One of my absolute favorite clarinetists and bass clarinetists is Evan Ziporyn. While this a long piece, it's so worth listening to all of the sounds Evan is able to get out of the instrument - especially his ability to make chords on the bass clarinet... enjoy.
Read MoreA buddy of mine had this gem in his possession: the forward to Joe Allard: the Master Speaks.
Read MoreWith the end of the school year upon us, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate all my students on their hard work and determination this year. I'm always surprised by their drive, humility, and capacity for the possible.
Read MoreI get questioned all the time by my students about how to get a better sound. It's a great question and an important one at that. However, the worst thing that can happen is if someone has never even asked themselves "how do I work on tone?" If someone new to an instrument is using their ear when they play, really listening to themselves, they usually have a pretty good sound. This allows them to do all sorts of new music, new concepts, extended range and techniques, even if their embouchure and air stream aren't perfect. The flip side is when someone is fighting a 'bad' sound. They'll find that it holds them back from doing so much more on their instrument. Tone work should usually start off your practice session. It allows you to warm up, use air correctly before working on technical or musical aspects, and get mentally prepared for your practice session. Here's a list of Clarinet tone exercises that I've picked up over the years and a Saxophone version will follow shortly (but, feel free to reference "Ramon Ricker Overtone Exercises" in the meantime).
PDF of Clarinet Tone Exercises
One of the fundamental ways that someone develops a good sound on their instrument is by listening to a bunch of artists that have good sounds. I realized a while back that while I practice and teach Clarinet I did not have a simple 5 or 10 list of names that I could just shoot off if any of my students asked for recordings to check out. So, I e-mailed one of my old Clarinet teachers, Andy Stevens, for a list just in case there were other doublers out there that were having the same issue. Andy is the Bass Clarinetist for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Professor of Clarinet at University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, and I have him to thank for this list: The following are great artists for the Mozart and Weber Concertos
Great artist for Weber & Mozart Concertos and the Concerto by John Corigliano:
Contemporary Performers:
Good European Clarinetists
My ALL-TIME favorite Clarinetist, introduced to me by Andy:
I'd like to add some Jazz Clarinetists to the list as well:
