Your Clarinet has 6 parts: The Bell, Lower Joint, Upper Joint, Barrel, Ligature and Mouthpiece. (Plus, the reed…makes 7 parts) Important to remember:
1. Your clarinet is not a toy it is a delicate musical instrument.
2. You should always make sure your case is done up before you pick it up.
3. The corks joints should always have grease on them. (You won’t need to do this every time, but if it is hard to get together, it’s time to grease them.
When assembling your clarinet, you need to be careful not to bend any keys
1. Sit on a chair with your case on the floor. Make sure the instrument is the right way up. (The logo is usually on the top of the case).
2. Undo the case and take out a reed and place it in your mouth to wet it. (Do not chew on it)
3. Start from the bottom up. Get out the bell and the bottom joint. Hold the bottom joint in your hand making sure not to hold over the rods
4. Carefully twist and push the cork end of the second joint into the bell, turning it back and forth until it is all the way on.
5. Remove the top joint from the case. This is one of the most important steps.
You MUST hold the bridge key open.
This key is very important and can easily be bent if you are not careful. Hold the first joint in your left hand, with your fingers over the ring holes on the front of the clarinet. This will cause the bridge key to lift up.
6. Holding the second joint close to the bell with your right hand, slowly twist and push the first joint into the second. Try to turn it back and forth in small motions, so that the keys don’t bump into each other.
7. Remove the barrel from the case and twist and push the large end onto the first joint.
8. Remove the mouthpiece from the case and take off the ligature (the ligature is the metal or sometimes plastic piece that has one or two screws in it).
Twist and push the cork end of the mouthpiece into the barrel. The flat side of the mouthpiece should line up with the back of the clarinet (the part with the fewest keys).
9. Slip the ligature over the mouthpiece. Now slide the ligature up so that you are holding it with your fingers to the back of the mouthpiece.
10. Remove the reed from your mouth and slide it down between the mouthpiece and the ligature. Line it up so that the tip of the reed doesn’t extend beyond the tip of the mouthpiece. Slide the ligature down to the point where the top of the ligature is below the bark part of the reed. Do up the screws. It should be tightened securely enough to keep the reed from slipping, but not so tight that they are difficult to unfasten.
