Best Beginning Clarinet Book for Kids
Start with absolutely no previous clarinet experience and continue well beyond the first-year level. This 102-page method combines a comfortable beginning sequence with clarinet-specific range work, scales, technical studies, more advanced rhythms, ensemble music and intermediate repertoire.
- Designed for older elementary and middle-school beginners
- Starts with the very first notes and rhythms
- Clarinet-specific low and upper-register development
- Continues directly into second-year material
Start at the Beginning. Continue Into Intermediate Clarinet.
The book does not assume that the student already knows how to play. It begins with the first notes, first rhythms and first familiar songs, then steadily develops into substantially more advanced material.
Learn the First Notes
Students begin with simple clarinet fingerings, whole notes, quarter notes, rests, articulation and short musical exercises.
Build a Complete First-Year Foundation
New notes, key signatures, slurs, dynamics, eighth notes, dotted rhythms and familiar repertoire gradually expand the student’s skills.
Move Directly Into Intermediate Playing
The second portion adds scales, arpeggios, technical studies, advanced rhythms, chromatic playing and more challenging repertoire.
Page 38 Says Exactly What Makes This Book Different
After the initial beginning section, the book tells the student that the remaining material will move into a more intermediate level with additional scales, technical exercises and new music.
That is the central idea behind the entire book: the student does not have to abandon the familiar method and purchase a completely different book just as things are beginning to get interesting.
See How Far the Student Can Progress
These pages show the progression from the very first notes through clarinet-specific range development and into full intermediate work. Click any page to open the full-size image.
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Page 1 — A True Beginner Start
The book begins with E and F, basic rhythms and the same comfortable
progression used in the Beginning Band Fun Book.
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Page 16 — Reading Becomes More Independent
Time signatures, key signatures and familiar songs move the student
beyond the earliest first-note stage.
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Page 31 — Clarinet-Specific Range Development
Bumpin’ Up exercises introduce the upper register in a gradual,
specifically clarinet-oriented way.
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Page 38 — The Move Into Intermediate Clarinet
C and F major scale review begins the book’s second major stage.
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Page 63 — Sixteenth-Note Development
Technical patterns and repertoire now require faster reading and
much greater finger coordination.
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Page 69 — Chromatic Scale & Habanera
Chromatic playing and Bizet’s Habanera demonstrate how far this
one-volume method can take a developing clarinetist.
Special Pages Address the Clarinet Itself
Clarinet students eventually face a challenge that is especially important on their instrument: developing a comfortable transition through the register and expanding the usable range.
Dedicated clarinet pages provide focused work on lower notes, upper notes and longer slurred connections before the book moves into the intermediate material.
- Lower-register development
- High B, C, D, E and F work
- Register-crossing exercises
- Slur development across the clarinet range
- Gradual preparation for the intermediate section
The Beginning Band Clarinet Audio & Video Works Here Too
The opening portion of Best Beginning Clarinet Book for Kids follows the same beginning sequence used in The Beginning Band Fun Book: Clarinet. That means students can use the existing free clarinet demonstration video and MP3 play-alongs while working through this first section.
Which Beginning Clarinet Book Is the Better Fit?
Both books share the same successful early teaching approach. The main difference is the age and presentation of the material — and how far the book continues.
The Beginning Band Fun Book: Clarinet
Especially large notation, shorter assignments, more elementary visuals and a very gradual first-year pace make this a strong choice for younger students.
Learn about the Beginning Band Fun Book
Best Beginning Clarinet Book for Kids
A more compact, mature presentation of the beginning sequence, plus the intermediate and second-year material already included in the same volume.
Start here from lesson one and keep going.The Book Keeps Developing the Student
Rather than ending once the basic notes are learned, the second portion expands the student’s reading, technique, range and musicianship.
Major & Minor Scales
C, F, B-flat, G, D, A and E major appear along with minor-scale and arpeggio work.
Faster Technique
Sixteenth-note studies and more active finger patterns build coordination and reading speed.
More Advanced Rhythms
Dotted-quarter figures, syncopation, 6/8 time and triplets move the student beyond basic first-year rhythms.
Chromatic & Ensemble Work
Chromatic playing, rounds, melody-and-harmony pieces, duets and more developed repertoire expand musicianship.
Best Beginning Band Books for Kids
Matching books are available for the major beginning band instruments, making the series useful for individual lessons, homogeneous classes and mixed school bands.
Choose an Instrument
Each edition follows the same general teaching philosophy while adapting the technical material to the individual instrument.
See the Complete Best Beginning Band Series
One Continuous Clarinet Learning Path
A student beginning the clarinet needs simple first steps. But an older beginner can move through those steps quickly, and it is useful to have the next level waiting in the same book.
Best Beginning Clarinet Book for Kids keeps the successful beginning sequence approachable while giving the student room to grow into more serious scales, technique, rhythm, range and repertoire.
It can therefore serve as the student’s first clarinet book or as a fresh beginning-to-intermediate volume for someone who has already had some first-year experience.
Questions About Best Beginning Clarinet Book for Kids
Can a complete beginner really start with this book?
How is this different from The Beginning Band Fun Book: Clarinet?
What age or grade is this book intended for?
Does the book include intermediate material?
Is there clarinet-specific material?
Are free audio and video lessons available?
Is a free sample available?
Start With the First Note — and Keep Going
A 102-page clarinet method that begins at lesson one and continues into intermediate scales, technique, rhythms and repertoire.