Klaus Dappers Klarinettenbuch Band 1: B-flat Clarinet Book & CD

Dapper's method breaks the mold by treating the clarinet as a genuinely diverse instrument from day one. Rather than isolating students in classical etude land, he weaves in folk melodies, jazz idioms, pop themes, and orchestral excerpts (Ravel, Bizet) so students encounter the actual musical world they'll eventually inhabit. The inclusion of both Boehm and German system fingering instructions, plus 59 play-along tracks on the accompanying CD, means you can differentiate instruction within a single class while keeping everyone engaged.

Fresh and genuinely eclectic. One moment a student is navigating a simplified orchestral excerpt; the next, they're learning a folk melody or accompanying themselves through a jazz-inflected exercise. The variety keeps the practice room from feeling repetitive while building real foundational technique.

Beginning clarinet students who benefit from seeing their instrument in multiple musical contexts right away. Teachers seeking a method that doesn't pigeonhole the clarinet as a classical-only instrument will find this particularly valuable for motivating young players who gravitate toward jazz, pop, or folk traditions.

• Use the play-along tracks to establish secure rhythm before focusing on tone quality. The 59 accompaniments give your students real musical context beyond isolated note practice.
• Lean on the "Torten-Prinzip" (cake principle) rhythm method when students struggle with subdivision. This visualization technique makes the connection between written notation and physical execution tangible.
• Reinforce register changes intentionally. The book isolates this skill, so dedicate short warm-up segments to smooth transitions between clarinet breaks before moving into repertoire.
• Build articulation clarity through the dedicated exercises before tackling style-specific phrasing in the world music and jazz-influenced pieces.

This serves as your primary method for beginning clarinetists in a mixed-ability setting. Because the book addresses both Boehm and German systems with separate guidance, it works equally well whether your studio or band program uses one system exclusively or accommodates both. The included accompaniments also make it suitable for group lessons where students can rotate playing lead parts against recorded backgrounds.

• Assembly, maintenance, embouchure formation, and tone production fundamentals
• Reading notation across the full range (low E through high C)
• Register changes and smooth transitions between chalumeau and clarion registers
• Articulation techniques (tonguing patterns, clarity, separation)
• Phrasing and musical shaping beyond mechanical note reading
• Rhythm comprehension using the Torten-Prinzip visualization method
• Style awareness across classical, folk, pop, rock, musical theatre, and jazz idioms
• Fingering systems for both Boehm and German clarinet mechanisms