Turning the upper joint helped SO MUCH! I was freaking out because I have to record my concert band placement auditions and my bridge key was apparently adjusted incorrectly. Hopefully this year I’ll move up to symphonic band 1!

This is very helpful. I've been encouraged to 'line up the keys' on the two joints to get the best results, and that was better than the haphazard way I'd done it before. But this process shows that I should rotate the lower joint counterclockwise (while looking top down) about 4-5 degrees further. Not sure I can hear the difference but I'll start adjusting that way now and see if I can pick up any improvement. Now - off to shop for feeler gauges!

This applies to all sizes of Clarinets. The bridge keys are supposed to move together when you hit the lower one.

This video, by the way, is just one of 25 in my up coming 2 DVD set teaching you to do your own clarinet repair and maintenance. This is a set that will give you the skills to be more in control of your equipment, make your repair jobs last longer and make you able to take care of many repair and adjustment issues on your own and your students' clarinet.

Thank you for covering this, as a beginner i have spent months with my bridge key centred resulting in heavy right hand pressure.

just a slip of cigarette paper or some other thin paper should do. The ultimate test is if the one and one Bb plays when you lightly depress the right hand first finger, and yet, you can play the clarion F and f# without having to press or squeeze the rings. But the feeler gauge check will get you very, very close.

Hi! I'm going to be buying your new bass clarinet probably this coming up weekend by recommendation of my private lessons teacher. Would it be to much to ask for you to also post bass clarinet videos? I've always been taught our tongue and embouchure are different than soprano, I watch your videos none the less but I would love to also see bass clarinet specific videos! I'm going to UNT in the fall as a music education major and I would love to improve every aspect of my bass playing! Thank you

I believe it should be available in a month--a month and a half at the most. You can check out web site. We publish that routinely at the end of most of the vids here.

It's out now.

my teachers never showed me this!

teachers that didn't teach. what do you know!

This is very useful, thank you. One thing I have noticed over the years is that whenever my instrument comes back from being serviced the alignment of the bridge key is different. Should there not be one correct position?

My alto clarinet has two bridge keys. What is the second one's purpose