As a clarinetist & private music instructor, I’m almost obsessed about this idea of setup. All throughout my grade school years, I’ve had invaluable instruction on my instrument. But none of my private instructors taught me the importance of setup. When I got to CSU East Bay, everything changed. My whole philosophy changed. I will never forget when my clarinet friend, Dan told me I needed a different setup. He took me to the House of Woodwinds in Oakland, CA and he said I should try the Vandoren M15 clarinet mouthpiece. That very day changed me and the way I played forever. A couple years later, I transferred to CSU Sacramento.

Deborah Pittman LEFT, my Clarinet Professor @ CSU Sacramento

My clarinet professor at Sacramento State, Ms. Deborah Pittman, was also a major influence in this regard. She taught me a lot about reed care in terms of soaking reeds in lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes, shaving them down with sandpaper if they were too hard to play on, and reed storage.

So what about setup for beginners? In a perfect world, it’s always great to start on the best instrument and mouthpiece possible. But if I had to choose between the best instrument and the best mouthpiece, I would hands down choose the best mouthpiece. Without a good mouthpiece to start on, it’s almost impossible to learn the clarinet with accuracy.