on lower lip
Top teeth make contact with mouthpiece
Close mouth, and point chin downward and outward (like eating sour lemon
“oo”)—mouth should not be as tight as on the clarinet

Vibrato
Jaw vibrato (wah-wah, etc. if used)

Reeds
Beginner: #2 or Medium soft
Advanced: #2 ½-#3 ½ or Medium-Medium Hard
Brands: Rico, Rico Royale, Van Doran
Instrument Brands
Beginner: Bundy, Vito, Noblet, Yamaha, Conn, Keilworth
Artist: Buffet, Selmer, Le Blanc, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, Keilworth,
Cannonball, P. Mauriet, Eastman
Maintenance
Cork grease, cleaning swab, mouthpiece brush, small paint brush, key oil,
reed guard, “Shove-its”, soft cleaning cloth, pencil lead or graphite

Challenges
Too hard/soft of reed
Reed not wet
Biting down on mouthpiece
Too much lower lip on mouthpiece
Upper teeth not on mouthpiece
Corners of mouth are not pulled in tightly
Goose neck not placed on octave key mechanism correctly
Popped string
Leaky pads

Method Books
Class: Standards of excellence, Essential Elements, Band Today
Private: Rubank Methods

Ranges
Practical: c1-c3, Complete: bb-f3

Phonation
Low range-oo
Middle range-ahh
High range-ee
 The Flute
(Flutes are D tubes)
bD Military Piccolo Down m9
C Concert Piccolo Down p8
bD Military Flute Down m2
C Concert Flute NT
G Alto Flute Up p4
C Bass Flute Up p8

Instrument Parts
Foot joint, body, head joint

Assembly
Place foot joint on body making sure the post of the foot joint aligns with the
middle of the keys on the body, place the head joint on the body and align
the exact middle of the blow hole to the middle of the keys on the body.

Breathing
Inhalation, suspension, exhalation

Tonguing
Tip of tongue behind the top teeth

Double Tonguing
Say: ta ka ta ka, or du gu du gu
Triple Tonguing
Say: ta ka ta, or du gu du

Position
Flute should be parallel to the ground, upper fingers and lower fingers
should be positioned to make a perfect “X”

Embouchure
(say dim-pooh)
1. Mouth should be closed and teeth matched evenly
2. Lips should be matched with the jaw forward slightly
3. The lower lip should cover one-third of the blow hole of the head
joint.
4. Pull the corners of the lips outward and downward
5. Drop the head slightly

Vibrato
Throat/Diaphragm Vibrato (who, who, etc.)

Jaw Positions
Upper register the jaw moves forward
Middle register the jaw is normal
Lower register the jaw moves backward

Instrument Materials
Nickel, gold, silver, and wood.
Instrument Brands
Student: Bundy, Yamaha, Artley, Armstrong
Professional: Haynes, Powell, Gemeinhardt, Sonare, Yamaha

Maintenance
Cleaning swab, paint brush, key oil, silver polish, polishing cloth, “shove-
its”

Challenges
1. Too much Cupid’s bow
2. Buck/protruding front teeth
3. Thick lips
4. Too much/too little of blow hole covered
5. If the tone is loud or rough the student is blowing too hard
6. If the tone is breathy the angle of the breath is not centered
7. Flute is turned inward/outward too far
8. Lack of breath support
9. Balance flute on embouchure plate, right thumb, and right little finger

Method books
Class: standards of excellence, essential elements, band today
Private: rubank methods

Ranges
Practical: d1-d3
Complete: b-bb3
 The Oboe
Family/Transposition (Oboes are D tubes)
C Oboe NT
A Oboe d’Amour Up m3
F English Horn Up P5
C Baritone Oboe Up P8

Instrument Parts
Bell, lower tenon, upper tenon, reed

Assembly
Begin from bottom with bell onto lower tenon, upper tenon onto lower tenon
(Bridge key from bell must align with lower tenon if instrument has
extended by bB key, and lower tenon must align with upper tenon
connection for both bridge keys), attach reed

Breathing
Inhalation, suspension, exhalation

Tonguing
Tip of tongue to tip of reed ta ka ta ka/ta ka ta ta ka ta

Vibrato
Throat/diaphragm (who, who, etc)
Phonation
Low octave-oo, middle octave-ah, high octave-ee
Embouchure
All of the red of the lower lip is turned under
Upper lip makes contact with the reed, (upper teeth do not touch reed)
Close mouth, and point chin downward and outward (not as tight as the
clarinet)
Pull the corners of the lips toward the reed
One-half of the scraped surface of the reed is exposed to view when reed is
in mouth

Position
45 degrees from body, upper fingers and lower fingers should be positioned
to make a perfect “x”

Reeds
Crow-the sound the oboe reed makes when played by itself-the two reeds
vibrating together sound like the call of a crow
Beginner: Medium soft, Advanced: Medium-Medium Hard
Brands: Emerald, Jones, Evans

Instrument
Materials-granadilla wood, ebonite, plastic, metal
Beginner: Bundy, Signet, Linton Artist: Loree, Selmer, Le Blanc, Yamaha

Maintenance
Cork grease, clean swab/pheasant feather, paint brush, key oil, bore oil, reed
case, “shove-its”, small pill bottle for soaking reeds (watch out the
temperature changes for wooden instruments)
Physical Requirements
Avoid long upper teeth
Short length fingers are an advantage
Student must be smarter then the “average bear”
Student must have a better than average sense of pitch
Student must be very patient and persistent
Student must have access to money

Tone Challenges
Hand position, covering holes completely--see mirror
Too hard/soft of reed
Reed not open
Reed not wet enough
Too much/not enough reed in mouth
Corners are not pulled in tightly
Cheeks are puffed
Chin not down
Bridge keys not properly aligned
Leaky pads

Method Books
Class-Standard of Excellence, Essential Elements, Band Today
Private-Rubank Methods
Ranges Practical:c1-c3 Complete:bb-f3
The Bassoon
Family/Transposition (Bassoons are G tubes)
C Bassoon no transposition (bass clef)
C Contra-Bassoon up P8 (bass clef)
Instrument Parts
Boot joint, wing joint, tenor joint, bell, bocal, crutch, seat or neck strap ,
reed
Assembly
Begin from bottom with boot joint, attach wing and tenor joints together at
the top with lever, push wing and tenor joints into boot joint, place bell on
tenor joint (push key down, making sure bridge key is aligned before
putting into place), attach bocal onto top of wing joint making sure tiny
hole of bocal is in contact with the whisper kev pad, attach crutch (if used),
attach seat/neck strap, attach reed
Breathing
Inhalation, suspension, exhalation
Tonguing
Tip of tongue to tip of reed (tip-to-tip tonguing) (double/triple tonguing are
possible) (ta kata ka, etc., ta ka ta, ta ka ta, etc.)
Position
Across body from left to right, upper fingers and lowers fingers should be
positioned to make a perfect "X"
Embouchure
All of the red of the lower lip turned inward
Upper lip makes contact with the upper blade of the reed reaching forward to
almost touch the wire (upper teeth do not touch the reed)
Close mouth, and point chin downward and pulled inward toward windpipe
(giant overbite)
Pull the corners of the lips toward the reed

Vibrato
Throat/diaphragm (who , who, etc. if used)
Phonation
Low Octave-OO, Middle Octave-Ah, High Octave-EE
Reeds
Crow-the sound the bassoon reed makes whet) played by itself-the two
reeds vibrating together sound like the call Of a crow
Beginner: Medium Soft, Advanced: Medium-Medium Hard
Brands: Jones, Emerald
Instrument Materials/Brands
Materials-granadilla wood, rosewood, ebonite, plastic, maple
Beginner: Jupiter, Fox, Signet, Linton Artist: Hoeckel, Puchner, Fox
Maintenance
Cork grease, cleaning swab, small paint brush, key oil, bore Oil, reed case,
"Shove-its" (pad savers), small pill bottle for soaking reeds, needle nosed
pliers, pipe cleaners
Watch out for drastic temperature changes for wooden instruments
Physical Requirements/ Tone Production Challenges
Large, long length fingers/thumbs are an advantage
Student must be smarter than the "average bear"
Student must have a better than average sense of pitch
Student must be very patient and persistent
Hand position, covering holes completely—see mirror
Large overbite is an advantage
too hard/soft of reed
too much/not enough reed in the mouth
corners are not pulled in tightly
lack of air support
cheeks are puffed
chin not down and pulled in (overbite)
wing/tenor joints not properly aligned
leaky pads
the spring is out of position
corks need attention
Method Books
Class: Standards of Excellence, Essential Elements, Band Today
Private: Rubank Methods, New Weissenborn Method for Bassoon
(see information at the end of chapter)
Ranges
Practical: F-fl Complete: BBb-bbI