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Q. I keep squeaking when I play low Gs. What can I do to stop this? Received from Emily Phillips A: If the squeaks are generally limited just to playing low Gs then it is most likely caused by fingers not ‘seated’ really precisely on their respective tone holes. Beginning with thumb F, work carefully at perfecting the positioning of your fingers as you make your way down to low G: put each finger down slowly and deliberately.  Q. I have a pupil who can’t seem to concentrate at all? Are there any strategies that might help? Received from Tom Young A: Try beginning the lessons with some work on tone production. Eyes closed, play some notes listening really intently to the sound. Focus on the quality of the articulation, the evenness of the tone. Work on crescendo or diminuendo asking your pupil to listen very carefully to the control of the sound. Once this kind of concentration has been experienced you can begin to develop the abilty. Q. I do half an hour practice every night but I don’t seem to get much better! Can you help? Received from Ben Whitbread A: My favourite maxim for practice is less is more. Don’t cover a lot of material, but what you do cover, do it very carefully. Work on just a particular few bars of your piece, or one scale (preferably the scale of the piece you are learning) or one technical problem, and really get to grips with it. Think about what you’re practising and why. You’ll soon begin to make progress – and you’ll be aware of it too. Q. I want to write a duet for me (clarinet) and my friend who plays the flute – how do I begin? Received from Jenny Collins A: Begin with a very simple piece. Decide on an easy key (don’t forget the clarinet transposes, so if the flute is in G, you’ll be in F). Perhaps you might write a simple tune for the flute (use lots of scale patterns) and your part can just be long notes (the key note for example). You can get more complicated as you become more confident. Q. I’m about grade 5 and want to learn Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto because I keep on hearing it on Classic FM. Do you think it’s too difficult for me? Received from William Thomas A: It’s not an easy piece! Perhaps you might be able to have a go at the slow movement. It needs a lot of very refined control of tone and a 'liquid' legato. If you’re really keen to try it see how you get on. Q. I’m about grade 3 – how much practise should I be doing? Received from Josh Simmonds A: I never like to tell people to do a particular amount of practice each session. Begin by deciding what you want to achieve in your session, and then practice until you’ve achieved it!
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