How to Trill on a Clarinet

Playing a trill on a clarinet can come with some difficulty for the beginning clarinet player. With practice, however, you can learn how successfully to play a trill on a clarinet. Follow these steps to play a trill on your clarinet.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clarinet
• Clarinet fingering charts

1. Understand a trill's definition. A trill is an alternation between two different musical notes. A trill is usually rapid and can be an alternation between two notes a half a note apart, or between two notes that are a whole note apart.

2. Determine if the trill you have to play is either a half note trill or a whole note trill. Half note trills are between two notes separated by a half a note. G to G sharp is an example of a half note trill. A whole note trill is between two notes separated by a whole note. G to A is an example of a whole note trill.

3. Figure out the appropriate fingerings required to play the trill on your clarinet. You can refer to clarinet fingering charts to help you choose the proper fingerings. (See link in Resources.)

4. Practice playing the trill. Playing a trill can be a difficult task at first. With continued practice, you will find that playing a trill will come more naturally and easily to you.

5. Consider using alternate fingerings to assist you in playing a trill. Using the side keys on the clarinet to help you play a trill is an example of an alternate fingering. You can use a clarinet fingering chart to help you understand alternate fingerings.

Tips & Warnings

• On sheet music, a trill is indicated by the letters "tr" followed by a wiggly line.
• You can vary the speed at which you play a trill on the clarinet. Practice playing trills at different speeds to find the one that fits the music the best.

Resources

• Clarinet fingering chart.