For my 30th birthday, I decided to take up the clarinet. I have a clarinet, but cannot find a teacher. All the teachers in this area are either not taking on new pupils or only have spaces available during the day. Unfortunately, I work full time so cannot commit to lessons during the day.

I have been wondering whether anyone can recommend any books or DVDs that I might use to get me started. I fully appreciate that nothing can replace one-to-one tuition, but I am desperate to start playing!

I play the French horn so I don't need to learn how to read music. I just need to learn how to play the clarinet!

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Nick x

Can't recommend any DVDs but have you visited a local music shop or searched on musicroom.com to see what is available?
Whereabouts are you maybe someone can recommend a teacher?

Book wise, I recommend the Cambridge Clarinet Tutor by Paul Harris. It's specifically aimed at adult learners of the clarinet. Learn As You Play is also a good book.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the clarinet. Good luck with it.

As you already read music, probably any tutor would do - I just picked one which took my fancy from a selection at my local music shop (I'm self-taught on clarinet too). What I would recommend in your situation - so that you learn a minimum of bad habits - is getting some background books on the clarinet and clarinet technique. I have

The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing - David Pino
Clarinet - Jack Brymer
The Art of Clarinet Playing - Keith Stein
Clarinet Secrets - Michele Gingras
and last but by no means least (written by someone I know, who is a tutor at the Clarinet Summer School)
Instant Help for Playing and Teaching the Clarinet - Leslie Craven

These books have all been useful to me in varying degrees, and I'd recommend reading them. You could probably get some through your local library, but personally I like to have them to hand so that I can dip in for a refresher now and again!

Nick,

Like Jo.clarinet, I taught myself and found the internet a great help. Even before I got my first clarinet, I'd read and absorbed pages of info about embouchure. Though that was no substitute for hours of frustrating practise! The trick there is never to stop experimenting.
Do a search for 'beginners/beginning/clarinet/embouchure... etc

For hand position, I found this guy very useful:
http://raider.muc.edu/~peroneje/tipsforbeginners.htm

My very first book was Abracadabra which has a great collection of easy tunes to play. However, as soon as you make progress it quickly looks a bit childish.

Books I've since found and enjoyed:
Learn as you play clarinet, Peter Wastall
50 classical studies, Pamela Weston N.B. Not strictly for beginners but starts easy and the most interesting and beautiful collection of music.
H. Klose Celebrated method for clarinet. Even the exercises sound like concert pieces!

Some people recommend the Paul Herfurth Teach yourself book. Fine for an absolute beginner, but I find it very dry and old-fashioned. Fortunately, this and the Peter Wastall book often turn up second hand on Ebay.

For a bit of fun:

Easy jazz singles for clarinet, Russell Stokes.
40 Modern studies for solo clarinet, James Rae.

Both start with easy pieces and are great to play.

As Jo said, Leslie Craven has a great reputation and his website used to have sample pages from his book.

The greatest resource of all is undoubtedly the clarinet forum at:
http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/index.html

Good luck,
Steve

Nick, whereabouts are you based? There may be someone on the forums who knows of a local teacher who has vacancies. The resources that people have mentioned are all excellent, but even just a couple of lessons would help to ensure that you don't develop too many bad habits - I've recently inherited a student who is very capable but who has lousy posture.

You haven't said much about your job, other than that it's full-time. How flexible are your employers about letting you leave early/arrive late/take a slightly longer lunch break one day a week to fit a lesson into, and then making up the time on another day?

As no-one's yet said so, I'd also like to say welcome to the forums. Feel free to post any questions which crop up - you were still in short trousers when I started playing, and I still have questions, so don't worry about feeling stupid if there's sonething you don't know.

Thank you to everyone who posted a reply to my pleading message! All the advice is very much appreciated.

In answer to a few of the questions, I am based in Nottingham and I work as a Radiographer. Unfortunately, my job involves an on-call commitment and I often go without a lunch break. Any lessons I organised would be on an ad-hoc basis.

I have spent the last few weeks putting together my clarinet and then taking it apart once again (very sad, I know, but I am so desperate to start learning to play!).

I will visit the recommended web pages and try to lay my hands on the books suggested.

Thanks again!

N x

Just a thought - as you're in a university town, why not see whether a music student (with clarinet as their main instrument) could give you the occasional lesson? You could perhaps put an ad up in the music department at the university, and a student would probably be pleased to earn a little extra money now and then, even if it wasn't regular.

That sounds like a good idea Jo. I hadn't thought of suggesting that. I'm sure the students would be very grateful for a) the money and some teaching experience.

I would also reccomend Learn As You Play. It contains a bit of info about techniwue etc, which you will find useful, especially if you are trying to learn by yourself. 50 Classical Studies (as others have said) is very good, and is designed to help with technical challenges. And 40 Modern Studies is a bit of fun. Good luck!

I've just started playing too and have found the abracadabra books invaluable and have just started on the Play Clarinet Today books with CD. Which is even better. I've been playing since xmas and love every minute. No teachers near me either .... good luck and enjoy it!