A New Tune a Day - Clarinet Book 1 (Book/Online Audio) Paperback – November 1, 2005

My daughter has been using this book this summer to learn clarinet so she can join the school band in the fall and it's working out very well in combination with the Rubank Elementary Method. The other kids already have a year under their belts, so she needs to catch up to them over the summer. This book is great because it gets the students playing familiar tunes right away, and it appears to be well paced for a student working with a private instructor. The play-along CD has demonstration tracks so the student can hear what a good clarinet tone sounds like, as well as background tracks that the student can play alone on. Duet pieces are also included so the student can play with the CD or a teacher. The one thing the book doesn't have much of is basic technical exercises for scales, rhythms, etc. That's ok because the approach of this book is to learn by playing tunes. The Rubank book complements this book well because it provides the other piece that this book doesn't have. Students often don't care for the beginner Rubank books because they are dry and don't include many familiar tunes. But using these two books in combination offers the best of both worlds so students can build both their technique and their musicianship.I usually teach advanced saxophone students, so I had to do some research into which books might help get a beginner clarinet player up to speed quickly. I've found that the band method books most of the schools use aren't well-suited for private lessons. However, if you have a student who is getting the basic technique from the school band method book and school lessons, New Tune a Day is still a great supplement if you have a child who loves the instrument and wants to play other things.

I purchased this along with the Rubank Elementary Method booklet. I played clarinet in 6th and 7th grade, and I'm now in my forties and wanted to pick it up again. I've been surprised at how quickly I'm re-learning to play, using both A New Tune a Day for Clarinet (and the enclosed CD as my virtual teacher accompaniment) and the Rubank Method booklet to focus on technique. The exercises have also been excellent in learning how to read music again. I do admit, I've played acoustic guitar and percussion for several years, so my ears are attuned to music, but this book and CD combo has jumpstarted years of lost progress. If I had no clue how to play an instrument, such as basic finger positioning, embouchure, posture, etc., this would likely be a challenge. It's an excellent resource however, for those who played in their youth and want to pick it up again, or for any musician wishing to learn a new instrument.

I purchased the clarinet book, Saxophone 1 and 2, and the Performance piece book for Saxophone. Each book comes with a CD. I'm not as impressed with the CD as a parent because the musician plays quicker and not necessarily the same notes that are within the book. However, my child enjoyed playing along with the songs on the CD. It gave her the feeling of being at a concert. My daughter was already experienced when she went to her new school and the band teacher had to adjust what to teach her. Instead of using a book that was set up for another school that appeared to have songs that weren't challenging or fun, she chose to use these series of books to teach her. The teacher was very impressed with the entire set. A few minor errors were in the books but she said they weren't a big deal. My daughter then moved up into a different grade and had these books still in her bag. The new teacher at the new school saw these books and loved them so much that he's considering the idea of using them for the entire school band next year. This is a great testament to the written content and music that's included. I would definitely recommend this to anyone learning an instrument.

This is a comprehensive book for starting out on clarinet, good clear instructions. The DVD gives some useful starting information. There is a good range of pieces in the book and the regular tests are great for monitoring your progress. Great to play along with the CD.

Just as I remember - but with backing CD for performances. Great way to teach clarinet.

exactly what it said helping daughter already good quick service cd and dvd good teaching tool daughter looks forward to using the book cd and dvd

Good tutor and comprehensive contents. The DVD and CD are of a good quality. Good instructions to set up bits of clarinet Bb.

Working through it slowly