Is Your Air Fast Enough On Clarinet? How To Tell For Sure!

Are your teachers constantly telling you that you need to use more air, blow faster air, and play louder? Or maybe you are a clarinet teacher and you have told your students many times (and in many different ways) to use fast air, but they don't seem to really get it yet. The Fake G# method is a tangible way to help. I did not come up with this - you can find it all over the internet - but I learned in the 1990's from Dr. Charles Lawson at Colorado State University - Go Rammies!

Who is Queen Reed?
Queen Reed is just a name that sounded good to me once when I was signing up for something musicky and didn't want to provide my real name. I am obviously not a queen. There is nothing I claim to rule, especially not reeds! And this rather presumptive title is at firm odds with the view I hold of myself as a performer, educator, creator, advocate, and occasionally (we've all been there), a complete imposter.

You, Me, We, have all had life and music experiences that help others when we share them. Along my way here, I have picked up a good deal about playing and teaching the barkystick we call the Clarinet. And when I zoom around the internet for help, advice, insight, I want the most specific, articulate help I can find. So this is what I offer - not only what works for me, but whenever I can figure it out, why and how I think it works.

Quite simply, Queen Reed wants to share everything she knows about playing, learning, and teaching clarinet with the hope that it will make your life easier, help you feel connected to others, build your knowledge - which is power, and enable you to get more and more joy out of your own barkystick.