When I wrote the first version of this post on why I chose the clarinet as a musician with low vision, I highlighted how the clarinet was a versatile instrument that can be fairly straightforward to learn. However, I didn’t mention any of the techniques or strategies that I’ve used over the years for learning clarinet with low vision, both from my perspective as a musician and from teaching the basics of clarinet to others. Here are my favorite tips for teaching and learning clarinet with low vision, as well as tips for supporting clarinetists with visual impairments.
Exploring the clarinet with detailed descriptions
When first learning to play the clarinet, it is important that the musician orients themselves to the location of different keys, as well as where they are in relation to different tone holes. This can also include practicing skills like assembling the instrument, adjusting the ligature, and learning to place the clarinet reed correctly.
When teaching about the clarinet reed specifically, I have found it useful to position the clarinet mouthpiece underneath a video magnifier or camera, which can help users when learning to slide the reed underneath the ligature and lining up the reed with the mouthpiece. Holding up the mouthpiece in front of a solid-colored background can help check for alignment so musicians can adjust the position of the reed with their thumbs.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- Choosing Accessible Microscopes For Low Vision
- Upcycling Music Stands into Assistive Technology
Modeling embouchure and proper positioning
Proper embouchure and positioning are critical for learning clarinet, and I found it difficult to follow along in my first few clarinet lessons as the instructor told me to hold my instrument “like this” or “over here”, without elaborating on what “this” meant or where “over here” was. Once my instructor noticed that I couldn’t see what they were doing, they switched from standing a few feet away to placing the clarinet in my line of sight, narrating their movements or changes in position. In order to help me with proper embouchure, my instructor asked if they could guide my movements and reposition my instrument or arms/fingers to help model the correct position, something I really appreciated them asking about instead of just moving my hands without telling me.
In a different example, my friend was telling me a story about how they had been trying to teach another student with low vision, and how it had been challenging to model different concepts on clarinet. I realized that I couldn’t see their black clarinet very well against their black outfit and asked if they had been wearing the same clothes when meeting with this other musician. Suddenly, this experience with the other musician made a lot more sense, and we started brainstorming solutions. My friend found that wearing a solid-colored apron when teaching clarinet to this student made a huge difference so they could see the clarinet more easily.
Related links
- Options For Watching The Conductor With Low Vision
- High Contrast and Low Vision
- Dance Classes and Low Vision
- How To Describe Dance Choreography Videos For Visually Impaired
- How To Be An Effective Human Guide For People With Vision Loss
Using color along with visual cues
Another technique that has really helped me is using color as a supplement to visual cues, since my color vision is intact and color labels are easier for me to see than text labels. One instructor had me place a colored bracelet on the bell of my clarinet to help me align my instrument at an angle, while another used a colored thumb pad cover to help with positioning. My instructors and I have also used color with making music easier to read, including adding stickers to the edge of lines to assist with line tracking, using colored highlighters, and drawing around dynamic markings with digital strawing tools.
One example of color that did not work well was an experiment involving clarinet reeds. My instructor thought to use a brightly colored clarinet reed to show me how to position the reed on a new mouthpiece, and I was more confused after the lesson than I was before. Plus, the neon blue reed sounded terrible when I played it! From what I can tell, these types of reeds haven’t been manufactured in years, but it did show that colored reeds weren’t effective for teaching this concept.
Finding accessible clarinet music
One of the great things about playing clarinet is that there are several sources for finding accessible clarinet music for visually impaired musicians, including large print clarinet music and braille clarinet music. Examples of options for locating and adapting clarinet music in accessible formats include:
- The Music Section of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) features several clarinet pieces, mostly in braille
- Public school students enrolled in school band programs can request accessible copies of their music through their state NIMAC/NIMAS provider. In Virginia, this is AIM-VA
- Enlarging PDF copies of music on larger paper sizes, such as 11 x 14 or 11 x 17
- Reading music from an iPad or other digital display, with the option to zoom in or use a switch for turning pages
- Importing music into a digital program and using magnification
- Playing recordings of clarinet pieces either for learning by ear or as a supplement to other accessible materials
- Purchasing digital copies of sheet music that may provide a higher resolution compared to paper copies
- Adding display filters such as invert colors for digital music to make it easier to recognize notes
Personally, I use a mix of digital music and large print copies of music printed on 11 x 14 paper stored in a binder, which is then placed on a stand.
Related links
- Music Service and Materials – National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
- How To Make Music Accessible With Microsoft PowerPoint
- My Large Print Music Binder
- Receiving Accessible Educational Materials With NIMAC and AIM-VA
- Tips For Reading Music On An iPad With Low Vision
- How To Use Invert Colors With Low Vision
Creating an accessible fingering chart
When I had trouble figuring out the correct hand position for a note, my school band directors would often tell me to just look at the fingering chart in the back of my music book. This chart was very challenging for me to read, as the illustrations were small but highly detailed and the page was visually cluttered, so I would have to wait and ask someone else what it looked like. I have an entire post dedicated to creating accessible fingering charts for music, but one that worked particularly well for me was color-coding different sections of the image so I knew what keys to press, instead of relying on black and white graphics.
Related links
- How To Modify An Instrument Fingering Chart For Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Videos and Narrated Images With Clips
Labeling reeds with texture and/or color
While I already mentioned that having my entire reed neon blue wasn’t particularly helpful, I do rotate reeds frequently and find it helpful to label them with texture and/or color to tell them apart. This can look like using different colored reed guards or cases, as well as coloring the bottom of reeds using different colored permanent markers to tell them apart. I find it helpful to “rate” my reeds on how well they play (1 being best, 3 being worst) and placing them in different colored and textured reed guards. Writing on reeds isn’t particularly helpful because I can’t read my reeds- or more specifically, my handwriting!
Carrying a clarinet case with low vision
When I was in middle and high school, I would often walk closely to the edge of walls so I could “trail” the edge of the wall with my hand and avoid running into obstacles. When I started using a blindness cane (white cane) in college, I didn’t have to rely on trailing as much, though I now had one less hand to carry my instrument. Something that has really helped me with transporting my soprano clarinet is to have a shoulder strap or backpack case so I can carry it hands-free, or having someone else help me with carrying music and/or an instrument so I always have one free hand to help with navigation or orienting myself to my surroundings.
If I have to carry my bass clarinet case for a long distance (such as through a hallway), I always ask someone else to carry it for me since the case is much bulkier and I would often run into doorframes while holding it. I’ve also used a handcart to carry the bass clarinet case on my college campus, though this was more useful for outdoor environments.
Related links
More tips for learning clarinet with low vision
- To help my clarinet case “stand out” and ensure that I grabbed the correct instrument from the band closet or other storage area, I would decorate my case with keychains that made noise, stickers, or other bright and high contrast items so I could easily identify it from the others. This was especially helpful when my brother and I both purchased identical clarinet cases!
- Want to learn more about supporting clarinet players (and other musicians) in marching band with low vision? Read Marching Band and Low Vision
- Over the years, I have played six different types of clarinet. While the fingerings and general layout of the keys are the same, taking the time to explore each clarinet before playing it for the first time helped me a lot with developing a “mental map” of how the keys work, as well as spotting potential keys in need of repair.
- Looking for more posts on music? Browse Arts And Music Archives | Veronica With Four Eyes (veroniiiica.com)
Published March 6, 2020. Updated August 2024