Below is the Flight of the Bumblebee performance with the UNA Band under the direction of my clarinet teacher at UNA, Dr. Jimmy Simpson. It was an honor to return to my Alma Mater for this guest performance. A few years later I wrote the book, Bumblebee Loops: A Practice Guide to Performing a Lightning Fast 'Flight of the Bumblebee'. On the following link find out how you as a Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced or Returning Adult clarinet player can use the book ..read more

A blast from the past - Recently went up a memory from 2006 of my performance of the Weber Second Concerto - Polacca with the University of North Alabama Wind Ensemble under the direction of my UNA clarinet professor Dr. Jimmy Simpson. It was a great honor to return in 2006 and an honor for it to be posted. Fun is the way to be while performing. Enjoy ..read more

Come read the latest, Clarinet Notes newsletter from Clarinet Now. Topic this week: DO YOU KNOW YOUR SCALES? Sign-up for Clarinet Notes: This is a double-opt-in mailing list. If you sign up now, you’ll get a confirmation email. You will then have to confirm that you signed up. This keeps people from signing you up without your permission. So, sign-up for the Newsletter now and then go practice your clarinet ..read more

Last year just before the New Year, I saw that Hilary Hahn was starting her sixth season of #100DaysOfPractice. I decided to try this for at least 15-minutes per day and have currently played every day of the year. See if you can challenge yourself to do this. The consistency of practice really pays off. You can learn more about how I approached this just below ..read more

Every time I hear music, I think, how would that work on clarinet? In this particular case, Cody Fry's version of Eleanor Rigby hit me like a ton of bricks. I listened to it over and over. Then, I bought the score on his website and wrote out the clarinet parts and other interesting parts to play. Forgive the video, I was hoping to get a video of the video, but the TV screen is over-exposed. If nothing else, give this a listen and then go visit Mr. Fry's works ..read more

I fell in love with this version of "What Child is This?" a few years ago even though I had heard it all my life. While the tech end of recording this is super frustrating, playing the tune was really fun. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This video was recorded on Day 351 of #100DaysOfPractice ..read more

Yesterday was day 312 of my #100DaysOfPractice commitment. I guess you could say it is a habit by now. While being busy doing almost everything imaginable (to include designing and building a chicken coop), I am getting my practice in everyday. Last night at 11PM, I had to warm up the van while it was sleeting so I wouldn't wake up the family practicing my scales and articulation. Got to do what it takes ..read more

Here is a short video tutorial about correct Left Hand Position and use of the lowest chromatic notes E, F, F#, G, G# and returning down. This video is meant to be played with so you can match the sound and check your hand position. Send any feedback via this website or Facebook @clarinetnow or Twitter @clarinetnow ..read more

One of the general rules of blogs is to publish your progress. As you can tell here, my last bloglet was Day #114. So, I have added 80 days to my collection. Being regular on the clarinet has been a joy and the results are true in the strength of my embouchure and the dexterity of the fingers. Regular practice, regular practice, regular practice is the key to improvement ..read more

Bumblebee Loops A Practice Guide to Performing a Lightning Fast "Flight of the Bumblebee" on Clarinet, Flute, and Violin ..read more