Clarinet Nottingham

I have been playing the clarinet since the mid 1980’s, and whilst other instruments have come and gone in my life, this is one that has remained! I now not only enjoy still playing this instrument, but also offering lessons for the clarinet. Nottingham is one of the areas I cover.

The clarinet has a warm melodious and flexible character that, whilst it can sometimes be at the root of many jokes (Green Clarinet), it could also hold its own if it came to a tussle and has the remarkable ability to laugh at itself – see Artheme swallows his clarinet!

The clarinet is not one the simplest of instruments to learn, but once you are shown the principles and you put in a little practise the sound transforms from that of strangled cat to a warm rich sonnet. The clarinet really isn’t one of those instruments that be self taught as there are many features that are needed to produce an good quality tone and reed knowledge and care is as important as the maintenance of the instrument itself.

Perhaps the most famous piece of popular music for the clarinet is Stranger on the shore by Acker Bilk, but the clarinet has been used widely in orchestral works, Dixieland, blues, jazz– every genre of music there is. A Victorian Kitchen Garden series on the television features the Clarinet and Harp playing the main themes. Famous clarinettists are Woody Herman, Artie Shaw, and Benny Goodman. A contemporary young clarinettist is Julian Bliss from the UK.

For me, the most glorious thing about the clarinet it the sound, and the fact that you can choose to play a wide a range of music as you like. It performs excellently as a solo instrument, and equally as good when let loose to improvise and play as part of a band or orchestra.

Did you know: When she was at school, Julia Roberts played clarinet in bands, and Woody Allen plays the clarinet at Michael’s Pub in New York City on Monday nights, and has even turned down invitations to the Oscars because he has a gig?