Page 10 - 2019 BMR April

Eleven Thoughts on Beginning Clarinet

movement up and down can be seen just under the jaw *A brief note about these three listed mouthpieces: The
and upper neck when a student moves too much of their Vandoren M-13 Lyre is pitched at A=440 and tunes
tongue to articulate. One simple remedy is to have a well with most intermediate clarinets, however young
student play repeated eighth notes on an open G while players may struggle to play in tune on professional and
using their left hand to hold under the intersection of step up instruments. This is particularly true with Buffet
their jaw and neck to feel the excessive tongue movement. R-13 clarinets. Young players often play flat with this
Students should quickly feel the excessive movement and combination. The Vandoren M-15 (product code CM317) is
work towards a “Ni” syllable articulation which employs pitched at A=442 with very similar playing characteristics
movement from the tip of the tongue to contact the reed. to the M-13 Lyre but offers more flexibility with intonation.
When choosing between the two Vandoren products, be
9. Keep reed strength low (soft) for as long as possible. aware that most of their products are offered in 2-3 different
Students retain stronger fundamentals over long breaks variations: Traditional, Profile 88 and 13 Series Profile 88.
if they stay on soft reeds throughout beginner band than Only the Traditional and Profile 88 mouthpieces are pitched
if they move up half way through the year. While we all at A=442. The D’Addario X0 mouthpiece has a similar feel
value a good tone, always work first for how each student’s to both the M-13 Lyre and M-15 but is pitched at A=441,
fundamentals LOOK and how they FEEL to the student. a nice middle ground for keeping your clarinet section up to
Sound is a byproduct of these two factors and contribute pitch regardless of what instruments they are playing.
to long term success with less time spent fixing bad
embouchure habits. Starting clarinets on #2 ½ reeds is 11. Embouchure muscles atrophy quickly! Those long
ideal on a close facing mouthpiece such as the Vandoren winter and summer breaks will leave embouchures weaker
M-15 or D’Addario XO. at the start of the next semester. Students who have grown
accustomed to buying harder reeds and playing into
10. For students on Vandoren M-13 Lyre/M-15 or the psychology of harder reeds = better players likely to
D’Addario X0 mouthpieces*, staying with #3 reeds is continue to buy harder reeds. Chances are, students will
perfectly acceptable for all of 7th grade and feasibly start out the next year on reeds that are too resistant for
through 8th grade. Keep in mind that while stepping a their embouchure strength. This is a prime culprit for why
student up to a more resistant reed my pay off in the short students who start with good embouchure fundamentals
term with a more controlled sound, the long term may be loose them each returning semester. It is also a prime
detrimental. culprit when students begin to bite or pinch on the reed
and struggle fixing the habit.

Dr. Connor O’Meara currently teaches a full studio of clarinet students from 6th grade through 12th grade in both Frisco ISD and Lewisville ISD.
He primarily teaches at Wakeland High School and Killian Middle School. Since moving to North Texas, Dr. O’Meara has been an active member of
the performance community. As a former member of the UNT Wind Symphony, he can be heard on over ten commercial recordings featuring the best
of the wind ensemble repertoire as well as recordings for the Teaching Music Through Performance series. He has also performed with the San Angelo
Symphony, the Allen Philharmonic, Odysseus Chamber Orchestra, Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra as well as a multitude of performances and
regional tours with the Fort Worth Symphony. Dr. O’Meara has been a member of the Lone Star Wind Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Migliaro
Corporon since 2013. Dr. O’Meara earned degrees from the University of Northern Colorado (BM), University of Texas at Austin (MM) and University
of North Texas (DMA).

Bandmasters Review • April 2019 8 Texas Bandmasters Association