How to Do a Bend on a Clarinet

There are many cool clarinet techniques and one of the coolest technique is called a bend. It's when you remove the finger while slowly uncovering the hole to create a long "wahhhhhh" transition sound from one note to another. This technique is mainly used in jazz to create a very cool sounding effect. The hard thing is perfecting the bend.

When you are trying to do a bend, start on one note, and slowly remove the finger while holding down on that key. Expose the hole little by little while continuously blowing through the instrument. For some people, this may be easy for you and you will pick it up very fast. For others, the sound may be broken, disconnected, or stop in the middle. You just have to keep on practicing in order to get this perfect.

When you first start being able to do a bend, you may only be able to hold the bend for a beat. Another thing to practice and perfecting the bend is to sustain it for a long time while creating that transition bend sound. The best clarinetist can hold it for as long as 5-6 seconds. If you can do that, the sound will be much more effective and cooler sounding. It is a technique that the audience will find very amusing and will add lots of flavor and interest to the music or your solo.

The key point to practicing bend is consistency. If you don't get it the first time, you have to consistently attempt and practice in order to get this perfect. Even if you are getting it perfect, you have to continuously practice in order to keep your techniques perfect and completely master it! Good luck to all of you on learning how to do a bend! Remember, consistent practice is what's going to make you a better player!