The Clarinet Ninja Blog
Education, Inspiration, Results
James Danderfer’s If Not Now: The Jazz Clarinet Album You Didn’t Know You Needed
What happens when one of today’s leading clarinetists records at the most legendary studio in jazz history? You get Ja...
Todd Marcus: Bass Clarinet, Baltimore, and the Power of Being More Than One Thing
Jazz gives us permission to be many things at once. Todd Marcus lives that truth. He is a world-class bass clarinetis...
Mastering Clarinet Auditions with The Audition Method by Benjamin Baron
Preparing for a clarinet audition can be one of the most stressful parts of being a clarinetist. You may spend hours practicing...
A month ago, I broke my foot.
What followed was an exhausting mix of pain, limited mobility, endless logistics, insurance uncertainty, and the mental weight of wondering how long it would take to fee...
Trusting the Process and Checking the Results: A Balanced Approach to Clarinet Practice
Happy New Year! As we step into 2025, I wish you joy, success, and fulfillment in all areas of your life. One a...
Clarinet Practice
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Let's pretend - just for a minute:
You and I have a flight to catch and must get to the airport. We have two choices (don’t worry, this is an easy one):
1. Get in a car going i...
Are Tonguing studies really complicated long tone studies?
Clarinet Practice - What’s the most important thing?
That’s a pretty big and general question. My answer is specific and general all at the same time: The most important thing about practicing is tha...
Should I memorize my music?
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In the broadest sense, there are two answers to this. As you get to know me, you will (hopefully) learn to appreciate that I cannot accept the broadest answers. This mu...
Practicing scales is important. The music we play is mostly scales (and diatonic intervals/chords). Practicing scales is usually seen as boring and dull. Practicing music is usually seen as fun and re...
This is a post about how to practice the clarinet.
Have you ever had one of those days where you didn’t feel like practicing the clarinet? As much as I love to play the clarinet, there have been days...
How Adults should approach learning the clarinet:
"I wish I had started playing the clarinet when I was younger," and "I am not able to play the clarinet like I want to."
These are laments I hear f...
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