By Lamorna and James Nightingale

Lamorna's Beginner Clarinet books starts with sound exercises appropriate to the complete novice. The concepts of sound, notation and rhythm are then introduced in logical steps that will provide a young clarinetist with a basis on which to build their technical and musical skills.

The book features a layout and notation that is large and clear, incorporating aural skills and theory into the learning strategy through the use of games, simple tasks and quizzes. Ensemble skills, rhythmic security and intonation are introduced through many duets and other exercises. The large amount of material included in the book allows for the reinforcement of basic musical concepts at every step along the way. Report Cards at the end of each chapter connect parents to their child’s learning process and demonstrate their achievements.

The book is structured into five large chapters:

• Chapter 1: making a sound; first notes and fingerings; notation of minims and crotchets; tonguing; in a range of C to G. 
• Chapter 2: introduces F#; throat A; in a range of C to A.
• Chapter 3: introduces the right hand low notes of B, A and G; slurring; single octave major scale; in a range of G to throat A.
• Chapter 4: introduces quavers; B flat throat and low; minor tonality; C#, throat G#, low G#, E flat and the one octave chromatic scale on G; dotted rhythms; in a range of G to throat B flat. 
• Chapter 5: introduces low F, E and F#; introduces the concept of little fingers swapping side to side; 6-8 time; and a series of exercises and simple tunes to introduce the high register and break-crossing. 

The primary focus of the book is upon material of equivalent level to the AMEB Preliminary clarinet exam. The final sections of the book, however, introduce material to prepare the student for the high register and crossing the break. These sections are not intended to be comprehensive, but as pointers to the next stage of clarinet playing that is required as the young player moves towards AMEB Clarinet Grade 1. Further material of this level is included in Fluteworthy’s publication Repertoire for the Beginner Clarinet Player.