For young beginners, I recommend a year of piano first, since clarinet and saxophone are more challenging to play. 

Clarinet & Saxophone

Recommendations

I recommend starting children at age nine or older. Age eight is possible depending on the child. 

Lesson Information

Selecting a Clarinet: For the young beginner, consider a model designed for smaller hands. Brands to consider would be Jupiter, Jean Paul, and Yamaha. For the adult beginner consider the Yamaha YCL-255 Standard Bb Clarinet. For a professional instrument, I would recommend a Buffet. The Buffet Crampon R13 Professional Bb Clarinet with Nickel Plated Keys is an excellent choice for the advanced level, serious musician. Another professional clarinet to consider would be the Selmer Paris Signature Professional Bb Clarinet.


Selecting a Saxophone: I recommend that children begin on the alto sax. This is due to the larger size and heavier weight of the tenor sax and baritone sax. The technique is easily transferred to the larger instruments when the student is old enough to manage the size and weight of it.


Brands to consider for a beginner would be Jean Paul and Jupiter. For the young beginner, consider a model designed for smaller hands.


Intermediate and advanced players should consider Jupiter, Yamaha, and Selmer.


Feel free to ask me for assistance in selecting the right instrument and gear. 

A standard 30-minute weekly lesson is ample for most beginners.


No need to purchase any books to bring to your first lesson.


If your child is playing in their school band or orchestra, we can start with the book they are using in school. But soon they will be ready for more in-depth books which we will start as soon as they are ready.


Students are free to emphasize certain styles of music as they progress, like classical, pop or jazz. 


For the first few weeks, while they build up their embouchure, 10 to 15-minutes of practice daily is sufficient to make good progress. Afterward, 30-minutes of daily practice works well. Higher levels will typically require more practice time.


To improve note reading skills, it is important to begin new pieces often. So I will endeavor to start something new every week or two and choose pieces that can typically be completed in a week or two. However, some lengthy pieces will require several weeks to complete. So don't be concerned if you occasionally hear the same piece being worked on for several weeks. Particularly if we are preparing to record.