When I first started learning clarinet with low vision, I was the only visually impaired musician and only clarinet player in my elementary school band. My director (who was also a clarinet player) spent a lot of time explaining different concepts verbally, always made sure I had large print music, and was patient as I learned to read sheet music and identify various notes. Although I originally chose the clarinet as a musician with low vision because it was easy for me to carry and hold, I fell in love with this incredible instrument and have been playing ever since.
Over the years, I have played over six different types of clarinet in a variety of ensembles, and have even helped others learn clarinet on occasion by assisting with lessons or making accessible clarinet music/fingering charts. Here is a list of tips and strategies for learning clarinet with low vision, including teaching clarinet to a visually impaired student and finding accessible sheet music for clarinet.
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. While looking in a wall mirror was challenging with low vision, I have used tabletop mirrors or taken photos/videos so I could watch myself play. If my band director or another instructor was modeling something on clarinet, they would move the music stand out of the way so I could see them.
Learning bass clarinet with low vision vs soprano clarinet
The second type of clarinet I learned to play was the bass clarinet, which uses the same fingering system as the Bb soprano clarinet on a larger instrument. Because of the larger size and covered tone holes, I picked up on learning how to position my hands on the bass clarinet more quickly compared to the soprano clarinet, and had a similar experience exploring other larger types of clarinets like the Eb alto clarinet, Eb contra-alto clarinet, and Bb contrabass clarinet; all of the fingering systems were the same. I had more challenges with the Eb soprano and C soprano clarinets, and had to spend a lot more time practicing with hand positioning.
One of the reasons why I gravitated towards the larger clarinets was because the sheet music was not as visually complex; soprano clarinet music can be very challenging for me to read visually, especially if there are lots of notes above the staff. That said, I still play soprano clarinets regularly and just have to spend more time enlarging music.
Related links
Clarinet reeds and low vision
All of my instructors have had me use traditional cane reeds when playing clarinet with low vision, even if it took me longer to learn how to position them correctly. None of my band directors in school band allowed the use of synthetic reeds.
When teaching about the clarinet reed specifically, I have found it useful to position the clarinet mouthpiece underneath a video magnifier or in front of a 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.
Anecdotally, I have found it easier to position synthetic reeds on an Eb soprano clarinet mouthpiece compared to cane reeds. While I can put cane reeds on my other clarinet mouthpieces with relative ease, I often have to use a magnifying glass or magnification app whenever I place Eb clarinet reeds, especially if I am positioning a cane reed.
A note on clarinet ligatures
As a young student with low vision, I remember struggling with the ligature and once attached my reed to the mouthpiece using a hair elastic, much to the horror of my clarinet teacher! Switching to a one-screw design was helpful as I learned how to tighten the screws more precisely and ensure they were tight enough.
Related links
- A to Z of Assistive Technology For Low Vision
- Choosing Accessible Microscopes For Low Vision
- Magnifying Glasses For Low Vision
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 new instructor told me to hold my instrument “like this” or “over here”, without elaborating on what “this” meant or where “over here” was. Once the 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 teaching another student with low vision, and mentioned how it had been challenging to model different concepts on clarinet— they had no idea why their student was having trouble following their movements. 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. My friend then realized that the student couldn’t see the clarinet against their black outfit or against the black walls of the lesson space, and we started brainstorming solutions. Our final solution involved wearing a solid-colored apron in a bright color when teaching clarinet to this student, which 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, instead of using the light brown reed that I would typically use. Because the colored reed did not provide as much contrast, 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 I did want to mention that having the entire reed be a different color was not helpful.
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 accessible sheet music on an iPad and large print copies of music printed on 11 x 14 paper stored in a binder, which is then placed on a stand. I share more about accessible sheet music in the posts linked below.
Related links
- Music Service and Materials – National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
- Tips For Reading Music On An iPad With Low Vision
- How To Make Music Accessible With Microsoft PowerPoint
- My Large Print Music Binder
- Receiving Accessible Educational Materials With NIMAC and AIM-VA
- 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
- Writing Marching Band Drill For Low Vision Students
- 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 my own 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!
- Interested in how I create accessible digital sheet music by scanning copies of music with a phone/tablet camera? Read Tips For Reading Music On An iPad With Low Vision
- For college pep band, I customized my band uniform to help block out bright and flashing lights. Learn more in Adapting Band Uniforms For Sensory Processing Issues
- Looking for more posts on music? Browse Arts And Music Archives | Veronica With Four Eyes (veroniiiica.com)
Published March 6, 2020. Updated February 2026