Fun with new playing techniques

The booklet by the clarinettist, who teaches at the Fribourg Conservatory, is in French. Each piece is dedicated to two or three technical aspects of clarinet playing. This begins with warming up, an embouchure and a reed exercise and extends to advanced playing techniques on the clarinet. The two-line duet Funambule (Seiltänzer) is dedicated to micro-interval glissandi in the third position, whereby the resulting friction simultaneously opens the player's ears. Other pieces deal with slaps, multiphonics and quavers. While the fingerings for the microintervals and multiphonics are given, there are unfortunately no instructions on how to play the slap reeds.

The last three pieces in the booklet combine several of the techniques previously worked on separately and are also suitable for auditions or level tests. ZiganaThe eponymous piece is a gypsy tune with a slow introduction, a lively middle section and a fully composed cadenza at the end. A piano accompaniment is also included for this and four other numbers. Juggling is a duet with many suggestions and a melody divided between the two voices, which is a rhythmic challenge for the players, but also a lot of fun. On the last track Le Serpent et la Mouche is a solo piece in which the new playing techniques developed previously are fully utilized.

These appealing practice pieces do not neglect musical expression and the pictorial titles stimulate the player's imagination. This edition is aimed at advanced beginners who have already mastered the basics of clarinet playing and are keen to explore new playing techniques on their instrument.

Sarah Chardonnens Lehmann, Zigana, 23 courtes pièces originales et dynamiques, dont cinq avec piano, pour jeunes clarinettistes. C06756, € 19.20, Editions Combre (Henry Lemoine), Paris 2013