Hi, I’m Ariana, woodwind performer and instructor. Today I’m showing you the clarinet basics. And now I’d like to show you how to play your first few notes. We have learned how to sit properly, how to breathe properly and how to do our embouchures properly. Now, I would like to show you the first notes. The first note I would like to show you is an E located at the bottom of the staff. Our fingering is going to be with your left hand on top, your thumb covers the back hole on the clarinet and your first finger covers the first hole in the front and it’s going to sound like this.
Our next note located directly under the E on the staff is a D. The way you finger that is again, your thumb on the back hole, first finger on the first hole and your second finger on the second hole. It’ll sound like this. And our last note we’re going to learn today is a C and that’s located below the D on the staff. Again, thumb on the back hole, first finger on the first hole, second finger on the second hole and we are going to add your ring finger on the third hole. It’ll sound like this. And now I would like to show you how to tongue and tongue placement in general. First of, when blowing through the clarinet, once your embouchure is correct, you want to be focusing on what the inside of your mouth is doing.
The main thing is you want to be directing the airflow correctly into the instrument. We can do this by arching the back of your tongue. A couple of ways to figure out if you are doing this right, as if you’re saying “e” or as if you’re hissing like a cat or also another way is as if the back of your tongue feels like its touching your back molars.
Now, with that your throat to be open, so, all the air possible can be coming up, and being directed with the back of your tongue. The front of your tongue, you want to be resting low in the mouth. Now to separate notes, we are going to use the front of your tongue namely the tip, to touch upon the reed to stop the vibrations which is creating the sound. So, you want tip of the tongue to the tip of the reed. It’ll sound like this.
And again, tongue up and back, tip of the tongue here, to the tip of the reed here and vary controlled motions. Now, that we know how to tongue and now that we know how to play a few notes, I’d like to show you how to play Hot Cross Buns.
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