Clarinet lessons - classical clarinet, jazz/blues clarinet

A BRIEF HISTORY

The clarinet is a musical instrument classified as a wind instrument, and like the other members of this family, it has a rich history and roots in the distant past. As we know, archaeological remains testify to the production and use of similar musical instruments thousands of years ago, and examples similar to the clarinet were also developed by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, but they usually used more reeds, and the appearance of the musical instrument was slightly different. In the Middle Ages, the instrument and its name, like other wind instruments, were further developed and supplemented. In the Baroque, we already see the "older brother" of today's clarinet, which has a mouthpiece, a single reed, but no valves. Soon after, additional improvements to the instrument followed, improvements to the mouthpiece, resonator and valve, and thus the clarinet as we know it today was born.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

The clarinet can already be distinguished from other wind instruments from a distance, as it is characterized by a dark color, namely all higher-quality examples are made of ebony, a hard African wood. On the main part of the musical instrument, there are flaps that cover the holes when we press and thus enable the playing of different tones. The components of this musical instrument are therefore a mouthpiece, a barrel, two main parts and a resonator. We blow into the mouthpiece, to which we attach a tongue, which vibrates while playing, thus creating a sound.

LEARNING PROGRAM

In the clarinet learning program, we get to know the instrument and its relatives, get to know the main parts of the clarinet, name its parts, learn how to assemble, clean, store and properly care for it. Let's learn to play tones by ear or the echo technique, then get acquainted with musical notation. Students learn to read and write notes, develop their musical ear, sense of rhythm and sense of musicianship, as well as mutual listening and cooperation. Let's learn the correct posture when playing a musical instrument, correct breathing, blowing, hand position or positioning of the whole body. We read technical exercises and learn to play compositions of various genres, such as children's and folk songs, we perform Slovenian compositions and christening works of Slovenian authors, we get acquainted with classical literature from history and get to know more modern works. We encourage students' creativity, so as part of the learning process it is desirable to create and perform one's own composition. Depending on the individual's wishes, we also learn to write down and play popular popular songs. We learn to play in various chamber groups and prepare for performances. The program is therefore based on classical foundations, which are a good starting point for every musician, but later the program can be expanded in terms of content - it focuses more deeply on the learning of a certain musical style (classical, jazz, blues, folk music).