Clarinet

Interesting information about the instrument's history since the primitive chalumeau to the modern systems. Also presents useful tips for beginners.

This is not a book for beginners. If you are just starting to learn the clarinet, you'll be better off with something on the fundamentals, say the book by Keith Stein. But once you are able to play in a band or ensemble, you owe it to yourself to learn a little more about the clarinet. And this book is very valuable for doing just that. The best part is the chapter on clarinet acoustics. I loved the parts about fingering, tone hole size, and differences between the B-flat and A clarinets. But the entire book is instructive and a pleasure to read.

I first read this book when I was about 12 years old (just a few years after it was first published). Call me precocious, but I was able to follow it then, as a beginning clarinetist, even though some of the technical matters described were beyond my abilities at the time. One need only pick up books by Wm. Stubbins or O. Lee Gibson (both brilliant clarinetists and teachers, by the way) to appreciate how conversationally and easily Mr. Brymer explained highly technical matters in this book.Now, as an experienced clarinetist and private instructor, I find myself recalling concepts that Mr. Brymer taught in this book every time I teach lessons (or pick up the horn). I feel this book was a lot of what transformed my interest in the clarinet from "something to get me out of P.E" to something that I sought to excel in.