Clarinet Chronicles: Finding Your Voice in the First Year

Abstract

The purpose of this project, Clarinet Chronicles: Finding Your Voice in the First Year, was to create an inclusive method book for novice clarinet students, increasing access to early clarinet education. To develop this project, I reviewed literature pertaining to two frameworks, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP; Ladson-Billings, 1995) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Meyer et al., 2014), to help me create more inclusive materials. Secondly, I completed a content analysis of widely used method books to unpack the appropriate pedagogical sequence of clarinet learning in the first year. As a part of that analysis, I also examined the existing method books for elements of CRP and UDL. The analysis revealed a lack of diverse materials but a consistent chronological approach in the first year of learning. The insights from CRP, UDL, and the content analysis guided the development of the proof-of-concept for Clarinet Chronicles. The method book features contributions from thirty living and historically marginalized composers and clarinetists and includes an interactive website platform. I present directions and recommendations for future practice and research in beginning private clarinet lessons.