We have the instrument put together and know how to hold the instrument. Now how do we hold it? 
We will break it down Right Hand, Left Hand and Instrument to Body.
Right Hand
  1. Create a "U" with your hand. 
  2. Place the Thumb Rest of the clarinet on the top of your Right Thumb Knuckle.
    1. Note: your thumb should be slightly rotated to help relieve tension in your hand. 
  3. Place your first 3 fingers down on each of the tone holes of the Lower Joint. Hover your pinky over the "F/C" key. See the picture on the right.
Right Hand U-Shape
                  Right Hand Back Placement
Right Hand Front Placement
Left Hand
  1. With the pad of your left thumb, cover the tone hole in the back of the upper joint (the F key).
  2. ​Place your first 2 fingers on the top ring keys of the Upper Joint. Your third finger is placed on the next tone hole down. Your pinky hovers over the "Eb/Bb" key.
       Left Hand Front Placement
          Left Hand Back Placement
Instrument to Body​
Remember our phrase: "1, 2, bring the instrument to you." Our posture is set, our hands are in place and we can now bring the instrument to us.
  1. Hold the instrument perpendicular to the ground and have the mouthpiece close to eye level.
  2. Adjust your elbows so they are inline with your ribs.
  3. Rotate the mouthpiece towards your mouth. Thinking of where the Upper and Lower joint connect as a pivot point. Note: this is to get the form of everything, we will talk about 100% correct placement when we talk Embouchure next.
Proudly powered by Weebly