Clarinet Lessons 101- Part 5 – Books and Sheet Music
- Sara Truelove
- Sep 21, 2018
- 3 min read
Now that you’ve acquired your instrument, reeds, and accessories its time to get playing! So let’s talk about books!
Books for Student/Middle School Beginners
If you’re going into middle school band most directors will provide the book for you or have you buy one. Here are a few of my favorite band books:
I like this book. It starts from the very beginning assuming most students can’t read music, so it starts off extremely easy and works through adding new notes and learning new musical terms. I find this book easy to follow and the progression of this book makes sense for the new middle school band student. The newer editions also come with CDs to play with and online SmartMusic programs. This book also comes in 2 other levels, which usually don’t get used as much in band classes but are still useful.
This book is basically just another version of the Standard of Excellence book, it’s just laid out differently. I’ve used this book too but not as often. I believe it even has some of the same excerpts as Standard of Excellence. This book also comes in 2 other levels, most of the time the third level, Essential Techniques, is not even purchased by schools.
If you’re not going into band or you are learning an instrument outside of a school setting you can still use the band books to start.
Books for Adult Beginners
These books are geared toward the adult student and I’ve found very helpful when teaching adult beginners and students returning to their instrument.
This book is a staple for adult beginners, mostly because it’s widely available. That being said, it’s a great book, it’s just a bit, well, boring. It starts off like a the band student books, assuming the student can’t read music, but there are no picture examples and the text is extremely dry. I like the excerpts though, which is why I usually suggest my adult beginners get this book to start. I usually only teach out of it until the notes start to click and then switch to something more interesting. This book also comes in an intermediate and advanced version.
Scale and Technique Books
I always recommend the Klose or Baermann book for scales and technique exercises but these are not geared toward the middle school student. They’re geared toward the older student (think college student) as there are zero pictures and an abundance of technical text. These are amazing books that provide great technical exercises and etudes. I’ve used my copy of the Baermann so much that the front cover fell off forever ago and I can’t find it again. LOL.
What else should I be practicing?
Anything!!!
I am a big advocate of buying “fun” books. Most of my current students don’t want to learn Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, or any of the other classical composers. They want to learn to play Broadway, pop, or some other mainstream genre, and that’s PERFECTLY FINE. Buy those books! Listen to the music. Try and replicate it! Just play! That being said….. it is easier to learn advanced techniques when you’re using books that are geared toward classical learning. I wouldn’t be the player I am if I didn’t play what I liked to hear, which when I was young was 80’s pop and Broadway musicals. After a few years of playing in band and orchestra my tastes evolved and now I love playing classical as well as Broadway, jazz, and anything else I can get my hands on!
Find a friend!
Playing duets with friends is a great way to learn rhythms, timing, tempo, and general technique. When you play with a friend you’re forced to be more in time, think more critically about rhythm in order to stay together, and listen to the other person for intonation and blend. I always include a duet when I teach so that my student is learning how to blend, how to be more in time and to listen for intonation differences.
Here are a few of my favorite duet books for newer students.
Okay, now it’s time to go out and find music that you want to play. Go to your local music store, Amazon, or even your local Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul (I personally check out my local St. Vinnies at least once every couple of months, I find GEMS!) and pick up something that looks interesting and GET PLAYING. The more you play, the better you’ll get, and the more joy music will bring to your life.
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