The family of woodwinds includes the sax, clarinet and flute. These instruments are wonderful in a classical, jazz or modern music setting. Many woodwind players play several instruments in this family.

Learning Clarinet

Learning the clarinet is quite a journey. It is actually quite easy to get a sound out of the instrument straight away. It does take time however to develop your sound and play a very smooth tone. To gain control over the instrument is different for everyone but essentially one must blow firm and keep their cheeks in. Think of the sound as a line. You want that line to be as straight as possible. When playing a clarinet you need to cover sound holes so developing good technique early is important. Proper mouth position (embouchure) is also important.

If you have never learned an instrument before then it is important to realize that music is a language and you will be using the clarinet as your ‘weapon of choice’ to learn that language. The language of music is comprised of many avenues that a student can approach from. Whilst scales and arpeggios are an integral element of learning the clarinet it is not essential to play these initially. Really a student of the clarinet just needs to pick up the first notes (5 is good) and play basic songs and exercises within that range. From there you can expand your note repertoire and develop timing, sound projection and reading along the way.

Having music to play along with in the form of backing tracks is a luxury of the modern era. Backing tracks greatly add to the ‘fun factor’ of playing the clarinet as you pretty much get the experience of having a ‘band’ at your disposal. I find it really fun to have some cruisy swing music to play your scales to. It puts the fun in scales and allows you to develop your technical side naturally in a non-demanding way. It is also a great avenue to improvise. Improvising leads to melody creation and when you find that ‘killer riff’ you can’t help but feel totally awesome.

Video tutorials are an excellent alternative to the traditional having a teacher method. Video lessons are easy to understand and can be done in your own time as many times as you like. They tend to cover more and are much cheaper. If you get stuck then it is usually pretty easy to find the solution but of course you can feel free to book in with a local teacher for the odd ‘one off’ lesson.

Finally, it is also a good idea to tune in to the radio or some music videos and just play along. If you can find the right group of notes then this will greatly develop your ear. Remember you have the rest of your life to play your clarinet so take your time, be thorough and enjoy yourself.

Learning Flute

Learning the flute is quite a journey. It actually takes some time to get a sound out of the instrument straight away as you must blow across the sound hole at the perfect angle.

It is a bit like blowing across a soft drink bottle at the drinking end. To gain control over the instrument is different for everyone but essentially one must keep their head still and use ‘soft lips’. Think of the sound as a line. You want that line to be as straight as possible.

Learning Sax

Learning the saxophone is quite a journey. It is actually quite easy to get a sound out of the instrument straight away. It does take time however to develop your sound and play a very smooth tone.

To gain control over the instrument is different for everyone but essentially one must blow firm and keep their cheeks in. Think of the sound as a line. You want that line to be as straight as possible.

If you have never learned an instrument before then it is important to realize that music is a language and you will be using the saxophone as your ‘weapon of choice’ to learn that language. The language of music is comprised of many avenues that a student can approach from. Whilst scales and arpeggios are an integral element of learning the sax it is not essential to play these initially. Really a student of the saxophone just needs to pick up the first notes (5 is good) and play basic songs and exercises within that range. From there you can expand your note repertoire and develop timing, sound projection and reading along the way.

Having music to play along with in the form of backing tracks is a luxury of the modern era. Backing tracks greatly add to the ‘fun factor’ of playing the sax as you pretty much get the experience of having a ‘band’ at your disposal.

I find it really fun to have some cruisy swing music to play your scales to. It puts the fun in scales and allows you to develop your technical side naturally in a non-demanding way. It is also a great avenue to improvise. Improvising leads to melody creation and when you find that ‘killer riff’ you can’t help but feel totally awesome.