I’ve now been learning the clarinet for just over a month and it’s still going well. I’m trying to practise every day if possible, even if just for 10 or 15 minutes. I always encourage my piano pupils to practise “little and often” so I suppose I’m practising (pun intended) what I preach!

Since I last posted, I have upgraded my equipment again by buying a thumb rest and some much better (though harder) Vandoren reeds. It’s astonishing how different each reed feels and sounds, even compared to its siblings of the same maker and hardness. I like the recommendation to rate each reed, and I promise it’s only coincidence that the prettiest one of these three is also my favourite:

The increased hardness of the reed means I can’t play for as long before my lips get sore, but the sound is much nicer and it’s easier to reach the higher notes. I read a helpful clarinet blog recently which pointed out that you’ll never be able to play the high notes unless you play them – which sounds a bit silly but it’s so true! Every time I play them, they improve. I just have to remind myself that I can’t expect to be able to do it perfectly straight away.

I’ve now reached Stage 12 (of 16) in my tutor book, which introduces some of the “black keys” (okay – sharps and flats – but as a pianist, they’ll always be the “black keys” to me!) in between the notes I already know. This means that I can play more scales than I could before, including all of those set for ABRSM Grade 2. Unsurprisingly, my sightreading is way ahead of everything else, so I’ve actually stopped working on that for the time being. I’ve also been dipping into a couple of study books (James Rae’s 38 More Modern Studies for Solo Clarinet and Davies’ and Harris’s 80 Graded Studies for Clarinet: Book One) to mix things up a bit while I’m consolidating concepts in the tutor book. I know I need to do more work on long notes, to get them in tune and sounding the same, and to build stamina, but I have to confess that it’s my least favourite part of practising a wind instrument. I suppose that hasn’t changed since I learnt the bassoon nearly 20 years ago!

I’ve also received my first two donations for the Motor Neurone Disease Association since I last posted: one from my lovely piano pupil, Vicky, and an offline one from my dad. Thank you both very much! If you’d like to add to the total, you can donate to this great cause here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/clarinet2018.