Sheet Music Reviews: The Clarinet

What a treat it was to be sent this publication. Packed with information, diagrams and exercises, this book is nothing short of essential reading for anyone learning the clarinet. It already has fabulous reviews from luminaries in the industry; from the enthusiast to the expert, everyone will gain so much from reading it. If nothing else, the sheer enjoyment of seeing all this information consolidated in such a beautiful way makes this book my new favourite ‘go to’ when seeking inspiration.

‘On what?’ you might well ask. Pick a topic – posture, breathing, phrasing, articulation, circular breathing, double tonguing, glissandos – all are covered in this book to a degree that a player can then begin to confront them and hopefully go on to master them. Of course, all the topics I've mentioned are not easy and the book doesn't promise instant results, but it does provide the required knowledge to start the process correctly.

I suppose the danger might be that with all the topics that the book claims to cover, some might be glossed over, or the level of detail would make the book inaccessible. However, all the topics are covered by an expert in their field who has also spent a long time perfecting the art of teaching. It is a miracle that Paul Harris has also found the time to write this all down – perhaps lockdown played a part in the completion of this process.

Genial and informative, the text is littered with colourful metaphors, and when reading, you can easily imagine being in a lesson with a great teacher. Never patronising or over complex, this approach successfully keeps any subject from becoming dry and dull.

I have loved reading this book and there are so many things to recommend, but I'm going to focus on the information at the beginning. I've always known the benefit of a good warm up, and Harris' warm up section is comprehensive. At the outset, it doesn't include a clarinet and focuses on ‘limbering up’, which makes perfect sense. Professional players will often complain of aches and pains, tendonitis, and tiredness, but a simple physical ‘check’ will help prevent these issues before they arrive. Following the warm-up section, posture is next on Harris' list. I love the level of detail here and in my opinion, teachers and students alike usually don't pay enough attention to this. So many problems are fixed simply by holding the instrument and sitting correctly. Breathing and finger placement are perhaps the obvious quick fixes, but if you are going to be playing this instrument properly, every day, the chance of things going ‘wrong’ is massively affected.

All of this occurs before you get to playing a note and could arguably be considered too much detail, but this book doesn't claim to be a tutor. This is the ‘ultimate companion’, and the level of detail matches this description.