Clarinet

DISCLAIMER: The quality of equipment (instrument, reed, mouthpiece, ligature) has a very big impact on intonation. If the equipment is not in working order, the information and techniques on this webpage will not be as effective.

Embouchure Check!

Your embouchure formation can either help or hurt your pitch accuracy. Here is a brief reminder about how you should form your embouchure:

Make an exaggerated, facial 'A' sound. This causes the lower lip and tissue covering the chin to become very flat and firm. Another way to achieve this is to imagine that you are applying Chapstick to your lower lip.
Set the mouthpiece (with reed) onto the lower lip, taking about 1/2 inch of reed into the mouth. This is the point where the mouthpiece facing and the bottom of the reed touch.
Place your top teeth directly on the mouthpiece.
While maintaining this 'A' formation, add a facial 'Q' on top of it. This will bring the top lip and corners in and around the mouthpiece with even pressure.
Make sure that the weight of instrument is not resting on your bottom lip. Press upward towards your top teeth. This is called anchoring up.

Tuning the Mouthpiece and Barrel

A great way to check for embouchure correctness is to play on only your mouthpiece and barrel. When you do this, the note produced should be a concert F#. If you do not have a keyboard to check pitch with, simply play a G# on a fully assembled clarinet and then match that pitch on mouthpiece and barrel alone. Only adjust your embouchure, vowel shape and airspeed to change pitch during this process.

How To Tune the Clarinet

Once you have reviewed and practiced your embouchure formation, tune your clarinet using the procedure listed below:

1) Play your clarinet for a few minutes to warm up your embouchure muscles and the instrument.

2) Play up to 2nd line 'G' diatonically several times. If this note is sharp, adjust the barrel of the instrument by pulling out slightly and then playing the pitch again. Continue this until this note is in tune.

3) Play up diatonically to 'C' below the staff several times. If this note is sharp, adjust at the middle joint by pulling it out slightly and then playing the pitch again. Continue this until this note is in tune.

4) Play up to 3rd line 'C' diatonically several times. If this note is sharp, adjust at the bell by pulling out slightly and then playing the pitch again. Continue this until this note is in tune.

Best Tuning Notes for Clarinet with Band (Concert Bb and F):

How To Adjust Pitch While Playing The Clarinet

Even after tuning our instrument, there will still be notes that are naturally out-of-tune for various reasons. This makes it necessary for us to adjust, or manipulate, the pitch while playing. Here are some simple ways to adjust pitch:

Embouchure Tension/Vowels
("Lipping" the note up or down)

Increase embouchure tension and use the vowel 'EE' to raise the pitch.
Aim focused air higher in the mouth to raise pitch.
Decrease embouchure tension and use the vowel "OH" to lower the pitch.
Pull the chin muscles down and bring the mouth corners toward the mouthpiece to lower the pitch.

Alternate Fingerings/Resonance Fingerings

For notes that are naturally out-of-tune, alternate fingerings and resonance fingerings are often available to adjust the pitch.
Different brands of clarinet will require different alternate fingering usage.
Alternate fingerings can also help you navigate difficult technical passages.

Other Factors Effecting Clarinet Pitch

Temperature

When the temperature is hot, the clarinet pitch will be sharp.
When the temperature is cold, the clarinet pitch will be flat.
Playing the clarinet at room temperature will give you the best chance of being in tune.

Breath Support/Posture

When playing, sit as if you are standing from the waist up.
Poor breath support will lead to an unsupported, out-of-tune sound.

Pads and Keys

When pads and keys become displaced and move closer to the instrument, the pitch of those notes will flatten.
When pads and keys become displaced and move away from the instrument, the pitch of those notes will sharpen.
Leaky pads and keys will create weak and unstable notes.
Have your clarinet adjusted by a professional at least once per year.

The Reed

If your reed is too soft, pitch will be flat.
If your reed is too hard, pitch will be sharp.

Dynamics

When you play louder on the clarinet, the pitch tends to go flat.
When you play softer on the clarinet, the pitch tends to go sharp.

Pitch Tendencies

Every instrument has notes that are naturally out of tune. Here is a list of common naturally out-of-tune notes for the clarinet. These notes are the written notes for the instrument, not the sounding concert pitches:

VERY SHARP

MODERATELY SHARP

SLIGHTLY SHARP

SLIGHTLY FLAT

Alternate Fingerings

Listed below are alternate fingerings for many of the naturally out-of-tune notes on the clarinet. This is not a complete list, however, these fingerings will be helpful.

Note

Standard Fingering

Alternate Fingering(s)

Comments

To adjust this note, experiment with the keys in red until you find a combination that puts the note in tune.

This note tends to be flat. Pressing the indicated keys will raise the pitch.

This note tends to be sharp. Put down your right hand fingers to lower the pitch.

If this note is flat, pressing this key will bring the pitch up.

This notes tends to be sharp. Adjust this note by 'shading' one of the keys highlighted in red. Shading a key means that you do not press it down all of the way.

The "throat tones" of the clarinet are naturally sharp. They can be adjusted by putting down a combination of the fingers on the right hand. The most common options are highlighted in red. Experiment until you find a combination that works for your instrument.

Clarinet Intonation Videos

Other Clarinet Resources

Texas School Music Project- Clarinet Intonation
Clarinet Resources
World Clarinet Alliance- Resources